(Yicai) May 8 -- Focuslight Technologies, a Chinese maker of laser equipment, will pay EUR50 million (USD53.7 million) in cash to acquire the micro-nano optical component assets of Austrian electronics firm Ams-Osram.

Focuslight plans to buy some of Ams-Osram’s research and development as well as production assets in Singapore and Switzerland through two local units, the Xi'an-based company said late yesterday. The assets make products with huge market growth potential in emerging applications such as augmented reality, it added.

Micro-nano optical components work at the micro and nano scales. Their unique optical features enable related products to be used in scientific research and some emerging medical and consumer product fields.

The deal's underlying assets include the technology for mass-producing micro-nano optical components with small size and high precision, Focuslight noted. This tech can meet the strict requirements of AR and virtual reality headsets and medical endoscopes for lens sizes and large-scale production, the firm said, adding that it will also likely be used in three-dimensional perception, facial recognition, and other areas.

The acquisition will help expand Focuslight's consumer electronics market space, according to the company. It will also significantly enhance the firm’s ability to make micro-nano optics used for auto projection lighting and cut manufacturing costs, it added.

The deal with Premstätten-based Ams-Osram will also improve the research, development, and industrial production of wafer-level optical devices, Focuslight pointed out. It gives the Chinese company related packaging technology and mass-production capabilities, it noted.

As the core micro-nano optics business is Focuslight's strategic development direction, the firm has previously set up micro-nano optical technology R&D centers in Dortmund and Neuchâtel through mergers, acquisitions, and investment, it noted. The new assets will benefit the firm by enhancing its R&D and innovation capabilities in micro-nano optics, it added.

Focuslight [SHA: 688167] closed down 1.5 percent at CNY72.91 (USD10.09) a share today, after jumping by as much as 3.5 percent in the morning trading session. The Shanghai Stock Exchange Star 50 index fell 1.1 percent.

Editor: Martin Kadiev