(Yicai) Nov. 10 -- Infore Group, a Chinese investment firm owned by the son of Midea Group’s founder, will pay CNY10.3 billion (USD1.4 billion) for control of Jason Furniture, one of the biggest makers of upholstered chairs and sofas, heralding a fusion of China’s home appliance and furnishings sectors.

Kuka Group and TB Home will transfer 29 percent of their 47.5 percent stake in Jason Furniture to Infore, the Hangzhou-based target company said in a statement late yesterday. He Jianfeng, who owns 88 percent of Infore, will then become the furniture maker’s actual controller, it added.

The deal is priced at CNY42.58 (USD5.84) a share, or about 16 percent higher than Jason Furniture's [SHA: 603816] closing price of CNY36.78 on Nov. 3, when it suspended trading. The stock ended 6.2 percent higher at CNY39.05 in Shanghai today, after trading resumed.

He Jianfeng, the son of He Xiangjian, is a director at home appliances giant Midea, which has been advancing in the smart home appliances market. But He Jianfeng does not participate in the Foshan-based company's daily operations.

The deal enables Midea to extend the strategic layout of its industrial chain, achieving the integration of business and sales channels for home appliances and household products, Zhang Yi, chief executive and chief analyst of iiMedia Research, told Yicai.

The takeover aims to leverage the respective resource advantages of Infore and Jason Furniture to work together on expanding the home furnishings business, so as to drive Jason Furniture’s rapid development and boost profits, its statement said.

Midea’s shares [SHE: 000333] rose 0.5 percent to end at CNY52.70 apiece in Shenzhen.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev