A potential breakthrough has emerged for the "national juice" brand Huiyuan's path back to an A-share listing.

It was recently learned from sources close to the litigation that a lawsuit filed by an affiliate of Guangdong Private Investment (GMinTou) against 12 affiliated entities of Wensheng Asset, citing infringement liability disputes, has recently reached a settlement.

GMinTou has now applied to the Shenzhen Futian District Court to withdraw the lawsuit and has simultaneously lifted the freeze on the 52.47% equity stake in Zhuji Wenshenghui Ziyou Zijin Touzi Youxian Gongsi held by Shanghai Yongrui Qiye Guanli Hehuo Qiye.

Public information shows that Zhuji Wenshenghui is a special持股平台 established by Wensheng Asset for the restructuring of Beijing Huiyuan Food and Beverage Co., Ltd., the owner of the "Huiyuan Juice" brand, and holds a 60% equity stake in Beijing Huiyuan.

Previously, Guozhong Water Affairs planned to acquire no less than 51% of the equity in Zhuji Wenshenghui to achieve consolidation of Beijing Huiyuan, which would have allowed the "national juice" Huiyuan to achieve a backdoor listing. However, shortly after, due to the legal dispute between GMinTou and Wensheng Asset, the shares of Zhuji Wenshenghui were frozen, directly leading to the termination of Guozhong Water Affairs' indirect acquisition of control over Beijing Huiyuan.

Now, with the resolution of the dispute, Huiyuan may have the opportunity to continue its journey back to the A-share market.

Following its delisting from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2021, Huiyuan Juice embarked on a restructuring path. The following year, Wensheng Asset, already gaining some recognition in the non-performing asset disposal sector, secured the role of restructuring investor for Beijing Huiyuan. According to its disclosed securitization plan, Wensheng Asset aimed to list Beijing Huiyuan on the A-share market within 3 to 5 years.

The listed company Guozhong Water Affairs was a key part of Beijing Huiyuan's capitalization plan. In recent years, Guozhong Water Affairs' fundamentals have been weak, with its non-GAAP net profit remaining in a loss-making state for five consecutive years from 2018 to 2022, creating an urgent need to find new growth points to improve and enhance the sustainable profitability of the listed company.

At the beginning of the restructuring, Guozhong Water Affairs spent 930 million yuan to successively acquire a 36.486% stake in Zhuji Wenshenghui, thereby indirectly holding a 21.89% stake in Beijing Huiyuan and becoming its second-largest shareholder.

In July 2024, Guozhong Water Affairs announced plans to acquire the equity in Zhuji Wenshenghui held by Shanghai Yongrui, aiming to obtain no less than 51% of its shares, thus becoming the controlling shareholder of both Zhuji Wenshenghui and Beijing Huiyuan and achieving consolidation of the latter.

However, not long after, Wensheng Asset encountered liquidity problems, leading to debt disputes with several entities under GMinTou, which planted hidden risks for this capital operation.

In April 2025, Guozhong Water Affairs disclosed that because the equity of the transaction target remained frozen, creating a restriction on transfer that did not comply with relevant regulations, the company, after prudent study and friendly negotiation with the counterparty, decided to terminate the acquisition. It stated it would reassess the feasibility of proceeding once the transfer restrictions were lifted.

Subsequently, the share price of Guozhong Water Affairs continued to fall. Despite a significant market recovery in the A-share market in 2025, the company's stock accumulated a decline of 25.89%. As of the market close on January 19, 2026, Guozhong Water Affairs had a total market capitalization of approximately 4.1 billion yuan.

Seven months after the termination of the acquisition, the situation seems to have taken a turn. It is understood that Wensheng Asset used its relevant equity stake in Zhuji Wenshenghui to offset its debts to GMinTou.

Data from Tianyancha also shows that on December 29, 2025, the equity structure of Zhuji Wenshenghui changed. The stake held by Shanghai Yongrui decreased from 52.47% to the current 38.75%, a drop of 13.72 percentage points.

