The company, flush with cash, is accelerating mass production.
Youbot's leader, Zhou Jian, has sealed a major transaction. On December 24, he signed an announcement stating the intention to acquire a 43% stake in Zhejiang Fenglong Electric Co.,Ltd. for a total consideration of 1.665 billion yuan. Upon completion of the deal, Zhou Jian will become the actual controller of Fenglong, commanding two listed companies. UBTECH ROBOTICS explicitly stated that Fenglong will become its first A-share listed entity, securing a favorable position in the intelligent service robot industry.
"We possess machining capabilities, and both parties have potential for cooperation in this area; the sharing and expansion of customer resources will depend on subsequent developments," replied Fenglong's securities affairs department. "As a target, Fenglong holds both scarcity and synergistic value in the precision manufacturing field," said Zhang Yi, CEO and Chief Analyst of iiMedia Research, noting that it could manufacture core components like joints and reducers for UBTECH, aiding its mass production efficiency.
This cross-border M&A involves the 48-year-old Shanghai native Zhou Jian, a graduate of Nanjing Forestry University. He founded UBTECH ROBOTICS in Shenzhen in 2012 and, after over a decade of operation, has led it to become the first humanoid robot stock with a market cap of HK$55 billion. For this acquisition, Zhou Jian's team plans a two-step approach. They intend to first spend 1.16 billion yuan via "agreement transfer" to acquire the 29.99% stake in Fenglong held by Chengfeng Investment; followed by a tender offer to obtain a further 13.02% stake. The seller offered a "bargain price," with the transfer price set at 17.72 yuan per share, equivalent to 90% of the target's closing price the day before trading was suspended. After both transactions are completed, UBTECH, having spent 1.67 billion yuan, will become the controlling shareholder of Fenglong, with Zhou Jian as the new actual controller. The buyer has the right to reshuffle the board, with 6 out of 7 directors expected to come from UBTECH. The announcement stated funds will come from UBTECH's internal resources and placement proceeds. Zhou Jian's team is determined, having already deposited 300 million yuan in earnest money into an escrow account. Among recent A-share M&A cases, the scale of Zhou Jian's deal is not exceptionally high, but the target's strength lies in its stable profitability.
Fenglong, founded in 2003 and headquartered in Shaoxing, Zhejiang, is a specialized and sophisticated SME primarily manufacturing garden machinery parts and automotive components, such as igniters, flywheels, and cylinders, with a market cap around 4 billion yuan. It is particularly adept at garden machinery components and is a long-term partner for international manufacturers like STIHL, HUSQVARNA, and HONDA. UBTECH is also involved in this business, having launched the M10 intelligent lawn mower this past January. The target maintains stable profitability, having recorded profits almost every year for the past decade, hovering around 50 million yuan. UBTECH assessed that Fenglong possesses solid precision manufacturing capabilities, a mature supply chain system, and a broad customer base, making the businesses complementary. Zhou Jian's team will leverage its technological advantages and commercialization experience in humanoid robotics, combined with Fenglong's manufacturing and supply chain capabilities, to promote the industrial application of humanoid robots. "For the acquirer, obtaining a ready-made, compliant listed platform with a good foundation enables direct access to the A-share capital market," Su Shang Bank特邀 researcher Xue Hongyan previously commented.
Currently, Zhou Jian's team is aggressively pursuing M&A. In late November, UBTECH spent 130 million yuan to acquire a 7% stake in Youqi Intelligent, a logistics robotics company primarily serving new energy vehicle manufacturers. Post-transaction, UBTECH holds a 41.49% stake in the target, solidifying its position as the largest shareholder. "UBTECH's humanoid robots are in a critical phase of ramping up mass production, with manufacturing being the biggest bottleneck," Zhang Yi told reporters, stating that now is an opportune time for industrial consolidation, and the M&A logic is to address weaknesses. On the funding front, Zhou Jian was prepared. As of the end of June, UBTECH had only 1.16 billion yuan in cash and equivalents on its books. This summer, it first swiftly raised HK$2.41 billion through a placement, then secured a $1 billion strategic financing credit line from Middle Eastern firm Infinity capital, involving collaboration in convertible bonds, equity investment, and overseas market expansion. Subsequently, UBTECH officially announced obtaining bank credit lines, totaling up to 800 million yuan, with the specific amount to be determined based on actual operational needs. In early December, it completed a placement of 31.468 million shares, raising net proceeds of HK$3.06 billion, explicitly stating that HK$2.29 billion would be used for investment and M&A. Calculated this way, in just six months, Zhou Jian capitalized on the hot robotics theme, raising approximately HK$5.5 billion through share placements and securing credit lines worth tens of billions of yuan, indicating no shortage of ammunition.
Of course, UBTECH's main business also requires funding support. Its robot production capacity and lines, including component procurement, shipping, and sales, all entail significant expenditure. "If a humanoid robot company raises less than 1 billion yuan, it will face huge challenges," Zhou Jian stated publicly in May. He is optimistic about the industry's prospects, stating that humanoid robots offer the greatest versatility and best ergonomics, capable of reaching high shelves and bending to move boxes on the ground, representing the optimal solution currently.
Zhou Jian, adept in the capital markets, now faces the critical task of mass production and delivery. UBTECH's humanoid robot products are being deployed in batches across two main scenarios: education and smart manufacturing. For universities and research institutions, it partnered with the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center to launch the 172cm tall Tian Gong Walker. Official data claims deliveries of the Tian Gong Walker will exceed 300 units this year. In November, UBTECH's industrial humanoid robot, the Walker S2, began mass production and delivery. The first batch of several hundred Walker S2 units has entered scenarios like automotive manufacturing, smart logistics, and embodied intelligence data centers. As of press time, the Walker series has secured annual orders totaling nearly 1.4 billion yuan and entered factories for practical training tasks like carrying, sorting, and quality inspection. "UBTECH has the most humanoid robots deployed in manufacturing globally," Zhou Jian stated, citing clients including giants like BYD, Dongfeng Liuzhou Auto, Geely, Foxconn, and SF Express. He estimates that Walker S2 production capacity will exceed 1,000 units in 2025, with deliveries surpassing 500 units; by 2026, the entire industrial humanoid robot industry's capacity will break through 10,000 units, with deliveries reaching several thousand.
For the complex home scenario, Zhou Jian also has plans, having signed a cooperation agreement with home services platform "Swan To Home." Despite advancing on multiple fronts, UBTECH has not yet achieved profitability, reporting revenue of 620 million yuan and a net loss of 440 million yuan for the first half of the year. "The robotics industry is just beginning, still in its early stages," Zhou Jian believes, stating that products entering factories within three years is feasible, but entering home scenarios might take around eight years. With its main business still in the investment phase, securing the A-share listed platform Fenglong allows Zhou Jian's team to both push industrial robots into factories and broaden financing channels, achieving multiple objectives with one move.
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