Author | Cui Yuanwei, Editor | Chen Junda
According to a report by Chip Insights on October 12, yesterday, Fujian Dongbai Group Co., Ltd. announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Fujian Dongbai Chuangzhi Investment Co., Ltd., plans to acquire a 52.6667% equity stake held by relevant shareholders of the optical detection chip company Hangzhou Kuailing Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd., with a tentative equity transfer consideration of CNY 316 million.
According to the announcement, the net assets on the books of Kuailing Optoelectronics are approximately CNY 70.77 million, but the overall valuation given by the appraisal institution is CNY 612 million, an increase of CNY 540 million, with an appreciation rate of 764%, meaning the appraised price is 8.6 times the net assets on the books. The two parties finally closed the deal at a valuation of CNY 600 million, with Dongbai Group acquiring a 52.67% equity stake corresponding to a consideration of CNY 316 million, funded by its own funds and bank loans.
The announcement disclosed that Executive Director Ye Jinlin committed that the net profit attributable to the parent company after deducting non-recurring gains and losses of Kuailing Optoelectronics from 2027 to 2029 will be no less than CNY 10 million, CNY 40 million, and CNY 100 million, respectively, totaling CNY 150 million over the three years. If the targets are not met, the transaction valuation will be adjusted, and Ye Jinlin will implement performance compensation, while impairment compensation and equity pledge arrangements will also be set up.
At the same time, the announcement disclosed multiple risk warnings: Kuailing Optoelectronics has not yet been profitable in 2025 and from January to August 2026; the revenue from the top five customers of the company accounts for 79.35% and 59.63%, respectively, indicating a high customer concentration, mainly from customers in the LiDAR field.
Dongbai Group has not previously engaged in the optical detection chip business, posing risks of cross-border operations and integration; the appraisal appreciation rate for this acquisition is relatively high, posing a risk of goodwill impairment in the future, and there is uncertainty regarding whether the three-year cumulative performance commitment of CNY 150 million in net profit after deducting non-recurring gains and losses set for this transaction can be fulfilled.
On the evening of October 11, the Shanghai Stock Exchange issued a regulatory work letter to Dongbai Group regarding the asset acquisition of Fujian Dongbai Group Co., Ltd. As of 15:13 today, the stock price of Dongbai Group is CNY 11.18 per share, up 10.04% from yesterday's closing price of CNY 10.16 per share, with a total market capitalization reaching CNY 9.735 billion.
Founded in July 2014 and headquartered in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, Kuailing Optoelectronics is a high-tech enterprise focusing on the R&D, production, and sales of high-end photonic chip technology products. Its products include silicon photonic integrated chips and III-V compound semiconductor detector chips, which are applied in fields such as fiber optic communications, data centers, and LiDAR.
The company's founder, Executive Director, and General Manager, Ye Jinlin, holds bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees from Peking University and a master's degree from the University of Maryland in the United States. He was selected as a national-level leading talent expert and previously worked at the US indium phosphide optical chip company Emcore.
Liao Shirong, co-founder and current CTO of Kuailing Optoelectronics, holds bachelor's and master's degrees from Peking University and a master's degree from the University of Maryland in the US. He is also a national-level leading talent expert and previously worked at Kotura, a pioneer in US silicon photonic technology.
In terms of equity structure, Kuailing Optoelectronics currently has a registered capital of CNY 7.0923 million and a total of 18 shareholders. The founder, Ye Jinlin, is the largest shareholder, having contributed CNY 3.3809 million and holding a 47.67% stake; institutional shareholders include Jiaxing Junti Equity Investment Partnership (14.38%), Hangzhou Dingfeng Investment Management Partnership (9.75%), etc.
Upon completion of the transaction, Dongbai Chuangzhi will contribute CNY 3.7353 million to hold a 52.6667% stake, becoming the controlling shareholder; Ye Jinlin's shareholding ratio will be diluted to 37.09%, remaining the second-largest shareholder and actual operator.
▲Shareholder structure of Kuailing Optoelectronics after the equity acquisition
At the business level, the main chip products of Kuailing Optoelectronics fall into three major categories: PIN-PD, APD (Avalanche Photodiode), and MPD (Monitor Photodiode), with applications covering three fields: LiDAR, optical communications, and gas detection.
Optical communication chips are the most watched business direction in this acquisition. According to the product matrix disclosed in the announcement, the optical communication-related products of Kuailing Optoelectronics are optical detection chips, which are divided into three lines: data center PD, telecom APD, and MPD.
In the data center market, the company's 2.5G/4G/10G/25G PIN and 4×25G PIN arrays have been mass-produced; the single-wavelength 100G PIN and 4×100G PIN arrays passed verification by some customers and received small-batch orders in 2026; the single-wavelength 200G PIN and 4×200G PIN arrays have been sent to three customers for verification.
In the telecom market, its 2.5G/4G/10G APD/TO products have been mass-produced; the 25G APD passed verification by some customers and received batch orders in 2026; the 50G APD has passed verification on the ONU (Optical Network Unit) side and received small-batch orders, and samples have been sent to five customers for verification on the OLT (Optical Line Terminal) side.
In terms of MPD products, Kuailing Optoelectronics' Edge-coupled MPD and 100-3000μm MPD/TO have both been mass-produced, mainly used for CW laser status monitoring. In the LiDAR aspect, 200-1000μm APD/TO/ROSA and four-quadrant 135/230μm APD have been mass-produced.
Financial data shows that the company's operating revenue in 2025 was CNY 39.7613 million, with a net profit of CNY -15.0722 million; from January to August 2026, its operating revenue was CNY 34.8693 million, with a net profit of CNY -2.5170 million, indicating a narrowing loss. From the perspective of revenue structure, the proportion of Kuailing Optoelectronics' LiDAR business decreased from 73.51% in 2025 to 52.23% from January to August 2026, while the proportion of the optical communication business rapidly increased from 16.79% to 40.08%, becoming the second growth curve.
Conclusion: Department Store Company Buys Optical Chips - Cross-Industry Transformation or Concept Bet
The main business of Dongbai Group is regional department store retail and warehousing logistics. This acquisition of an unprofitable optical chip company with an appraisal appreciation rate of 764% for CNY 316 million is another case of a traditional industry listed company on the A-share market crossing over into the semiconductor sector.
You'a Shares, also a department store retail enterprise, initiated the acquisition of 100% equity of Shenzhen Shangyangtong at the end of 2024, entering the power semiconductor track and positioning itself with a dual main business of 'retail + semiconductors'. From an industrial perspective, optical detection chips are indeed a key link in the optical module industry chain. Single-wavelength 100G/200G PIN and 50G APD are also the direction for domestic substitution in the current upgrade of 800G/1.6T optical modules. The product matrix of Kuailing Optoelectronics has a certain level of technical content.
However, the current revenue of Kuailing Optoelectronics still mainly relies on LiDAR customers. Although the optical communication business is growing rapidly, its base is still small, with the full-year optical communication revenue in 2025 being only CNY 6.67 million, and the company has not yet achieved profitability.
An optical chip company with an annual revenue of less than CNY 40 million and ongoing losses has had its valuation raised to CNY 600 million. Behind this are both the hot optical communication track and the urgent need of listed companies to find a second growth curve. Whether Dongbai Group can synergize the optical chip business with its existing retail and logistics businesses, and whether Kuailing Optoelectronics' high-speed products can pass verification by major customers to achieve large-scale shipments, still needs to be answered by subsequent financial reports and customer verification data.