Chinese mobile Internet firm Liaison Interactive puts $20m into Dehaier Medical

Dehaier Medical Systems (NSDQ:DHRM) said today that a Chinese mobile Internet firm, Hangzhou Liaison Interactive Information Technology (SHE:002280), took out a $20 million stake.

The $1.80-per-share deal is a 35% premium on Dehaier’s $1.33 closing price yesterday. It includes warrants for 1 million shares exercisable at $2.20 apiece and is expected to close by June 30, Dehaier said. The company said late last year that it was considering the Liaison Interactive deal.

The Shenzhen-based company said in February that it plans to ditch its unprofitable medical device businesses so it can focus on its wearable sleep respiratory business, with a new subsidiary called Connection Wearable Health Technology focused on “wearable sleep respiratory and mobile health-related businesses.”

CEO Ping Chen said the deal with Liaison Interactive, which is developing a virtual-reality ‘smart’ terminal, allows the Internet company to expand its footprint in the medical sector’s smart hardware space.

“The Liaison Interactive investment dramatically improves our ability to expand our wearable medical device business and to launch other new smart wearable devices and mobile medical solutions over the next few years,” Chen said in prepared remarks. “The investment also helps optimize our overall strategies, increase our market penetration and strengthen our competitiveness in the medical wearable device segment.

“By leveraging Liaison Interactive’s extensive customer base in the Chinese mobile internet market, Dehaier anticipates growing its market share in China. It is the exact type of collaboration that we would anticipate from a strategic investor like Liaison Interactive, and we believe it will lead to a new revenue stream for us in the future,” he said.

Earlier this month, Dehaier’s shares got a boost from its preliminary numbers for 2015, despite massive losses incurred as it sheds unprofitable medical device businesses.

The post Chinese mobile Internet firm Liaison Interactive puts $20m into Dehaier Medical appeared first on MassDevice.

from MassDevice http://ift.tt/1TyFMII