Belfast-based specialist camera maker Andor Technology could soon have a new owner.
Its parent group Oxford Instruments has confirmed it received a potential takeover offer from the London-listed Spectris, which valued the company at around £1.7 billion.
It would create a FTSE 100 group with a market capitalistion of around £4.5 billion.
Oxford Instruments’ board has said it is minded to recommend accepting the offer.
Based at the Springvale Business Park in west Belfast, Andor Technology emerged as a spinout from Queen’s University in 1989.
Its high–performance scientific digital cameras and imaging systems are used in everything from the examination of distant stars to the development of anti-cancer therapies.
It was acquired by Oxford Instruments in 2014 for £176 million, which itself originally emerged as a university spinout.
Set up in 1959, the company became Oxford University’s first major commercial spinout.
In a statement, the company said: "Discussions between the parties remain ongoing. A further announcement will be made as and when appropriate."
Spectris also operates in the field of precision instruments.
The Surrey-based group’s chief executive Andrew Heath said: "A combination of Spectris and Oxford Instruments would bring together two highly complementary businesses and create a leading global player in precision measurement.
"Oxford Instruments' highly attractive, differentiated technologies are leaders in their fields and, combined with our own, will deliver a significantly enhanced value proposition for customers.
“The Spectris board believes that a combination of our businesses will deliver a stronger future for both companies as a UK champion in the high technology instrumentation sector, and create immediate and long-term value for shareholders."
