The latest acquisition move by Ubtech Robotics, hailed as the "first humanoid robotics stock" in Hong Kong, has shattered the market's conventional belief that a listing equates to reaching safe harbor for robotics companies.
On December 24, Ubtech Robotics announced it would acquire a 43% stake in A-share company Fenglong Co., Ltd. for 1.665 billion yuan through a combination of "agreed transfer + tender offer," thereby becoming its controlling shareholder. The total consideration for the controlling interest change plan, including the tender offer, amounts to 1.665 billion yuan. Upon completion of the transaction, the actual controller of Fenglong Co., Ltd. will change from Dong Jiangang to Zhou Jian, founder, Chairman, and CEO of Ubtech Robotics. On December 25th and 26th, Fenglong Co., Ltd.'s stock price hit the daily limit-up for two consecutive trading sessions.
The transaction model of Ubtech's takeover of Fenglong Co., Ltd. is strikingly similar to the path taken earlier by Zhiyuan Robotics to gain control of Swancor Advanced Materials Co.,Ltd.. Both employed a "combination punch" of agreed share transfers, voting rights relinquishment, and partial tender offers to secure listed companies on the A-share market. Notably, this capital operation model represents the fourth such case since 2025, with the transacting entities all being robotics companies; the core distinction is that Ubtech is already listed, while the others are not yet publicly traded.
Why are robotics companies flocking to take control of A-share listed companies? Several industry insiders analyze that robotics firms are抢先 (qiang xian, preemptively) securing listing platforms through acquisitions, essentially building a moat for capital and industrial synergy in advance. The secondary market shows significant valuation premiums for the robotics sector, making the current period a critical window for capitalization positioning; missing it could mean falling behind the industry. The next three years will see the first round of industry consolidation, with orders and resources concentrating towards leading players, making a listed platform a crucial chip for gaining a first-mover advantage.
Ubtech Robotics is the latest case of a robotics company employing a "three-step" strategy to acquire an A-share listed company.
Step One: The announcement shows that Ubtech signed an agreement with Fenglong's controlling shareholder, Chengfeng Investment, and its concert parties. Chengfeng Investment agreed to transfer 65.5299 million unrestricted circulating shares (29.99% of total share capital) and corresponding shareholder rights to Ubtech at a transfer price of 17.72 yuan per share, for a total consideration of 1.161 billion yuan.
Step Two: Concurrent with the completion of the agreed transfer, the original shareholder Chengfeng Investment and its concert parties承诺 (cheng nuo, promised) to relinquish voting rights for part of their remaining shares (13.01% of total share capital) immediately after the share transfer is registered. Thus, Ubtech obtained relative controlling power based on its 29.99% shareholding.
Step Three: Ubtech launched a partial tender offer to all shareholders to consolidate control. This tender offer is for 28.45 million shares, representing 13.02% of the company's total share capital, with a consideration of approximately 504 million yuan. After completing all three steps, the total transaction price reaches 1.665 billion yuan, and Ubtech could hold up to 43% of Fenglong's shares.
As a company already listed in Hong Kong, Ubtech's strategic intent behind this cross-border acquisition of an A-share company has drawn attention. Ubtech stated that the acquisition offers business synergies. Fenglong Co., Ltd. primarily engages in the R&D, production, and sales of garden machinery engines and electric complete machines, hydraulic control systems, and automotive parts. By integrating Ubtech's humanoid robot technology with Fenglong's manufacturing capabilities, supply chain resources, and customer base, the acquisition will enhance Ubtech's product competitiveness, optimize cost structure, expand market coverage, and improve mass production capacity. Post-transaction, Fenglong will become Ubtech's first A-share listed subsidiary, helping it secure a favorable position in the intelligent service robot industry.
"Ubtech's acquisition primarily considers three aspects: first, achieving industrial chain synergy and value maximization; second, advancing the diversification of its capital platform layout; and third, supporting industrial integration and capacity goals," Tian Feng, Dean of the Think Fast & Slow Research Institute, analyzed. He noted that Ubtech plans to increase its industrial humanoid robot production capacity to 10,000 units by 2026, for which Fenglong's manufacturing capabilities will provide crucial support.
This set of "combination punches" used by Ubtech to enter the A-share market already represents the fourth case in the robotics industry this year, initially drawing widespread attention when Zhiyuan Robotics took control of Swancor Advanced Materials Co.,Ltd.. The core commonality of this model is: first, quickly obtaining control through an agreed transfer; then, having the original controlling shareholder relinquish voting rights for all held shares to achieve a one-time handover of control; finally, launching a partial tender offer to strengthen control certainty.
