(Yicai Global) Dec. 18 -- Chinese medical the firm Autobio Diagnostics will buy a stake in Finnish molecular diagnostics company Mobidiag for EUR10 million (USD11.3 million). The two companies will also set up a China joint venture.

The two signed the share purchase agreement on Dec. 15, Zhengzhou, Henan province-based Autobio said in a statement yesterday. The firm will acquire 3,846,153 shares in Mobidiag for EUR2.60 (USD2.9) each, for EUR10 million in total. It will hold 10.12 percent of the company's shares after the deal, per the statement.

Autobio will invest EUR8 million in the JV to take 65 percent, while Mobidiag will spend EUR4.3 million on the rest.

Formed in 2000, Espoo, Finland-registered Mobidiag mainly designs, researches, develops, produces and sells molecular diagnostic products. The company merged with Paris-based diagnostic platform developer Genewave and Helsinki-headquartered clinical trial developer Amplidiag in 2013 to cement their joint position in molecular diagnostics.

The deal is an important step in Autobio's globalization and to enhance and consummate its molecular diagnostics product line, the statement said. 

Mobidiag's Novodiag is a novel technology for point-of-care testing -- also called bedside testing -- for nucleic acid molecular diagnosis. The technology's high technical starting point and integration makes it hard to develop, highly demanding in both time and funds, and with correspondingly difficult cost control, Autobio noted, adding that cooperation through equity investment and the JV vehicle is thus a sound choice.

The JV will combine the cost advantages of domestic production to better serve the needs of China's clinical testing.

Autobio Diagnostics [SHA:603658] closed up 0.47 percent at CNY50.83 (USD7.3) per share in today's morning trading.

Editor: Ben Armour