Business Briefs: Northrop Taps New Head of Space Tech Unit, Franklin Capital Buys SurgiCount Medical

0




Northrop Grumman Corp., the third-largest U.S. defense contractor, on Friday said Alexis Livanos will take over as president of its space-technology unit, succeeding Wesley Bush, who becomes chief financial officer next month.


Livanos, a veteran defense and space industry executive, was most recently vice president and general manager of the space-sensors division of Northrop’s electronic-systems sector. In this position, he led the division’s financial turnaround.


He will assume his new role Feb. 7, the L.A.-based company announced today.


Prior to joining Northrop in February 2003, Livanos was executive vice president of Chicago-based Boeing Co.’s satellite-systems business. Earlier, he served as deputy general manager of the former TRW space and electronics group.


The appointment of Bush as chief financial officer was announced last month. He takes up his new role March 15.





Franklin Capital Corp. announced Friday that it will buy SurgiCount Medical, Inc., a privately held California-based developer of patient safety devices, for $4 million in cash, common stock and future milestone payments.


SurgiCount owns patents related to patient safety, like the Safety-Sponge System, which facilitates accurate counting of surgical sponges. Santa Monica-based Franklin hopes this product will allow it to capture a significant portion of the $650 million in annual U.S. and European surgical sponge sales.


“SurgiCount is Franklin’s first major acquisition in its plan to become a leader in the multi-billion-dollar patient safety field,” said Milton Ault, III, Franklin’s chairman and CEO.


The deal is expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2005.

No posts to display