Simultaneously, Zhuji Wenshenghui added three new shareholders: GMinTou Alternative Investment, GMinTou Huiqiao No. 8, and GMinTou Huiqiao No. 3. Their respective shareholding ratios are 7.78%, 4.44%, and 1.5%, summing to exactly the 13.72% reduction from Shanghai Yongrui.

"GMinTou appears to be the first institution to have reached a settlement with Wensheng Asset and obtained debt compensation, indicating that their decision to apply for asset preservation against Wensheng's core assets was very shrewd," commented a senior partner at a private equity firm in South China.

So, does the settlement between GMinTou and Wensheng Asset mean that Guozhong Water Affairs' acquisition of Beijing Huiyuan can proceed?

When asked about this on January 19, a representative from Guozhong Water Affairs' securities department admitted to a reporter posing as an investor that uncertainties remain. "While their dispute with GMinTou is resolved, the conflict with Huiyuan is not. The latter issue is more direct, and the company cannot yet judge the subsequent developments."

At the end of 2025, Guozhong Water Affairs disclosed an announcement concerning litigation involving its investee company, stating that the 60% equity stake in Beijing Huiyuan held by Zhuji Wenshenghui had been frozen by the Beijing Third Intermediate People's Court.

The reason stems from when Beijing Huiyuan's restructuring plan was approved in 2022. Wensheng Asset, as the restructuring investor, committed to injecting 1.6 billion yuan in five installments within three years to acquire a 70% stake in Beijing Huiyuan, with over 90% of the funds designated for upgrading production and operations. However, after Hebei Huiyuan completed the industrial and commercial registration changes, transferring 100% ownership of Beijing Huiyuan, Zhuji Wenshenghui only paid 750 million yuan of the subscription price, leaving 850 million yuan unpaid to date.

Consequently, Hebei Huiyuan filed a lawsuit demanding payment of the unpaid registered capital and违约赔偿金, and requested preservation measures against assets valued at 1.013 billion yuan under Zhuji Wenshenghui's name. The Beijing Third Intermediate People's Court ruled in favor of the preservation and froze the 60% equity stake in Beijing Huiyuan held by Zhuji Wenshenghui.

On January 8 of this year, an official WeChat account named "Huiyuan Group" published a strongly-worded "Serious Statement on Resuming Control of the Huiyuan Brand," criticizing Wensheng Asset for violating商业诚信 and clearly stating three core demands and sanction measures, formally announcing the repossession of control over Beijing Huiyuan.

"Huiyuan Group" stated that the ingredients for Huiyuan's brands are always supplied by its healthy, safe, efficient, and stable full industrial chain system. Juice products not produced using ingredients supplied by Huiyuan Group cannot be sold under the "Huiyuan" name. Furthermore, in response to Wensheng Asset's fundamental breach of the Restructuring Investment Agreement, Huiyuan Group announced it is legally taking full control of Beijing Huiyuan. Corresponding orders for Huiyuan Juice will also be fully managed by Huiyuan Group. The statement indicated that management authority would be returned to the new management of Beijing Huiyuan only after Wensheng Asset fully fulfills the agreement, subject to confirmation by the Beijing First Intermediate People's Court.

"When the problem occurred, the company consistently urged Wensheng Asset to resolve it, but they haven't done so yet, leading to judicial proceedings. Since both sides have their own arguments and positions, we cannot make a judgment and can only wait for the court's ruling," the aforementioned Guozhong Water Affairs representative further stated.

It is understood that Wensheng Asset is currently actively raising funds to resolve the related disputes. The entry of GMinTou might potentially break this deadlock.

"Regardless, the settlement between GMinTou and Wensheng Asset under the current circumstances is certainly positive. Furthermore, GMinTou has now entered the shareholder lineup of Zhuji Wenshenghui. As a leading domestic investment institution, GMinTou has the resources and likely the willingness to help the national brand Huiyuan achieve longer-term and healthier development," the aforementioned private equity partner told the reporter.