Skyworth Group Ltd., an early player in China’s 1990s television boom, plans to delist from Hong Kong after 25 years as a public company.
The buyout proposal was announced in January, it would see shareholders receive the equivalent of HK$10.16 per share in cash and shares in its new energy arm. The stock, last trading at about HK$7, remains well below the offer value, “indicating there’s quite a bit of skepticism that the privatization will succeed.”
The company became one of China’s first-generation TV brands to list in Hong Kong in 2000 when it was founded in 1988 by Huang Hongsheng. Huang later served three years in jail for embezzlement and has since launched an electric vehicle venture. Control has since shifted to his son, Lin Jin, who became chairman in 2022.
“You have to credit Lin Jin, whose family still controls 66% of Skyworth’s shares, with trying to take the company in a new direction nearly four decades after his father first set up the firm in 1988.”
Skyworth will take over Panasonic’s TV sales operations in North America and Europe. Those two regions account for 80% to 90% of Panasonic’s TV sales, while Japan will remain under Panasonic’s control.
The manufacturing will continue to be overseen by Panasonic for now. The move follows a similar transaction by TCL involving Sony’s TV and audio business.
The TV segment, which still generates more than half of revenue under the smart household appliances division, grew just 2% year-on-year in the first half of 2025. Overall revenue fell 6% in 2024.
The new energy unit reported 53% growth in the first half, generating 13.8 billion yuan ($2 billion) and accounting for 38% of total revenue. “Given that strong growth, it’s no surprise Skyworth wants to separate the new energy business from the slow-growth TV segment for its own new listing.”