(Yicai) Dec. 29 -- Chinese pig breeder Zhengbang Technology has introduced its peer Shuangbaotai Group as the new controlling shareholder, ending a year-long bankruptcy and restructuring effort.

Shuangbaotai has received 1.4 billion of the 5.7 billion shares Zhengbang issued during the restructuring, thus obtaining a 15.1 percent stake, Nanchang, Jiangxi province-based Zhengbang announced yesterday.

Moreover, Shuangbaotai's Chairman and General Manager Bao Hongxing and former executive Xiong Zhihua were named Zhengbang's chairman and general manager, respectively, the firm added.

Zhengbang was once China's second-largest pig breeder. It suffered CNY18.8 billion and CNY13.4 billion (USD2.6 billion and USD1.9 billion) in losses in the past two years because of falling pork prices.

In October last year, Zhengbang's creditors applied to the court to start bankruptcy reorganization. In July, they identified Shuangbaotai as the reorganization investor. According to the agreement, a consortium headed by Shuangbaotai paid CNY4.3 billion (USD605.8 million) for Zhengbang's shares.

Nevertheless, Zhengbang's business situation is still not optimistic. In the first three quarters of the year, the company reported a net loss of CNY825 million (USD116.9 million) and revenue of CNY1.6 billion, down 50 percent from a year earlier, according to its latest earnings report.

Established in 1998 in Jiangxi province, Shuangbaotai was initially engaged in pig feed production. It entered the pig breeding industry in 2017. Last year, the firm sold over 9.3 million pigs, ranking fourth among Chinese pig farmers. It reported a net profit of CNY1.8 billion and revenue of CNY35.4 billion last year.

Editor: Futura Costaglione