Watson OKs Buying Bio-Separation Ltd.

Watson General Corp., an environmental services company, said Monday that it has signed a letter of intent to acquire a controlling interest in Bio-Separation Ltd., a privately held British company.

Bio-Separation holds a worldwide patent on a process that uses microorganisms and magnetic separation to remove heavy metal contaminants from water, Watson said. The British company was purchased with about 76,500 Watson common shares, or $353,813 at Monday’s market value. The stock closed at $4.625 a share, up 37.5 cents, in Nasdaq trading.

Watson, based in Irvine, monitors 3,500 underground storage tanks with a remote system and provides environmental consulting, site remediation and on-site mobile antifreeze recycling services.