Brooks Automation buying PRI

CHELMSFORD – Brooks Automation, Inc. announced plans to buy PRI Automation, Inc. of Billerica for $420 million, The Boston Globe reported. One result of the purchase, the companies agreed, would be the elimination of about 10 percent of their combined workforce of 3,300. However, they said, most of the jobs eliminated would be outside Massachusetts, where they employ about 1,100, the Globe said. A Brooks executive said that by acquiring PRI, the company would add new lines of robotics gear and material handling systems. Brooks supplies software and more specialized robots for assembling microchips in vacuum rooms. The deal is subject to approval from shareholders and regulators.