Varian Associates proceeds with company split

Varian Associates shareholders last month voted to approve a proposal to split the company into three separate businesses. The Palo Alto, CA, firm’s instruments and semiconductor equipment concerns will be spun off into separate companies, while the remaining healthcare unit will be renamed Varian Medical Systems.

Varian’s board of directors proposed the split in August in an effort to focus each of its disparate businesses (SCAN 9/2/99). On Feb. 16, the company received notice from the Internal Revenue Service that the agency will allow the split to be treated as a tax-free transaction for shareholders. Two days later, Varian’s stockholders voted for the split.

Varian Medical Systems will continue to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange and will keep the symbol VAR. The instruments company will be called Varian, and the semiconductor business will be called Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates.

In other news, Varian X-Ray Tube Products has introduced a series of high-performance CT x-ray tubes. The Quantum Series CT tube is based on an integral housing technology that consolidates three commonly used components of the tube: the element that generates the x-rays, the lead-lined container, and the device that helps cool the tube. Varian plans to market the tubes for use in low-cost CT systems and will begin shipping them early this year.