November 5, 2009 – FEI Co. says it has sold its Phenom desktop scanning electron microscope line to Phenom-World, a majority-owned subsidiary of NTS Group BV of Eindhoven, The Netherlands, a manufacturing partner which was "closely involved" with development of the tool and will continue marketing/sales/distribution/service.
FEI will retain a minority stake in Phenom-World as well as certain unspecified IP; financial terms were not disclosed, though FEI says it expects to result in "minimal impact" on 4Q09 earnings and "modest positive impact" in 2010.
The deal further narrows FEI’s scope to systems targeting specific vertical markets, e.g. "natural resources," noted Paul Scagnetti, VP/GM of FEI’s industry market division, in a statement (another unique application: gunshot analysis). He noted, though, that FEI may purchase Phenoms from its partner in the future "when it is appropriate for our customer needs."