300142, planning for additional issuance, trading halted today! May clarify actual controller for the first time

After nearly 16 years on the market, Watson Bio (300142) may finally clarify its actual controlling shareholder for the first time.

Who holds the actual control?

On March 16, Watson Bio announced that it is planning to issue A-shares to a specific target, which may lead to a change in the company’s control. The company’s stock will be suspended from trading starting March 17 (Tuesday), with an expected suspension period of no more than two trading days.

In the announcement, Watson Bio did not specify the potential target of the private placement, only briefly stating that all parties are currently discussing and negotiating specific plans, agreements, and related matters. The final details will be subject to the agreements signed by all parties.

Since its listing on the ChiNext Board in 2010, this vaccine company, with a current market value close to 20 billion yuan, has never had an actual controlling shareholder.

As of the end of the third quarter of 2025, the largest single shareholder of Watson Bio is E Fund ChiNext ETF, holding only 2.16%. The two founders, Liu Junhui and Li Yunchun, directly hold only 1.81% and 1.70%, respectively. Additionally, Watson Bio has clarified that no shareholder can control the appointment of more than half of the board members or influence board resolutions on related matters.

Looking back to the company’s initial listing, Watson Bio also had no actual controller, but at that time, Liu Junhui and Li Yunchun held 11.39% and 15.05%, respectively. Over the past 16 years, both have repeatedly reduced their holdings.

Different voices emerge

Regarding the impact of not having an actual controlling shareholder, Watson Bio publicly stated that since its listing, the company has had no actual controller and that this has not adversely affected its operations or development.

However, in November last year, Watson Bio’s shareholders’ meeting rejected the proposal to transfer minority equity in Yuxi Watson Bio Technology Co., Ltd. 62.21% of the valid votes cast at the meeting opposed the proposal. The company had planned to transfer its 4.9733% minority stake in Yuxi Watson to Li Yunchun, “to better focus on R&D, manufacturing, and other areas that create business value and generate shareholder returns.”

Not only at the shareholders’ meeting, but also in November last year, there were differing opinions within Watson Bio’s board of directors. During the board meeting to review the acquisition of the minority stake in Yuxi Watson, director Fan Yongwu abstained from voting on two related proposals.

Frequent internal adjustments in 2026

This year, Watson Bio has undergone multiple changes in its board and management team. Jiang Runsheng will no longer serve as a director or a member of the board’s specialized committees, and Liu Yuran will no longer hold the position of vice president. Additionally, before the Spring Festival, the company completed an organizational restructuring, forming three core business units—vaccines, nutrition, and biomanufacturing—and a new business division.

Watson Bio stated that this organizational restructuring aims to build an agile, efficient, and clearly responsible organizational system, strengthen the responsibility and performance evaluation mechanisms of business groups/departments, promote resource integration and high-efficiency allocation, and fully stimulate internal motivation to enable sustainable and leapfrog development through industrial upgrading.

Currently, the domestic and international vaccine markets remain in a downward cycle. Watson Bio’s recent earnings forecast shows that the company’s total revenue from vaccine products decreased by about 8% year-on-year. However, benefiting from strengthened cost reduction and efficiency measures, Watson Bio’s net profit attributable to the parent company is expected to increase by 13.00% to 34.00% in 2025.