Birtcher Medical Shareholders OK Merger; 100 Will Lose Jobs

Shareholders of Birtcher Medical Systems Inc., a maker of electrosurgical products, approved a merger Tuesday with a Utica, N.Y., company that will result in layoffs of more than 100 of the Irvine company’s 120 employees.

Birtcher said recently that the merger with a subsidiary of Conmed Corp., a manufacturer of electrosurgery, heart-monitoring and other medical products, would result in the layoffs, which include 83 workers at the company’s headquarters. Birtcher’s main office will be closed.

Shareholders will receive one-twelfth of a share of Conmed common stock for each share of Birtcher common stock and half a Conmed share for each share of Birtcher preferred stock. Birtcher stock ceased trading Tuesday, closing at $1.50 a share, while Conmed closed at $18.50, unchanged from Monday’s close on the Nasdaq market system.