On the evening of November 29th, Funeng Technology announced that after consultation among all parties, it plans to adjust the method of changing the company's control by transferring the controlling shareholder's equity to issuing shares to specific targets.
Funeng Technology disclosed in August this year that its controlling shareholder Hong Kong Funeng and its concerted action person Ganzhou Funeng plan to transfer 5% of the shares of the listed company to a company under Guangzhou Industrial Control Group. The equity transfer price is 28.37 yuan per share, with a total transaction price of 1.728 billion yuan.
After the equity transfer is completed, Guangzhou Industrial Control Group and its concerted action parties will hold 18.6% of the shares of Funeng Technology, becoming the largest shareholder. The shareholding ratio of Hong Kong Funeng and its concerted actors has decreased to 16.5%, making it the second largest shareholder.
Hong Kong Funeng is a private limited liability company, wholly owned by Funeng from the United States. Wang Yu and Keith D. Kepler respectively hold 48.95% and 51.05% of the shares of Funeng Technology in the United States, making them the current actual controllers of Funeng Technology. Ganzhou Fuchuang is an employee shareholding platform of Funeng Technology.
Wang Yu and Kepler are both senior scientists in the global lithium battery industry, deeply involved in the power battery industry for over 20 years. The former currently serves as the Chairman of Funeng Technology, while the latter serves as the Deputy General Manager and Dean of the Research Institute.
After the adjustment of control rights of Funeng Technology, Hong Kong Funeng, Wang Yu, and Keith D. Kepler will cooperate to promote Funeng Technology to complete a targeted issuance with Guangzhou Industrial Control Group as the specific issuing object. Guangzhou Industrial Control Group plans to subscribe to no more than 12% of the shares of the listed company after the targeted issuance. Unlike the previously planned agreement transfer method, the funds for subscribing to the private placement shares will fully flow into Funeng Technology.
As of now, Guangzhou Industrial Control Group and its concerted actors jointly hold 9.18% of the shares of Funeng Technology, while Hong Kong Funeng and its concerted actors jointly hold 21.55% of the shares of the company. After the completion of the aforementioned private placement, Hong Kong Funeng promises to relinquish some of its voting rights.
The shareholders of Guangzhou Industrial Control Group are the Guangzhou Municipal People's Government and the Guangdong Provincial Department of Finance, with a shareholding ratio of 90% and 10%. The group was established in 2019 and is positioned as a state-owned capital investment company in the industrial sector, focusing on three major sectors: emerging materials, core components, and high-end equipment. Currently, it has 556 subsidiaries, including five listed companies such as Shanhe Intelligent (002097. SZ). Although only established for four years, Guangzhou Industrial Control has been listed in the Fortune Global 500 for the first time this year, ranking 414th.
Funeng Technology is a leading power battery company in China. It was listed on the Science and Technology Innovation Board of the Shanghai Stock Exchange in July 2020, but has been losing money for three consecutive years since its listing, with a cumulative loss exceeding 2.8 billion yuan.
From January to September this year, Funeng Technology achieved a revenue of 11.231 billion yuan, a net loss of over 1.563 billion yuan, and a loss of 277 million yuan in the same period last year.
The latest data from the China Automotive Power Battery Industry Innovation Alliance shows that from January to October, Funeng Technology's domestic market installed capacity was 3.88 GWh, with a market share of 1.32%, ranking ninth in the country.
