Nandu Power: Investing 2.2 Billion and Selling for 400 Million — The Power and Cost Behind Capital Maneuvering

AI · Zhu Baoyi’s Transition to Lithium Batteries: What Challenges Lie Ahead?

Price difference of 80% between entry and exit, Zhou Qingzhi cashes out and leaves, Zhu Baoyi takes over to face the challenge

Investor.com Zhou Zilan

On March 12, 2026, Nandu Power (300068.SZ) announced a major asset sale plan, proposing to transfer 100% equity of Anhui Huabo Recycling Resources for 1.415 billion yuan, while simultaneously recovering 1.15 billion yuan in historical financial support, totaling 2.565 billion yuan in funds recovered. This transaction immediately drew significant market attention: from 2015 to 2017, the company spent a total of 2.276 billion yuan fully acquiring Huabo Recycling Resources. Now, after a 1 billion yuan capital increase in January 2026, the core operational asset valuation is only about 400 million yuan, with the buy-sell price difference exceeding 80%. As a veteran company in the energy storage industry, Nandu Power’s large-scale asset clearance not only marks a strategic shift in business focus but also reveals the complete capital flow involving the founder’s exit and new management’s takeover. Meanwhile, the transaction review process and subsequent implementation are key windows for market observers to assess the company’s transformation.

1. Announcement Reconciliation: A Decade of Capital Cycles, a Panorama of Huge Price Gaps and Review Progress

In 2015, Nandu Power acquired a 51% stake in Huabo Recycling Resources for 316 million yuan, and in 2017, purchased the remaining 49% for 1.96 billion yuan, totaling 2.276 billion yuan to bring the recycled lead business under its umbrella, aiming to create a complete lead-acid battery industry chain. At that time, Huabo, as a leading lead recycler, was seen as a core support for performance growth. However, as lithium battery energy storage rapidly replaced lead-acid batteries, the recycled lead business continued to lose money and saw declining gross margins, gradually becoming a burden for the listed company.

The current transaction values the asset at 1.415 billion yuan, and combined with capital inflows, seems to provide sufficient cash recovery. However, the target recently received capital increases, and its actual business valuation has significantly shrunk. According to the announcement, after the transaction, the expected net profit attributable to the parent in 2026 will increase by about 83 million yuan, and more importantly, it will ease the company’s high debt pressure. As of Q3 2025, the company’s asset-liability ratio was 79.01%, with current liabilities exceeding 10.8 billion yuan, highlighting liquidity tension.

Regarding review procedures, this transaction does not constitute a major asset reorganization and does not require CSRC approval. It has been approved by the board of directors and scheduled for a second extraordinary general meeting on March 30, 2026, to review related proposals. Related shareholders need to recuse themselves from voting, and small and medium investors’ votes will be counted separately. As of now, the company has not disclosed the voting results. The transaction will only take effect upon the removal of related guarantees and approval of relevant resolutions, pending shareholder approval.

In terms of market value, since completing the Huabo acquisition in 2017, the company’s market capitalization has fluctuated downward—from a high of about 26 billion yuan in 2015 to approximately 14.5 billion yuan in March 2026—shrinking by over 10 billion yuan. Concerns about the company’s business transformation and asset impairment continue to persist.

2. Power Shift: Zhou Qingzhi Cashes Out Over 2 Billion, Zhu Baoyi Takes Full Control

Nandu Power’s capital operations have always revolved around two key figures: founder Zhou Qingzhi and current Chairman Zhu Baoyi. Their cooperation, succession, and利益分配 form the core logic of corporate governance and capital moves.

As the founder, Zhou Qingzhi pushed Nandu Power onto the Growth Enterprise Market (GEM) in 2010, holding a total of 10.52% through Hangzhou Nandu, Shanghai Yidu, and Shanghai Nandu platforms, serving as the original actual controller. After leading the Huabo acquisition in 2017, Zhou Qingzhi gradually initiated an exit plan: stepping down from the board in 2022, no longer involved in daily operations; after unsuccessful attempts to change control in December 2025, he fully withdrew from decision-making. Public data shows that from 2019 to 2023, his controlled holding platforms continuously reduced holdings through centralized bidding and block trades, cashing out approximately 1.8 to 2 billion yuan, completing a transition from industry founder to financial investor.

Zhu Baoyi, founder of Huabo Recycling Resources, entered Nandu Power in 2017 through asset sale, receiving 490 million yuan in cash and corresponding shares, becoming the second-largest shareholder. After equity dilution, Zhu Baoyi directly holds 6.26%, with his brother Zhu Baode acting in concert holding a total of 6.96%. In 2018, he reduced holdings via block trades, cashing out about 100 million yuan; from 2019 to 2021, through reductions and pledges, he gained about 300 million yuan in cash. After Zhou Qingzhi’s retreat in 2022, Zhu Baoyi took over as chairman and CEO, fully controlling company operations and strategy. The current sale of Huabo assets is a key step under his leadership to completely divest from lead-acid business and focus on lithium battery energy storage.

From industry cooperation to power transfer, with Huabo as the link, the transformation of capital and control rights has been completed, directly driving the company’s strategic shift from lead-acid to lithium batteries.

3. Macro Analysis: Cutting Off to Survive, Transformation Still Needs Time

From the perspective of industry cycles and capital operations, this asset sale is an inevitable choice for Nandu Power amid industry iteration. Overall, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks, but it also comes with clear transformation challenges.

On the positive side, large capital inflows effectively ease high debt pressures, improve cash flow safety margins, and stabilize operations; divesting unprofitable and weakly synergistic lead-acid assets optimizes the business structure, allowing resources to be concentrated on high-growth lithium battery energy storage, aligning with industry trends in power storage and new energy storage; with Zhou Qingzhi’s complete exit and Zhu Baoyi’s full control, corporate governance becomes clearer, strategic execution more consistent, which is beneficial for long-term business focus.

On the risks and costs, the huge price gap between buying and selling reflects strategic misjudgments in early industry chain layout and the rapid depreciation of traditional businesses amid technological iteration, impacting the company’s historical performance and asset credibility; the 100-billion yuan market value shrinkage indicates investor concerns over uncertain transformation, and competition in the lithium battery energy storage sector is fierce, with leading companies like CATL and BYD holding advantages. Nandu Power still has shortcomings in technology, scale, and channels; whether the recovered funds can become core competitiveness remains uncertain. The shareholder meeting votes, guarantee releases, and phased payments all carry uncertainties, and the pace of transaction completion and fund recovery will directly influence the company’s subsequent operations.

Overall, Nandu Power’s capital maneuvering is a typical case of traditional manufacturing firms responding to technological change by actively “cutting off” to survive. The huge price gap is the cost of era change; power transfer is part of governance optimization; strategic focus is essential for survival and growth. Once the shareholder meeting approval is obtained, the company will officially bid farewell to the lead-acid era. Whether it can rebuild value in the lithium battery energy storage sector will be the key measure of this capital operation’s success or failure.