(Yicai Global) March 8 -- Shares of Shanghai Film surged after the movie producer said its controlling shareholder will transfer a majority stake in the owner of Yao-Chinese Folktales, a popular animation series, to it.

Cinema operator Shanghai Film [SHA: 601595] closed up 10 percent at CNY11.51 (USD1.70), achieving a 13 percent uptick in the past 12 months.

The listed company inked an agreement with Shanghai Film Group to gain a 51 percent stake in Shangyingyuan Culture and Technology Development, a Shanghai-based intellectual property developer, for CNY 61.2 million (USD 8.8 million), the movie distribution company said in a statement yesterday.

Yao-Chinese Folktales is an eight-episode animated series rooted in traditional Chinese culture. It got 200 million views online and a rating of 8.9 out of 10 from more than 220,000 people on Douban, a review platform, after its premiere in January.

The IP company will be included in Shanghai Film's financial reporting, which is expected to impose positive impacts on the new owner's future performance. The transaction will help the company in expanding its IP operations to further improve its profitability and competitiveness.

After the equity transfer, Shanghai Film will appoint a general manager at Shangyingyuan to take charge of daily operations and management.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi