Berwyn-based AMETEK, Inc. acquired two firms during the first quarter of 2014.

In February AMETEK took over VTI Instruments, a leading manufacturer of high precision test and measurement instruments based in Irvine, Ca. The purchase price was $74 million, with AMETEK reporting VTI has annual sales of approximately $38 million.

In April AMETEK also entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire all the outstanding shares of common stock of Zygo of Middlefield, Conn. at a price of $19.25 per share in cash. This is a premium of 31 percent to Zygo’s closing share price on April 10. The enterprise value of the transaction is approximately $280 million.

VTI is a leading provider of highly engineered signal conditioning and switching instruments, data acquisition solutions and integrated test systems for use in demanding electrical and structural testing applications where high measurement accuracy is critical.

Zygo, which has sales of $162 million in 2013, provides optical metrology solutions, high precision optics and optical assemblies for a wide range of scientific, industrial and medical applications.

“The acquisition of VTI broadens our capabilities in the high end test and measurement market and provides us with the additional technology differentiation, especially in the high-precision segment of the aerospace market,” said Frank Hermanace, chairman and chief executive officer.

“Zygo is an excellent acquisition for AMETEK, Hermanace also said. “We are excited about the opportunity to acquire such a strong brand and technology leader.”

AMETEK is a leading global manufacturer of electronic instruments and electro-mechanical devices with annual sales of $3.6 billion. The company says it is aiming for double-digit percentage growth in earnings per share over the next business cycle. The initial impact of the acquisitions should be evident when the company issues its first quarter earnings release of 2014 on May 6.