AI startup Lunit wins approval to take over New Zealand's Volpara Health

Lunit, a Korean medical artificial intelligence (AI) startup, said Monday it has won shareholders’ approval for the takeover of Volpara Health, a breast cancer solution firm in New Zealand.

At a general shareholders’ meeting Friday, 96.92 percent of Volpara Health’s stockholders approved Lunit’s plan to take over the company, according to the Korean startup.

Lunit said the acquisition process will be completed when it provides 1.15 Australian dollars ($0.75) per share to Volpara’s stockholders next month for its takeover.

It plans to start the process to delist Volpara from the Australian stock market on May 4.

Lunit said it now has to undergo a second round of review by a New Zealand high court on the validity and effectiveness of the takeover.

Last month, a New Zealand court gave preliminary approval for the acquisition plan.

Last year, the Korean startup signed a deal to acquire Volpara for $193.1 million in a bid to further advance its AI solutions and expand its foothold in the United States, where 97 percent of the New Zealand firm’s business comes from.

Lunit, founded in 2013, is known for its AI solutions that detect cancer and optimize cancer treatment, while Volpara specializes in AI-based breast cancer screening.

Yonhap