Home appliance maker Hisense Group has agreed to buy a 26.43% stake in Guangdong Kelon Electrical Holdings (000921.SZ) for up to CNY900 million, the state-run China Securities Journal reports unnamed sources as saying.
Hisense signed a deal with a “related party” Friday to buy the stake in refrigerator maker Kelon, the report says, declining to name the party.
Guangdong Greencool Enterprise Development Co. is Kelon’s largest shareholder with a 26.43% stake. Gu Chujun, Kelon former’s chairman, owns 60% of Greencool Enterprise Development.
Hisense will make a downpayment of CNY500 million for the stake, but the final price will depend on an assessment of Kelon’s assets, the report says.
An official at Kelon’s board secretary’s office who declined to be named also declined to comment on the report.
Zhu Shuqin, Hisense Group’s public relations official, said, “It’s not the time yet to disclose information” on this topic. Zhu also said the deal is “very complicated.”
Kelon, which lists shares in both Shenzhen and Hong Kong, said last month it swung to a first-half net loss of CNY434.6 million from a net profit of CNY158.1 million for the first six months of 2004.
In its first-half report issued Aug. 31, it attributed the loss to an investigation of the company by the China Securities Regulatory Commission.
In a statement on Aug. 15, Kelon said it had fired its chairman, Gu, whom securities regulators said they suspected of overstating the company’s profit since 2002.
Gu and four other Kelon executives have been detained by Chinese authorities on suspicion of committing economic crimes, according to a statement from Kelon on Aug. 2.
From Yahoo News