Lian Life Insurance invests nearly 900 million yuan to acquire shares of Zhongshan Public, stating no intention to increase holdings within the next year.

Another time, risky capital is making a strategic investment by acquiring shares.

On April 2, Zhongshan Public Utilities Group Co., Ltd. (Zhongshan Public Utilities, 000685.SZ) issued an announcement stating that the controlling shareholder, Zhongshan Investment Holding Group Co., Ltd., through an agreement share transfer arrangement via public solicitation of transfer, has determined the transferee. Liaoning Life Insurance Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Liaoning Life Insurance) is the final transferee. Both parties signed the “Share Transfer Agreement” on April 1. According to the announcement, the number of shares Zhongshan Investment Holding Group plans to transfer is 73.755567 million shares, accounting for 5% of the company’s current total share capital of Zhongshan Public Utilities. The transfer price is 12.19 yuan per share, and the total consideration for the transferred shares is approximately 899 million yuan.

The announcement shows that prior to this share transfer, Zhongshan Investment Holding Group held 719 million shares of Zhongshan Public Utilities, accounting for 48.73% of the company’s total share capital. After this change in rights and interests, the number of shares held by Zhongshan Investment Holding Group will decrease to 645 million shares, and its ownership proportion will fall to 43.73%. However, the company’s controlling shareholder and actual controller will not change. The number of shares held by Liaoning Life Insurance in Zhongshan Public Utilities increased from 46.00022 million shares to 120 million shares, and its ownership proportion rose from 3.12% to 8.12%, making it a shareholder holding more than 5% of Zhongshan Public Utilities.

Judging from the transaction arrangements, Liaoning Life Insurance has paid a deposit of 269.7 million yuan before the signing of the agreement. This deposit will be converted into the share transfer payment on the date of share transfer. After this share transfer obtains approval from the Zhongshan Municipal State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission and upon receiving written notice from the transferor, Liaoning Life Insurance must pay the remaining consideration of 629 million yuan in full within 5 business days. According to the agreement, within ten business days after Zhongshan Investment Holding Group receives all the transfer consideration, both parties will jointly handle the share transfer registration procedures with Liaoning Life Insurance.

According to the announcement, Liaoning Life Insurance has committed that within 12 months after the completion of the share transfer under this agreement, it will not reduce its holdings of the transferred shares. After the transfer is completed, Liaoning Life Insurance also plans to appoint one non-independent director to Zhongshan Public Utilities.

Liaoning Life Insurance said that in the next 12 months, it has no intention to continue increasing its holdings of Zhongshan Public Utilities. In the six months prior to this transaction, Liaoning Life Insurance had traded shares of Zhongshan Public Utilities multiple times.

Zhongshan Public Utilities stated that if this change in rights and interests is completed as scheduled, it will promote adjustments to the company’s equity structure and enhance the company’s core competitiveness. However, it does not involve a tender offer, does not constitute a related-party transaction, and will not have a significant impact on the company’s ongoing operations.

The announcement also pointed out that although this “Share Transfer Agreement” has been signed, it will only become effective after obtaining approval from the state-owned assets supervision authority. In addition, it still needs to obtain review and approval from relevant government departments, and pass the compliance review of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. Only then can the share transfer registration procedures be handled at the Shenzhen branch of China Securities Depository and Clearing Co., Ltd. Therefore, whether the transaction can ultimately be completed still involves uncertainty.

Data shows that Zhongshan Public Utilities was established in 1998. It is a main-board listed company with state-owned holdings in Zhongshan City. Its current core business is environmental protection water utilities. Its business covers solid waste, new energy, engineering construction, and auxiliary segments.

Previously, in July 2025, Liaoning Life Insurance made a strategic move by acquiring shares in another water utilities company—Jiangsu Jiangnan Water Utilities Co., Ltd. (Jiangnan Water Utilities, 601199.SH). According to disclosures, Liaoning Life Insurance currently holds 5.41% of the shares of Jiangnan Water Utilities, and it also holds 5.83% of the shares of Shenzhen International (0152.HK).

Liaoning Life Insurance was established in July 2011, and its headquarters is in Nanjing, Jiangsu. It is a nationwide personal insurance company established with approval from the national financial supervision and administration authorities.

(Source: The Paper)