Chinese Company Buys Segway

Ninebot Inc, a Beijing-based maker of electric two-wheelers that strongly resemble Segway scooters, has acquired New Hampshire-based Segway Inc. for an undisclosed amount, BBC News reports.

The three-year-old Chinese company describes its products as personal transportation robots. Its acquisition of Segway presumably will end an investigation by the U.S. International Trade Commission into Segway's complaint that Ninebot and seven other Chinese manufacturers are infringing on its patents.

Ninebot is Segway's third buyer. The U.S. company was acquired in 2009 by its British distributor, then sold to Tennessee-based Summit Strategic Investments LLC in 2013.

Under terms of the Ninebot purchase, Segway will become a wholly owned subsidiary of the Chinese company. Each brand will continue to be marketed under its own name.