(Yicai Global) Sept. 6 -- Chery Holding and unit Chery Automobile have reached a deal for an investment partnership to become their biggest shareholder, and have received a CNY4.7 billion (USD670 million) down payment, an executive at the Chinese carmaker told Yicai Global today.

Tengxing Yangtze River Delta Haining Equity Investment Partnership will become Chery Holding's biggest shareholder with an almost 31 percent stake and own just over 28.5 percent of Chery Auto via the parent company, according to the executive, who did not provide further details and asked not to be identified.

Chery Holding and Chery Auto submitted a filing about a capital boost and share sale with the Changjiang Equity Exchange on Sept. 2. The Wuhu, Anhui province-based firms were seeking a single investor to subscribe to Chery Holding's CNY19.2 billion of new capital and 10.1 billion in new shares of Chery Auto for CNY14.4 billion.

Chery Holding tried to offload a 31.4 percent stake in itself last September, but the offer expired in December without any takers.

The two companies will use the funds raised to pay debt, develop new businesses and for daily operations, the statement said. For the first six months of this year, the parent posted a loss of CNY156 million (USD21.9 million), assets of CNY90.4 billion and CNY68.5 billion in liabilities. Chery Auto reported a loss of CNY1.4 billion, CNY83.1 billion in assets and liabilities of CNY62.3 billion.

They did not disclose their debts payable in the short term. Chery Holding and Chery Auto reported CNY45.5 billion and CNY50.2 billion, respectively, in current liabilities as of late last year, Yicai Global found by referring to the annual report of the firms' biggest shareholder Wuhu Construction Investment.

Tengxing was founded on July 22 with 10 shareholders such as Haining Asset Management, Haining Jianshan New District Development and Dazhong New Energy Technology, which is Tengxing's executive partner, according to Qixinbao, a corporate information platform.