Dentsply to sell Gendex Medical to Dynarad parent Del Electronics

Purchase adds standard x-ray to Dynarad line

Dentsply International has found a buyer for its Gendex Medicalx-ray and mammography business in the form of Del Electronics,the owner of portable radiography vendor Dynarad. The announcementcame only weeks after Gendex representatives said that Dentsplyplanned to retain ownership of the company.

Dentsply announced last year that it intended to divest Gendex,its Eureka X-Ray Tube subsidiary and CMW orthopedic bone cementdivision in an effort to focus on its core dental x-ray business(SCAN 10/26/94). Varian Associates of Palo Alto, CA, quickly pickedup Eureka, which Gendex had acquired from Siemens in 1992.

In last week's announcement, Del Electronics of Valhalla, NY,said it had reached an agreement in principle with Dentsply toacquire Gendex. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Del manufactures medical equipment components such as low-and high-voltage power supplies for CT scanners, nuclear medicineequipment and bone densitometry devices. It bought Dynarad inSeptember of 1992 (SCAN 11/4/92).

Del was attracted to Gendex because that company's line ofstandard x-ray products complements Dynarad's portable x-ray devices,according to Michael Taber, Del CFO.

"It meshes very nicely with our current imaging business,"Taber said. "We are in the portable business and they arein hospital, veterinary and chiropractic markets."

Dynarad also manufactures Nova SC, a mammography unit featuringa computer that stores patient history and exam parameters. NovaSC is a higher end mammography system than Gendex's Mamex mammographyline and therefore there is no product duplication in that segment,Taber said.

Del does not plan to make any job cuts at Gendex. Del plansto assume Gendex's lease on its Franklin Park, IL, facility andwill keep the company at that location, according to Del presidentand CEO Leonard Trugman.

"That is a very efficient manufacturing location and wehave a tremendous pool of people there," Trugman said.

Gendex has annual revenues of about $20 million and is marginallyprofitable, according to Taber. Del is a $32 million company witha 1995 net profit of $1.9 million.

While the deal fulfills Dentsply's goal of divesting Gendex,it may have come as a surprise to Gendex employees. In an interviewtwo weeks prior to last month's Radiological Society of NorthAmerica meeting, a Gendex spokesperson said Dentsply had decidedto pull Gendex off the auction block and was investing resourcesin the firm (SCAN 11/27/95).

Gendex officials declined to comment on the reason for theabout-face, while Taber said Del was not aware of the comments.