(Yicai) Nov. 2 -- The son of the founder of Hengtong Group has snapped up a majority share in the holding company for CNY2.7 billion (USD370 million), an investment which also puts him jointly in control of its listed subsidiary Hengtong Optic-Electric, a leading Chinese power and fiber optic cable manufacturer, with his father.

Hengtong Group’s registered capital was boosted to CNY5 billion (USD683 million) from CNY2.3 billion on Oct. 31, Hengtong Optic-Electric said yesterday.

Cui Wen, who has been chairman of Hengtong Optic-Electric since May 2021, now holds a 73 percent stake in Hengtong Group, up from 41.3 percent, while his father Cui Genliang’s equity has been diluted to 27 percent from 58.7 percent, the subsidiary said.

Hengtong Group owns 23.7 percent of Hengtong Optic-Electric, and the cash infusion indirectly boosts 37-year-old Cui Wen’s holdings in the unit to 17.3 percent from 9.8 percent, making himself and his father joint controllers of the Suzhou-based company.

The changes in equity will not affect the firm’s operations, production and corporate governance, Hengtong Optic-Electric said.

Hengtong Optic-Electric’s net profit surged 27 percent in the first three quarters from a year earlier to CNY1.8 billion (USD246 million). Its profit fluctuated greatly between 2017 and 2022. In 2017 it surged 60 percent from 2016 and in 2019 it slumped 46 percent from 2018.

Editor: Kim Taylor