SYNTEX SELLING DENTAL BUSINESS TO DEN-TAL-EZ DENTAL PRODUCTS

SYNTEX SELLING DENTAL BUSINESS TO DEN-TAL-EZ DENTAL PRODUCTS Corporation for an undisclosed amount. Den-Tal-Ez is a newly formed corporation controlled by Raymond Perelman, a private investor with interests in dental equipment manufacturer Chayes Virginia and a number of other manufacturing businesses. The sale of 100% of the stock of the Syntex dental subsidiary -- which had volume of approximately $50 mil. the past several years -- is "expected to close during late October, following review by the Federal Trade Commission," Syntex said Sept. 15. The businesses being sold include Den-Tal-Ez, which manufactures dental operatory equipment; Custom Vac, which manufactures custom vacuum equipment for the dental office; Star Dental, which makes dental hand pieces and related equipment; and Columbia Dentoform, which makes model jaws and teeth for dental education and training. Syntex' dental products business had an operating loss of $1.6 mil. on sales of $49.3 mil. in fiscal 1985, down 11% from the previous year. The division's volume has been declining since 1981 when sales of nearly $60 mil. were generated. Syntex blamed the sales decline in 1985 on a decrease in demand for the company's large dental equipment, such as chairs and modular cabinetry. The agreement for the sale of the dental business to the new Den-Tal-Ez Corporation comes six weeks after Syntex announced that it was putting the division up for auction. According to its recently released quarterly report, the company recorded a 33% fourth quarter slide in net income to $28.9 mil., resulting from a $23 mil. loss on the anticipated sale of its dental operations. Syntex said the sale "will not have any further financial impact" on the company.