DU WEIMIN, chairman of Shenzhen Kangtai Biological Products Co. Ltd., will give his ex-wife 23.99 percent of the company’s stock, which amounts to 23.5 billion yuan (US$3.3 billion) as part of a divorce settlement, according to an official statement issued by the company.

On Friday evening, Kangtai, a well-known vaccine manufacturer, announced that Du and his ex-wife Yuan Liping had terminated their marriage and split up their property. As per the statement, Du will give 161 million of the company’s shares directly held by him to Yuan.

The closing price of Kangtai’s stock stood at 146 yuan per share Friday, which meant that the market value of the 161 million shares Yuan obtained from the property split reached 23.5 billion yuan.

Some Chinese media said that the hefty divorce settlement is related to the surge of Kangtai’s stock. Since January, the company’s share price has skyrocketed by nearly 66 percent, with total market value approximating 100 billion yuan.

This past February, Kangtai and Advaccine (Suzhou) Biopharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. forged a strategic partnership to work on the development of a COVID-19 vaccine.

In order to continue normal operations of the company, Du will continue to maintain the actual controlling rights over Kangtai, according to the company. Du and Yuan have also signed an agreement, in which Yuan agreed to entrust the stockholder voting rights to Du.

(Zhang Yu)