MTI instruments sold for $10.75 million

ALBANY – A California-based company has acquired Albany-based MTI Instruments from Soluna Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SLNH), buying the precision tool maker for $10.75 million.
Vitrek LLC, the purchaser, is a private manufacturer of test and measurement equipment in Poway, California.
Soluna, the parent company of MTI Instruments, has sold 100% of its MTI common stock to Vitrek in an effort to exit the instrument manufacturing industry so it can focus on developing and monetizing instrumentation facilities. carbon-free cryptocurrency mining under its remaining subsidiary, Soluna Mining.
Soluna Mining harnesses unused, if not wasted, energy and channels it into computing and crypto mining.
“The additional liquidity helps to further accelerate our mine development and additional return on invested capital,” Soluna Holdings CEO Michael Toporek said in a press release.
MTI Instruments products are used in aviation to manufacture turbines and jet engines in addition to applications in semiconductor systems.
Soluna Holdings announced a potential sale in December and finalized the deal with Vitrek on April 11.
As part of the merger, MTI CEO Moshe Binyamin left Soluna’s management team and took a job with Vitrek to lead the division – a move that came with a $40,000 bonus. $.
A filing with the Securities Exchange Commission disclosing the acquisition also showed that MTI’s compensation committee had approved the full vesting of all unvested stock options and restricted stock units held by Binyamin. . Binyamin declined to say what the value was.
“Vitrek is a well-respected test and measurement company with products and a market focus that aligns perfectly with ours. We look forward to joining forces so that we can further accelerate our collective growth goals,” Binyamin said.
Vitrek chairman Don Millstein said the company would retain all MTI staff. The California-based manufacturer also took over MTI’s lease until 2024 for its Washington Avenue Extension office. The acquisition of MTI is not Virtek’s first: it has absorbed three other companies over the past five years.
Both companies have worked with some of the same customers in similar industries, such as automotive manufacturing and aviation.
Millstein said the unification of the two companies will expand Vitrek’s product line, help it reach more customers in current and new industries, and leverage engineers to vertically integrate certain tools and bring them to market faster through a sole supplier.
Some of MTI’s operations can now be done in-house rather than outsourced to a third party, saving money, Millstein noted.
“We welcome MTI Instrument’s sales, engineering and manufacturing teams to the Vitrek family – as we continue to provide Vitrek and MTI customers with world-class sales, technical support and product innovation,” Millstein said.