Photo source: Visual China Blue Whale Financial Reporter Xu Xiaochun
On the evening of May 21, Longbai Group and Dongfang Zirconium Industry simultaneously announced that Xu Gang, the controlling shareholder and actual controller of the company, had died on May 20, 2024 due to invalid medical treatment at the age of 61.
Xu Gang directly holds 627 million shares of Longbai Group, accounting for 26.25% of the total shares of Longbai Group. He is the controlling shareholder and actual controller of the company. At the same time, Longbai Group holds about 182 million shares of Dongfang Zirconium Industry, accounting for 23.51% of the total shares of the company, and is the controlling shareholder of the company. Therefore, Xu Gang is also the actual controller of Dongfang Zirconium Industry. As of the closing of May 21, the closing prices of Longbai Group and Dongfang Zirconium Industry were 22.47 yuan/share and 7.01 yuan/share respectively. The total market value of shares held by Xu Gang was about 14.4 billion yuan.
When the board of directors of Longbai Group was changed last year, Xu Gang had already stepped down and his daughter Xu Ran took over. Therefore, Longbai Group said that Xu Gang was the honorary chairman of the company, and his death did not affect the composition and number of the eighth board of directors of the company. At present, the members of the board of directors, the board of supervisors and the senior management team of the company perform their duties normally, and the company's business is carried out normally. The Company's shares held by Xu Gang will be inherited in accordance with laws and regulations, and the Company will disclose them in a timely manner.
Formerly constructed 100 billion Longbai Group
Xu Gang was born in April 1963. He joined the then Jiaozuo General Chemical Plant in 1982. He used to be the Secretary of the Youth League, the Deputy Chief of Sales Section and the Deputy Director of Operation of the General Chemical Plant. In July 2022, after the joint-stock cooperative system reform of the General Chemical Plant, Xu Gang became the chairman and general manager. Until February 2014, Xu Gang took Longbai Group to the main board of Shenzhen Stock Exchange for listing. At that time, Longbai Group was also called "Bailian". Xu Gang held 19.95% of shares and was the largest shareholder of the company.
In 2016, Xu Gang carried out an important capital operation. Billion Union raised 10 billion yuan to acquire 100% equity of Sichuan Longmang. The company changed the abbreviation of securities to "Longmang Baili" the next year. Since then, Long Mang Baili has gradually become the largest titanium dioxide manufacturer in Asia.
By the end of 2023, the production capacity of Longbai Group's titanium dioxide will reach 1.51 million tons/year, and the production capacity of sponge titanium will reach 50000 tons/year, both of which are among the top in the world. Today, Longbai Group has a significant influence in the titanium dioxide industry. In the multi round price adjustment in 2023, the price increase of Longbai Group will lead to the follow-up of other titanium dioxide enterprises.
2019 is another important capital action of Xu Gang. This year, Long Mang Baili acquired assets such as Yunnan Metallurgical Xinli Titanium Industry and Jinchuan Group's titanium plant, and also took over the equity of Dongfang Zirconium Industry from China Nuclear Industry Group, becoming its largest shareholder. At the same time, Long Mang Baili invested in the construction of iron phosphate and lithium iron phosphate projects, and laid out the new energy industry.
Later, on the basis of the main industry of titanium dioxide, Long Mang Baili formed a three element industrial chain coupling development system of "titanium, zirconium and lithium". In 2021, Long Mang Baili was renamed "Long Bai Group" again.
In the context of economic recovery in 2023, titanium dioxide ushered in an upward trend. On the whole, the market price of titanium dioxide in 2023 will show an M-shaped trend. After several rounds of price adjustment, Longbai Group's orders grew rapidly. Last year, Longbai Group realized an operating revenue of 26.765 billion yuan, up 11% year on year, and realized a net profit attributable to the parent company of 3.226 billion yuan, down 5.64% year on year.
In recent years, with the expansion of business and scale, the market value of Longbai Group has also been rising all the way. In 2021, the company's market value also exceeded 100 billion yuan at its highest. Liu Gesong, Gao Yi and other well-known public and private equity fund managers Zeng Chongcang Longbai Group. As of the end of March this year, Gao Yilinshan No.1 managed by Feng Liu still ranks the fourth largest shareholder. By the end of May 21, the market value of Longbai Group was about 53.6 billion yuan.
The second generation of listed companies with a market value of 50 billion yuan took over
In 2023, when titanium dioxide ushered in the rising market, Xu Gang, who was about to turn 60, chose to step down. At that time, Longbai Group announced that because of his age and considering that the company had established a complete management system and cultural system, Xu Gang would no longer serve as the company's director after the expiration of his term of office.
After leaving office, Xu Gang continued to provide suggestions and support for the strategic development planning and major affairs decision-making of Longbai Group as the controlling shareholder and actual controller. In the year when he retired to the second tier, Xu Gang had a personal wealth of 14 billion yuan.
At the same time, Xu Gang's post-90s daughter took over. In March 2023, when the board of directors of Longbai Group was changed, Xu Gang nominated and ran liu, Xu Ran, Wu Pengsen, Shen Qingfei, Chen Jianli, Wang Xudong and other directors to join the board of directors of Longbai Group to form the eighth board of directors. Among them, Xu Ran is the daughter of Xu Gang. In addition to He Benliu, the rest are young managers in their 30s and 40s.
In an interview with the media, Xu Gang once said that "quitting the board of directors will not affect the enterprise. As the controlling shareholder and actual controller of the company, I will continue to care about and pay attention to the company's major decisions. My daughter Xu Ran's entry into the board of directors can also represent some of my ideas. Therefore, this adjustment is only good. The members of the new board of directors are young, knowledgeable and professional."
From the resume, Xu Ran was born in 1990 and has a master's degree in business administration from Macquarie University, Australia. After graduation, Xu Ran began to work in Longbai Group. From October 2014 to March 2017, he served as the business manager of Longbai Group. From November 2014, he served as the director of Brilliant Union (Europe), from May 2015, he served as the director of Brilliant Union (America), and from March 2017, he served as the assistant to the president of Longbai Group. From April 2021, Xu Ran became the vice chairman of Jiaozuo Young Generation Private Entrepreneurs Association, the director of Image Resources from June 2022, and the vice chairman of Jiaozuo Federation of Industry and Commerce from July 2022.
At present, He Benliu is the chairman of Longbai Group, and Xu Ran is the vice chairman of the company, with a term of office of three years. Only one year after leaving office, Xu Gang died unfortunately. The second generation is still on the way to take over, waiting to become the new helm of the titanium dioxide giant.
