Patlex Nears Completion of Manufacturing Spinoff

Patlex Corp. in Chatsworth neared completion of its previously announced spinoff of its manufacturing operations into a new company named Geotek Industries.

Patlex makes lasers and has a financial interest in patents held by Gordon Gould, a laser pioneer. The company, which proposed the spinoff last June, will concentrate on collecting and investing its share of the royalties generated by those patents.

The spinoff calls for Patlex stockholders of record Feb. 27 to get one share of Geotek for every four shares of Patlex they own. The stock of Geotek, which also is based in Chatsworth, is expected to start trading about March 1 on the over-the-counter market.

The spinoff also triggered several personnel changes. Yaron Eitan resigned as a Patlex director to become Geotek’s president and chief executive. Richard Samuel quit as president of Patlex to be chairman of Geotek but will remain a Patlex director. Former astronaut Frank Borman, who was named chairman and chief executive of Patlex last June, also becomes president of Patlex.