Thermo Vision to Be Merged Into Thermo Instrument.

FRANKLIN, Mass., May 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Thermo Vision Corporation (Amex: VIZ) announced today that its parent company, Thermo Instrument Systems Inc. (Amex: THI), has proposed the merger of Thermo Vision into Thermo Instrument. Thermo Vision would become a wholly owned subsidiary of Thermo Instrument. The public shareholders of Thermo Vision would receive cash in exchange for their shares of Thermo Vision.

The proposal is subject to numerous conditions, including establishment of a price, approval by Thermo Vision's board of directors, negotiation and execution of a definitive merger agreement, completion of review by the Securities and Exchange Commission of certain required filings regarding the proposed transaction, and approval by shareholders of Thermo Vision.

Thermo Vision designs, manufactures, and markets a diverse array of photonics products -- light-based technologies for scientific and industrial applications -- including optical components, sensors and imaging systems, and optically based instruments including lasers. Thermo Vision is a public subsidiary of Thermo Instrument Systems Inc., a Thermo Electron company. More information is available at http://www.thermo.com/subsid/viz1.html on the Internet.

The following constitutes a "Safe Harbor" statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This press release contains forward- looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements are set forth under the heading "Forward-looking Statements" in Exhibit 13 to the company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 2, 1999. These include risks and uncertainties relating to: technological change, obsolescence, and new product development and acceptance; the company's acquisition strategy; intense competition; international operations; dependence on certain suppliers and vendors; intellectual property rights and litigation; dependence on the semiconductor industry and industry volatility; and the potential impact of the year 2000 on processing date-sensitive information.