(Yicai) Nov. 28 -- Shares in Luoman Lighting Technologies surged by the exchange-imposed limit today after the Chinese urban landscape lighting provider said it is buying a majority stake in its close partner UK immersive media firm Holovis International as Luoman expands its footprint in virtual tourism.

Luoman’s stock price [SHE: 605289] was trading up 5.2 percent at CNY38.75 (USD5.44) as of 1.20 p.m. Earlier in the day it hit CNY40.51.

Luoman will pay cash for a 40 percent stake held by a unit of Chinese developer Road King Infrastructure in Holovis and will purchase a further 45 percent equity from three of Holovis’ executives, giving it total holdings of 85 percent, the Shanghai-based company said yesterday.

The acquisition will boost Luoman’s core competitiveness in augmented and virtual reality, enable the company to provide its clients with a greater variety of offerings and help improve business scale and profitability, it added.

No pricing was mentioned. There are still some uncertainties, Luoman said, adding that due diligence has not yet been carried out and the transaction is pending regulatory approval.

The two parties are long-time partners. Luoman set up a joint venture with Hinckley-based Holovis in November 2021, in which it holds a 70 percent stake, to develop original virtual reality travel experiences.

Luoman paid Holovis CNY7.8 million (USD1 million) this year for design innovation services and last year it paid CNY9.9 million (USD1.4 million) in tech licensing rights, it said.

Editor: Kim Taylor