Applied Circuit Acquires Drug Manufacturer

Applied Circuit Technology, in a move that will double its revenue base and radically change its business, has completed the acquisition of Whiteworth International Inc., a manufacturer of generic drugs and pharmaceuticals.

ACT, a supplier of automatic test equipment for the computer disk drive manufacturing industry, said Gardena-based Whiteworth was acquired for $2.15 million in cash and notes.

Whiteworth is a 20-year-old maker and marketer of generic drugs and pharmaceuticals. It reported $21.5 million in revenues for 1985, but lost just over $1 million for the year.

The purchase of Whiteworth, the third acquisition by Anaheim-based ACT in the past 15 months, is the company’s first move outside the computer electronics industry.

ACT, which reported a loss of $401,153 in 1985 and a $1.5-million loss for the first quarter of its fiscal 1986, had revenues last year of $18.52 million. The company, according to President Walter Menetrey, is diversifying in an attempt to offset the cycles of the computer disk drive manufacturing industry.

“Beyond the fact that they both require very precise and efficient manufacturing processes, there isn’t any obvious correlation between generic drugs and our traditional business,” Menetrey said. “What is clearly obvious, however, is the recent emergence of generic drugs as a rapidly growing industry. And its potential for sustaining that growth is increasing because of favorable regulatory and market environments.”

Menetrey said Whiteworth will be operated as a subsidiary and its operations will be consolidated with ACT’s at the beginning of April.