The transfer of Kuopion Teknologiakeskus Teknia Oy (Teknia) to the ownership of Technopolis Plc has been completed. Technopolis signed an agreement on the share transaction with the City of Kuopio and the Municipality of Siilinjärvi on Thursday. A preliminary agreement on the matter had already been signed by Technopolis and Kuopio in early November last year. The value of the share transaction is EUR 67.3 million. The City of Kuopio owned 99.8 percent of Teknia and the Municipality of Siilinjärvi 0.2 percent. As a result of the acquisition, Teknia will be renamed Technopolis Kuopio Oy. Teknia's earlier functions will be divided into three companies: Technopolis Kuopio, Technopolis Ventures Kuopio Oy and Kuopio Innovation Oy. Technopolis Kuopio will be responsible for the renting of premises and related services. The newly established Technopolis Ventures Kuopio Oy will be responsible for business development and incubator services. Kuopio Innovation Oy, a company just founded by the City of Kuopio and which Technopolis will join with a 24 percent ownership share, will be responsible for implementing the Center of Expertise Program and various regional development projects. Teknia Shanghai, Teknia's fully-owned subsidiary in China, will be transferred to the ownership of Kuopio Innovation, as part of the present rearrangements. Teknia's premises currently house some 150 companies and entities which employ approximately 2,500 people. The technology center has 47,860 square meters of rentable space. Its largest customers are Ark Therapeutics, Honeywell, the Savonia University of Applied Sciences, TeliaSonera Finland and TietoEnator. Together they account for 37 percent of the total premises. Further information: Technopolis Plc, Pertti Huuskonen, President and CEO, tel. +358 400 680 816 In terms of the number of customer companies, Technopolis Plc is one of Europe's largest technology centers. The Technopolis Group is Finland's largest specialized provider of operating environments for high tech companies, and it offers a comprehensive service package combining modern premises and business and development services. Technopolis operates or is building technology centers in Espoo, Helsinki, Jyväskylä, Kuopio, Lappeenranta, Oulu, Tampere and Vantaa in Finland, and in St. Petersburg in Russia. Some 15,500 people employed by about 1,150 companies and entities are currently working in the Technopolis technology centers.