81% of Envir-Alert Purchased by La Jolla Holding Company

Watson General Corp., a La Jolla holding company for environmental concerns, said Wednesday that it bought 81% of Envir-Alert Inc., an Anaheim company that sells software for monitoring underground storage tanks.

Watson General said it paid $150,000 for the stock and will lend the cash-strapped Envir-Alert an additional $150,000.

Envir-Alert has just landed contracts with three major oil companies to monitor their cleanup of fuel tanks. The company also has a multimillion-dollar contract with the U.S. Navy to monitor cleanups at naval bases.

“We think there’s going to be a lot of this kind of business in the future,” said Charles A. Watson, chief executive officer.

Watson General has amassed interests in several environmental companies and said it is looking at several more deals.