SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY

$5-Million Sale: Irvine-based Laser Precision Corp., a maker of test and measurement instruments, said it has tentatively agreed to sell its Analytical Division to New Jersey-based Air & Water Technologies Corp. for an estimated $5 million.

The transaction is expected to close during the first quarter of 1991. The final purchase price will be paid in cash and notes due within three years, and is subject to due diligence, including confirmation of the value of certain assets.

The Laser Precision division, also known as Analect Instruments, makes laboratory equipment based on infrared light technology, said spokesman Neil G. Berkman. The unit accounted for $6.5 million of the company’s $26 million in sales in 1989.

The sale is not expected to have any impact on the division’s 72 employees, said James Johnson, general manager of the unit.

Laser Precision now plans to focus on its fiber-optic and light-sensitive instrument technology, which is based in Utica, N.Y. Proceeds from the sale will be used to develop new products and expand international marketing for the remaining divisions.

Air & Water Technologies Corp., based in Branchburg, N.J., provides a broad range of environmental services for air-pollution control, water-resources management, and the disposal and recycling of waste. The company also has an environmental products division in Irvine with about 100 employees.

For the second quarter ended June 30, Laser Precision reported net income of $111,000, down from $264,000 a year earlier. Revenue for the quarter rose to $6.8 million from $6.7 million a year earlier.