Medical entrepreneur Sir Christopher Evans' Zi Medical group is negotiating to acquire fellow AIM-quoted medical play NMT by issuing shares.

Shares in both Zi Medical, which develops fluid infusion and other medical devices, and NMT, which focuses on drug delivery methods avoiding needle injuries, have risen on news of Zi's bid approach. Zi, where Evans' Merlin vehicle has a near-50 per cent stake, has confirmed it is 'in preliminary discussions which may or may not lead to a share offer for the capital of NMT'.

Denbighshire-based Zi Medical, which was profiled in the latest issue of Growth Company Investor, has been the subject of keen City attention since July when Evans reversed his Oxford Newtech concern into the company and took the chair. Last year's £1.1 million loss has been seen as unimportant in the light of future growth prospects through acquisition and the exploitation of intellectual property.

NMT, headquarted in West Lothian, has so far been deadpan in its response to Zi's move. It comes soon after NMT chairman Tony Fletcher told shareholders, when revealing interim losses cut by two thirds to £500,000, that 'the company is evaluating strategic options'.

Zi's shares, recommended by Growth Company Investor on 3 August at 5.88p, have risen 1.38p today to 9.38p, valuing the company at £18.8 million, on the bid talk news, while NMT's shares have gained 5p to 76.5p, where its market tag is £6.66 million. Hold on.