The acquisition is set to become the biggest local tech deal in the US this year, the Boston Globe has reported.
It is, in fact, the latest in a spurt of mega-mergers to sweep the state.
Other recent local deals include Sanofi-Aventis's acquisition of Genzyme Corp of Cambridge and NStar's marriage with Northeast Utilities.
"New England will always be a fertile source for tech deals, but we're also seeing a significant uptick in activity in the banking, financial services, health care, and energy industries," commented Nicole Desharnais, a Boston attorney with Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP, who specializes in mergers and acquisitions.
Varian makes tools and equipment to manufacture microchips for computers and other electronic devices.
The firm's roots can be traced to 1975, when Varian Associates Inc bought Extrion Corp, a Gloucester company that specialized in ion implantation technology.
