Five years after taking over the Augsburg robot manufacturer Kuka, the Chinese investor Midea wants to take the German company off the stock exchange.
A so-called squeeze-out process has been initiated.
Kuka announced this on Tuesday.
Since Mideaschon holds more than 95 percent of the Kuka shares, the Chinese group can take over the shares of the remaining investors in return for a severance payment.
Midea bought the vast majority of Kuka shares in 2016.
The entry of the home appliance manufacturer into the German model company caused a lot of discussion in politics in Berlin and Brussels.
Kuka and Midea are now aiming for growth outside of the stock market in the coming years.
In Augsburg, investments in research and development should be increased by at least 15 percent compared to the current year by 2025, as the company reported.
After the slump caused by the Corona crisis, Kuka wants to achieve sales of 3.1 billion euros this year and post earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of around 60 million euros.
After the squeeze-out was announced, the price of the Kuka share rose by around 15 percent to around 78 euros on Tuesday.