Former owners to buy back their companies.

Conectiv Services announced it has sold its Mechanical Division back to the original owners at Delcard Associates and Frey Lutz Corp., which will operate the companies under their original names. The portion of the business being sold to Delcard Associates employs 211 people and is located in Wilmington and Milford, Del. The Lancaster, Pa., office being sold to Frey Lutz Corp. employs 175 people.

The Services Division of Conectiv Services, which provides PHC new construction, replacement and service and maintenance to residential and commercial customers, will be sold separately. An announcement is anticipated by the third quarter of this year.

After entering the PHC business with much fanfare four years ago, Conectiv announced in March that the company would be retreating to an emphasis on its core energy and power delivery businesses. Conectiv acquired a total of 21 PHC firms with annual revenues of $140 million since 1996 as part of an effort to diversify PHC services. Though profitable under their former owners, the PHC businesses suffered losses of $13.6 million last year and $21.7 million in 1998.

Terms of the transaction were not announced.