Japan's Konica Minolta plans to buy U.S. cancer test firm -Nikkei

TOKYO, July 2 (Reuters) - Japanese office equipment maker Konica Minolta Inc plans to acquire U.S. healthcare firm Ambry Genetics Corp to diversify its business, the Nikkei daily reported on Sunday.

The acquisition will likely cost around 100 billion yen ($890 million) and be Konica Minolta's most expensive, reflecting its ambition to branch out into healthcare as its printer business slows, the business daily reported without citing sources.

Konica Minolta will partner semi-government fund Innovation Network Corp of Japan (INCJ) to buy all shares of Ambry, a private firm that uses genetic data to screen for cancer, the Nikkei said.

Konica Minolta will own 60 percent of Ambry and INCJ the remainder, the newspaper reported.

Neither Konica Minolta nor INCJ responded to Reuters' requests for comment.

($1 = 112.3500 yen) (Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Christopher Cushing)

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