The test and measurement equipment maker did not return phone calls Tuesday seeking further details, including the name of the buyer. Officials may have been too busy answering questions about its lowered earnings expectations, which came out with the company's first quarter earnings release Tuesday morning.

Compared to last year's first quarter, earnings rose 18% for the quarter ended Jan. 13, 2000, beating Wall Street's expectations by a penny. The company reported net earnings of $154 million, or 33 cents a share, up from year-ago totals of $131 million, or 30 cents per share. Revenue was up 26% from a year ago to $2.84 billion.

On the down side, the company says orders for its semiconductor test products and wireless and imaging components slowed significantly in the first quarter. The company attributed the decrease to overall economic uncertainty, and sharply reduced its second-quarter outlook to between 30 cents and 40 cents a share, down 18 cents to 28 cents from analyst predictions. Full-year revenue is expected to grow between 10% and 15%, down from earlier projections of at least 20%.