New Orleans—Carl Zeiss Meditec Inc. and Laser Diagnostic Technologies Inc. (LDT) announced that they have signed a definitive agreement for Carl Zeiss Meditec's acquisition of LDT.

"This acquisition is another important milestone of our growth strategy," said Jim Taylor, president and chief executive officer of Carl Zeiss Meditec Inc. "It will further strengthen our technology portfolio and undisputed leadership in the growing market of glaucoma diagnosis and management. Looking forward, we will continue our aggressive growth through pursuit of both internal and external potentials."

LDT President and CEO John Moore noted that this deal is a reflection of the successful evolution of the company's GDx technology.

"We are pleased by the response of our customers to these recent advances, and this enthusiastic acceptance validates the hard work of our entire LDT team," Moore said. "We expect ongoing adoption and utilization of this technology, especially with the support and capabilities of the Carl Zeiss Meditec organization. I believe that this merger is in the best interests of LDT's customers and shareholders."

LDT invented and commercialized a new standard for glaucoma detection with its proprietary ocular nerve fiber measurement instrument. Worldwide sales of about (U.S.) $20 million with a break-even operating result are expected.

LDT's main product GDx VCC is a dedicated glaucoma diagnosis and management tool that complements the market presence of Carl Zeiss Meditec's StratusOct, which is a multipurpose retinal imaging system used not only for the diagnosis of glaucoma, but also for a wide array of conditions including age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and pre-and post-cataract assessment. The GDx VCC targets especially at customers who do not require the full range of capacities as offered by the StratusOct.

The acquisition also addresses trends in the eye-care market by responding to practitioners' desires for more comprehensive solution sets. For glaucoma, this requires measures of both structure and function. Carl Zeiss Meditec provides a complete line of functional diagnostic products, including the Humphrey Matrix and Humphrey Field Analyzer, which is recognized as the standard of care for diagnosis and management of glaucoma through measurement and tracking of changes in the visual field. Through the acquisition Carl Zeiss Meditec now offers the most comprehensive line of both structural and functional assessment tools for the diagnosis and management of glaucoma.

The transaction is expected to close in about 30 to 45 days, pending the requisite company and shareholder approvals. Further details of the agreement were not yet disclosed.