Gree Rises as Chinese Air-Con Giant's Third-Largest Shareholder Plans to Hike Stake(Yicai) March 4 -- Shares of Gree Electric Appliances advanced after the Chinese white goods giant announced its third-largest shareholder plans to increase its stake in the company.
Gree [SHE: 000651] closed 2.8 percent up at CNY41.69 (USD5.72) in Shenzhen today. The stock has fallen 8.3 percent so far this year.
Jinghai Internet Technology Development will hike its stake in Gree through centralized bidding within the next six months, investing a total of between CNY1.1 billion and CNY2.1 billion (USD144.2 million and USD288.4 million), Zhuhai-based Gree announced yesterday.
The move, which demonstrates Jinghai Internet's commitment to Gree's sustainable development and recognition of its value, aims to enhance investor confidence, safeguard their interests, and promote the stable and healthy development of the company, Gree pointed out.
Jinghai Internet is a shareholding platform established by Gree's Chinese distributors. It holds 392 million Gree shares, accounting for 7 percent of the total, after buying 6.4 million additional shares over the past 12 months.
As of Sept. 30, last year, Gree's largest shareholder was an investment fund under Hillhouse Capital, with an about 16 percent stake. Gree's Chairwoman and President Dong Mingzhu ranked sixth with a 1.8 percent stake, but she is considered to be acting in concert with Hillhouse Capital.
Gree is about to change its board of directors, with 71-year-old Dong expected to continue her tenure after the company announced on Feb. 24 that she is among the five directors nominated. Dong has been Gree’s chairwoman since 2012, playing a vital role in transforming the firm into a global leader in air conditioners.
Gree is facing some performance pressure. Its revenue fell 5 percent to CNY147.4 billion (USD20.2 billion) in the first three quarters of last year from a year earlier, mainly because of declining sales, according to the company's latest earnings report. Despite that, its net profit widened 9 percent to CNY22 billion (USD3 billion).
Editor: Futura Costaglione
