(Yicai Global) June 13 -- Transsion Holdings's plans to backdoor list on the Chinese mainland have fallen through after the bestselling phonemaker in Africa was unable to agree on terms with the vessel company.

Shimge Pump Industry Group has abandoned plans to buy the Shenzhen-based manufacturer, it said in a statement yesterday. It had announced plans for the reverse takeover in March, when it said it would take a 51-percent stake in Transsion.

The phonemaker is relatively unknown in most markets, but was partly responsible for the complete sector overhaul on the world's second-biggest continent. Until a decade ago, Africa had been dominated by Chinese 'bandit' manufacturers -- those who make replica handsets -- but now the market is flourishing, with leading Chinese brands Huawei and Xiaomi looking to make their mark there.

But even the top Chinese players are unable to contend with Transsion, which focuses on what it knows African consumers want: long battery lives and cameras. It used that knowledge to command a 46-percent market share on the continent last year, according to International Data Corp. Further data from HIS Market China shows the firm shipped 120 million units in 2017, with three quarters of sales coming from 'feature phones,' ones that are not 'smart.'

Editor: James Boynton