On the evening of August 13, Zhongji Innolight (300308.SZ) announced it had signed a Share Transfer Agreement with the controlling shareholders of Jones Tech PLC (300684.SZ), including Wu Xiaoning, Ye Lu, and HAN WU (Wu Han). The deal involves acquiring a combined 10.47% of Jones Tech's total shares at a price of 55.70 yuan per share, amounting to a total transaction value of 1.747 billion yuan in cash.
Prior to this transaction, Zhongji Innolight held no shares in Jones Tech. Following the completion, it will become a shareholder holding more than 5% of Jones Tech's shares. Boosted by this news, Jones Tech's stock price surged by the 20% daily limit on August 14, closing at 67.36 yuan, with a total market capitalization of 20.175 billion yuan.
According to the share transfer agreement, the 1.747 billion yuan transaction amount will be paid in two installments. The first installment, approximately 874 million yuan, is due within 10 working days from the announcement date. The remaining 874 million yuan must be paid within 10 working days after the share transfer registration is completed. The announcement explicitly states that the agreement includes no special arrangements such as equity price betting, shareholding by proxy, guaranteed returns, or repurchase clauses. The funds for the acquisition will come from Zhongji Innolight's own capital or self-raised funds.
The sellers are the controlling shareholders, actual controllers, and their concerted parties of Jones Tech: Wu Xiaoning, Ye Lu, and HAN WU (Wu Han). Wu Xiaoning and Ye Lu are married, and HAN WU (Wu Han) is their son. The three act as a concerted party, forming the controlling family of Jones Tech. In this transaction, Wu Xiaoning will sell approximately 14.1842 million shares, Ye Lu will sell about 13.5606 million shares, and HAN WU (Wu Han) will sell 3.6277 million shares. After the transfer, the trio's combined shareholding will decrease to 94.1175 million shares, representing 31.42% of total shares, still maintaining their status as the controlling shareholder and actual controller of Jones Tech.
Where to focus on the industrial logic
From the announcement, the industrial rationale behind Zhongji Innolight's investment directly points to a key area: thermal management. The company stated that it primarily engages in the R&D, production, and sale of high-end optical communication transceiver modules. Jones Tech's high-performance thermal conductive materials and EMI shielding materials are widely applicable in digital infrastructure sectors such as 5G communications, next-generation advanced communications, data centers, and computing centers. As Zhongji Innolight continues to ramp up production of 800G, 1.6T, and other high-end optical modules, power density is increasing, leading to a significant rise in cooling demands. This is expected to generate strong synergies with the company's core business.
As AI computing infrastructure continues to upgrade, optical modules are evolving from 400G and 800G to 1.6T and even higher speeds. While transmission rates increase, device power density also rises, making thermal dissipation increasingly critical to the performance and reliability of optical modules. Zhongji Innolight is currently in a phase of rapid volume growth for high-end optical modules. In the first quarter of 2026, the company reported operating revenue of 19.496 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 192%, and net profit attributable to shareholders of 5.735 billion yuan, up 262% year-on-year. As of the end of March, the company's cash on hand reached 12.208 billion yuan.
Based on the disclosed information, Zhongji Innolight has not mentioned participating in the management of Jones Tech or engaging in the R&D or production of thermal materials. Instead, the move appears to be a strategy to strengthen business cooperation through an equity tie-up.
According to a report from 21st Century Business Herald, a journalist contacted Jones Tech as an investor regarding this transaction. A company staff member responded: "The company has been involved in thermal management for optical modules for a long time. Initially, we mainly served customers like Coherent (COHR) and Source Photonics. We did have some previous business cooperation with Zhongji Innolight (300308). For new business, the overall order revenue growth this year has actually been quite good, mainly driven by the AI industry as a whole. Next year, if new customer progress goes smoothly, the overall growth trend should continue." As of March 31, Jones Tech had approximately 37,400 shareholders.
It is noteworthy that in the second quarter, Zhongji Innolight's wholly-owned subsidiary, Xuchuang Investment, also took a stake in the PCB company Avary Holding (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. Avary Holding's recent semi-annual report shows that as of the end of the second quarter, Xuchuang Investment held 24 million shares of Avary Holding, representing a 1.04% stake, making it a new fourth-largest shareholder. Based on Avary Holding's closing price of 95.72 yuan per share on August 13, Xuchuang Investment's market value in Avary Holding is nearly 2.3 billion yuan.
Additionally, on the evening of August 11, Zhongji Innolight announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Chengdu Zhihe, plans to use its own capital of 27.45 million yuan to subscribe to the capital shares of the Ganrong Sheng Run Fund, becoming a limited partner of the partnership. Upon completion of this investment, Chengdu Zhihe will hold a 90% capital contribution share in the fund. The fund's business scope is venture capital. Zhongji Innolight stated that this investment will expand its investment layout, promote the integration of advantageous resources, and achieve integration of industry and capital, enhancing its core competitiveness.
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