Lunit said it has received the first-phase approval from the New Zealand High Court for its acquisition of Volpara Health Technologies.

Volpara, established in 2009 in Wellington, New Zealand, specializes in AI-based breast cancer screening solutions. It has supplied its technology to over 2,000 medical institutions in the U.S.

This approval allows Volpara to conduct a shareholder meeting to vote on the acquisition proposal. A second phase of approval will subsequently review the outcomes of this meeting to ensure its legality and appropriateness.

Following the court's first-phase approval, and previously obtained regulatory endorsements from New Zealand's financial authorities, Lunit has now nearly completed all necessary legal procedures for the acquisition.

Volpara is scheduled to hold a shareholder meeting on April 12 to discuss and potentially finalize the acquisition by Lunit.

The Volpara management has unanimously agreed to support the sale, committing to a transparent process by disseminating detailed information to its shareholders and the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).

The acquisition agreement was finalized in December of the previous year, placing Volpara at a valuation of $193.07 million. According to the terms, Lunit will acquire 100 percent of Volpara's shares at a rate of 1.15 Australian dollars per share.

"The acquisition provides the company with a massive amount of data to build a very large AI platform and revenue in the U.S., the world's largest healthcare market," Lunit CEO Suh Beom-suk said. "The financing for the acquisition is well underway, and the deal is expected to close in May."