The firm that lost a community medical testing contract in Canterbury is to be sold to its rival.
Medlab South employs 300 staff in lab-testing operations in Christchurch, Nelson, Marlborough and Timaru.
It lost its community testing work in Canterbury when the district health board decided in December to split the work between its hospital lab and another community provider, Southern Community Laboratories, which is owned by Australian based firm Healthscope.
Medlab South says a conditional agreement is in place for Australian-based Healthscope to buy its shares.
It says staff working outside Christchurch will not be affected by the ownership change, but up to 40 of the 150 positions in the city could go.
