(Yicai Global) May 20 -- Shares of Ecovacs Robotics surged after the Chinese company said it will team up with US iRobot on bot vacuum cleaners.

Ecovacs's stock price [SHA: 603486] climbed by 5 percent to CNY26.09 (USD3.70) this afternoon.

iRobot will purchase products from Ecovacs to sell them under its own brand, the Suzhou-based company said in a statement yesterday.

The Massachusetts-based firm will authorize Ecovacs to use its intellectual property exclusively till the end of 2022, the Chinese company added. Both parties will pay some fees to each other but the final sum will be based on the actual number of orders.

Founded in 1998, Ecovacs has been making vacuum cleaners as an original equipment manufacturer for Panasonic, Philips, and Electrolux before.

Ecovacs's performance has been sliding due to its plan to gradually let go of its foundry business. Last year, its net profit slumped by 75 percent to CNY121 million (USD17.2 million) while its revenue declined by 7 percent to CNY5.3 billion (USD745.7 million), according to its earnings report.

Editor: Emmi Laine