A company has to decide which of three machines to purchase to manufacture a product. Each machine has the same purchase price but the operating costs of the machines differ. Machine A has low fixed costs and high variable costs; Machine B has average fixed costs and average variable costs whilst Machine C has high fixed costs and low variable costs. Machine A would consequently be preferable if demand was low and Machine C would be preferable if demand was high.There is a 35 percent chance that demand will be high, a 40 percent chance that demand will be medium and a 25 percent chance that demand will be low. The company uses expected value to make this type of decision.The estimated net present values for each of the possible outcomes are as follows:

A market research company believes it can provide perfect information on product demand.

Required:Calculate the maximum amount that should be paid for the information from the market research company.

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Machine A Machine C Machine B Demand High 100 000 140000 180 000 Medium 150000 160 000 140 000 Low 200 000 100 000 80 000