WALTHAM, Mass., Sept. 18 -- Thermo Electron Corp. announced it has signed an agreement to acquire laboratory equipment provider Jouan SA, based in Saint-Herblain, France, for $124 million in cash and the assumption of approximately $8 million of consolidated net debt. Jouan is a supplier of products used by life science researchers in academic, pharmaceutical, biotechnology and clinical markets to prepare and preserve laboratory samples. Its products include centrifuges, biological safety cabinets, ultralow temperature freezers and incubators. It has also incorporated robotics into many of its products to meet the increased throughput requirements of researchers, and it is a provider of automated centrifuges, freezers and incubators. In addition to its own brand name, Jouan's products are sold under the Precision, NAPCO, Heto, Holten and ALC brands. The company has manufacturing operations in France, Denmark, Italy, the Czech Republic and the US. The acquisition, which is subject to customary closing conditions, including certain regulatory approvals in several countries, is expected to be completed by the end of this year. Thermo Electron makes electronic measurement equipment, laboratory gear and other scientific instruments through subsidiaries in three divisions: Life and Laboratory Sciences, which makes items such as chromatographs, sample-preparation instruments and spectrometers; Measurement and Control, which produces environmental monitoring equipment, flow meters and temperature controllers; and Optical Technologies, which offers lasers, photonics technology and semiconductor manufacturing equipment. For more information, visit: www.thermo.com