Schiff Photo Mechanics, a financially troubled Costa...

Schiff Photo Mechanics, a financially troubled Costa Mesa medical imaging firm, is to be acquired by Frantz Medical Development Ltd. of New York, Schiff officials said Monday.

Although a letter of intent has been signed, the details of the agreement, including the purchase price, still are being ironed out, said Paul Amazeen. Amazeen has been president of Schiff since April, when the company obtained protection under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code from creditors who claim to be owed more than $3 million.

Amazeen said the sale of Schiff Photo Mechanics currently is being negotiated between Frantz Medical Development and Oldelft Corp., a Holland-based corporation that owns Schiff.

Once those parties have struck an agreement, he said, the proposal will be submitted for approval to Schiff’s creditors and to the U.S. bankruptcy court in Santa Ana. He estimated that the court will receive a detailed proposal within the next 30 to 60 days.

Amazeen said Frantz, a small, privately held company that manufactures pumps for injecting medicines, wants to buy Schiff in a bid to diversify and acquire an additional product line. Schiff manufactures a device that makes photographic prints of the electronic images transmitted by “imaging” devices including X-ray machines and sonograms.