(Yicai) July 9 -- Shares of Swancor Advanced Materials surged by their daily trading limit after the maker of high-performance materials said AgiBot, a leading Chinese humanoid robotics startup, is set to acquire a majority stake.

Swancor [SHA: 688585] closed up 20 percent at CNY9.34 (USD1.30) a share in Shanghai today. Trading of the stock had been halted since July 2 pending an announcement.

A consortium formed by AgiBot and its core team, along with persons acting in concert, will pay as much as CNY2.1 billion (USD290 million) for control of Swancor, the Shanghai-based firm announced late yesterday.

AgiBot’s acquisition of Swancor, whose main products are materials for wind turbine blades and other advanced composites, marks the first time that a Chinese embodied intelligence startup has taken control of a business listed on the Star Market, the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s Nasdaq-style board.

The takeover will happen in two stages. First, 29.99 percent of shares will be transferred by direct agreement between the AgiBot-led consortium and Swancor’s current majority shareholder. Then, more shares will be acquired through a tender offer, in compliance with regulations.

The consortium plans to make a tender offer for an additional 37 percent of Swancor, while its main shareholder is legally committed to selling 33.63 percent of its equity, giving the consortium a stake of at least 63.62 percent.

The transaction price for both stages is set at CNY7.78 per share, the same as Swancor’s closing price on July 2.

The 1,000th robot came off AgiBot’s production line in January, and the Shanghai-based company aims to ship thousands of units this year.

Editor: Futura Costaglione