(Yicai) Oct. 31 -- Shares of Dingli Machinery soared by 10 percent after the Chinese aerial work platform firm said it will spend USD46.85 million to win full ownership of California Manufacturing and Engineering, the maker of MEC mobile elevating work platforms, to further explore the American market.

Dingli's stock price [SHA: 603338] closed up 7.6 percent at CNY54.45 (USD7.40) today after surging as much as 10 percent intraday.

The Chinese company has penned an equity purchase agreement with a representative authorized by shareholders to buy a 50.2 percent stake in CMEC, the Zhejiang province-based firm said in a statement yesterday.

Dingli already holds the remaining equity as it purchased a 24.8 percent stake in CMEC for USD23.15 million in May after bagging a 25 percent stake for USD20 million in December 2017.

CMEC posted CNY2.3 billion (USD314.4 million) in revenue and CNY89.7 million (USD12.3 million) in net profit last year. From January to May, it recorded CNY1.2 billion in revenue and CNY159 million in net profit, per its financial reporting.

After the latest transaction is finished, Dingli will continue to use CMEC's brand MEC in North America because it is popular and has historical significance in the region. It will not change CMEC’s teams of research and development, sales, and operations, the Chinese firm added.

The United States is the world’s largest consumer market for AWPs and the MEC brand of the 40-year-old company enjoys a high reputation in the US, Dingli said in 2017. Investing in CMEC will help Dingli speed up its business exploration in the States, it added.

Editor: Emmi Laine