BATM Advanced Communications Limited’s (LON:BVC) Chinese subsidiary Adaltis has been valued at US$58mln after its local partner agreed to take a direct equity stake.
Adaltis manufactures medical diagnostics equipment and partner Egens Biotechnology will pay RMB20mln (US$3mln) for a 5.5% holding with an option to buy a further 10%.
Egens and Altadis (60/40) have a joint venture company Adaltis Bio Med (ABC) and as part of the arrangement Egens will lend ABC a further US$1.5mln in addition to its original investment of US$1mln.
ABC supplies a diagnostic reagent product service and has just signed its first major distribution agreement, said BATM.
Sino-Pharm, a Chinese medical and healthcare grou,p will distribute Adaltis’s HCV (Hepatitis C) diagnostic kit throughout the country.
China is one of the countries most afflicted by hepatitis C with approximately 350,000 to 500,000 deaths every year.
ABC’s target market is small- to mid-size laboratories where currently most of the diagnosis is undertaken by locally-developed instruments and reagents.
Zvi Marom, BATM’s chief executive, said he was delighted its work in China was starting to bear fruit.
“China is one of the world's largest and growing markets with enormous potential for us.
The agreements with Egens and Sino-Pharm are the first of several steps to be taken in a long-term plan for China, he said.
"Our board is mindful of unlocking the true worth of the Group and this transaction, valuing Adaltis currently at US$58m, demonstrates this.“