In July, the star robotics startup Zhiyuan Robotics used the same path to take control of new materials company Swancor Advanced Materials Co.,Ltd., setting a capitalization benchmark for the industry. In November, the settlement of Zhiyuan Hengyue's tender offer for Swancor Advanced Materials shares was completed, with Zhiyuan and its concert parties collectively holding 63.62% of Swancor's shares, finalizing all legal procedures for the acquisition.
In December, special-purpose robotics company Qiteng Robotics followed the same capital operation path to take control of Shengtong Energy, acquiring 44.99% of shares and corresponding voting rights through share transfer and a partial tender offer, becoming the new controlling shareholder, with the actual controller simultaneously changing to Zhu Dong. Qiteng Robotics' core products are explosion-proof inspection robot series, while Shengtong Energy's main business involves the procurement, transportation, and sales of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Also in December, Suzhou Zhuyue Hongzhi Technology Development Partnership announced it would spend approximately 2.282 billion yuan to gain control of Jiamei Packaging through an "agreed transfer + voluntary tender offer" method. The actual controller of Zhuyue Hongzhi is Yu Hao, founder of Dreame Technology. Jiamei Packaging is one of China's largest metal can manufacturers. Dreame Technology started by OEMing vacuum cleaners, robotic vacuum cleaners, and other products for Xiaomi, and is known as one of the "Four Little Dragons" in the cleaning appliance industry alongside Ecovacs, Roborock, and Narwal.
A partner at a primary investment institution focused on hard technology stated that the密集 (mi ji,密集) entry of robotics companies into the A-share market via such capital operations is fundamentally about adapting to dual changes in industrial rhythm and the financing environment. "The robotics industry is currently accelerating from the technology R&D phase towards the large-scale implementation phase. R&D investment, capacity expansion, and supply chain integration all require massive, sustained funding. For unlisted companies, acquiring a listed platform is faster and offers higher certainty than an independent IPO process, enabling quick access to financing channels and preemptively reserving 'shell' resources. This provides a clear exit path for early investors and also reserves space for the company's subsequent capital operations."
The year 2025 marks a critical period for the capitalization and commercialization of robotics companies. Beyond the aforementioned acquisition cases, three of the "Hangzhou Six Little Dragons" have initiated IPO processes: Qunhe Technology has filed for a Hong Kong listing, Unitree Robotics has completed its IPO辅导 (fu dao, tutoring), and Deep Robotics recently also started its IPO辅导备案 (fu dao bei an, tutoring filing). Leading companies like Leju Robotics and Yinhe Tongyong are also accelerating their listing plans.
"From an industry rhythm perspective, technological breakthroughs in segments like humanoid robots, coupled with the expansion of application scenarios, mean the industry will face its first round of consolidation in the next three years. Orders and resources will concentrate towards the leaders, making a listed platform a key chip for gaining a first-mover advantage. On the financing window front, primary market funding for unprofitable hard tech companies is tightening, while the secondary market offers significant valuation premiums for the robotics sector. The current period is a critical window for capitalization positioning; missing it could mean being left behind by the industry," the aforementioned primary investment institution partner admitted.
Capital is increasingly倾向于 (qing xiang yu, inclined) to invest in high-quality robotics companies that have completed technology verification, have clear commercial implementation paths, and predictable future cash flows. According to third-party statistics, in the first three quarters of 2025, the robotics industry saw 328 financing events, with a total financing amount of 24.3 billion yuan, already exceeding the full-year 2024 level. Notably, the proportion of Series B and later financing projects jumped to 34.9% in 2025 from 18.6% in 2024.
The fundamental driver behind increased capital investment is that the robotics industry has moved beyond the laboratory prototype stage and entered the practical implementation verification phase. The signing of multiple orders worth hundreds of millions of yuan or for thousands of units, coupled with mass-produced robots from several OEMs genuinely creating value in factories, has provided initial validation for the industry's logic.
The year 2026 is poised to become a pivotal first year for the global commercialization of humanoid robots, with the industry potentially transitioning from demonstration applications to scaled mass production. According to estimates by TrendForce, global humanoid robot shipments are expected to exceed 50,000 units in 2026, representing a year-on-year increase of over 700%.
Tian Feng predicts that between 2026 and 2028, the first batch of listed intelligent robotics companies will accelerate rapidly across three main tracks: robot 'brains and nervous systems' (大小脑, da xiao nao), robotics chips, and vertical industry solutions. They will use capital to换取 (huan qu, exchange for) technology, product iteration speed, domestic and international market share, and listing opportunities, aiming to deliver a "report card" with decent cash flow to their investors.
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