Embattled Hong Kong-registered thin film developer Hanergy Thin Film Power Group Ltd. has yet more stock shocks up its sleeve for 2015 following the news that its founder and chairman, Li Hejun, is selling 6% of his stake in the company at a knock-down price.
Hejun, formally Chinas richest man on paper, is to sell 2.5 billion shares to buyers that Hanergy did not name at an average of 0.18 yuan (21.5 Hong Kong cents). This selling price is 95% below the last traded level in Hong Kong.
These share prices put Hanergys market value at just HK$9 billion, which is just $1.16 billion. In May, the companys value slumped to $21 billion when its shares tumbled by 47% in just 24 minutes a tumble that led to its suspension on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Immediately prior to this shock slump, Hanergy had a market value of HK$163 billion, placing the companys value at one point higher than Twitters and Sonys.
However, various investigations into Hanergy Thin Films trading drew criticism and unwanted attention from analysts, who were scathing of the firms practice of relying on its parent company Hanergy Holdings Group for most of its revenue.
Since May, Hanergy has seen a number of lucrative contracts canceled, most recently a decision by Ikea in November to not renew its contract with the company.
The share sale by Hejun is thought to be worth 450 million yuan ($69.4 million) but the valuation represents a 95% discount on the previous traded price. Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Alex Gardner told Bloomberg that trading at such a price would normally mean that the company has lost 95% of its value.
As a consequence, he said, other shareholders have lost 95% of their money on this valuation.
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