Chiron Corp. on Thursday said it has completed its acquisitionof IntraOptics Inc. in exchange for about 565,000 newly issuedshares of Chiron common stock valued at about $39 million.

IntraOptics, a privately held manufacturer and marketer ofintraocular lenses and instruments for cataract surgerieslocated in Boca Raton, Fla., will be combined with Chiron'swholly owned subsidiary, Chiron Opthalmics Inc. of Irvine,Calif. The business will be renamed Chiron IntraOptics.

By combining product lines, Chiron IntraOptics has a full line ofnarrow-profile polymethylmethacrylate lenses and foldablesilicone lenses, phacoemulsification equipment for breaking upand removing cataracts with ultrasound, diamond surgicalknives for corneal and cataract surgery, corneal shields, andcorneal storage media.

The combined units also will give Chiron IntraOptics 60 U.S.sales representatives and another 26 in Australia, Canada,France, Germany and the United Kingdom.

The merger will be accounted for on a pooling-of-interest basis.Chiron has about 30 million shares outstanding.

Shares of the Emeryville, Calif., company gained $3.38 to$71.13 on Thursday.

-- Kris Herbst BioWorld Washington Bureau

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