Acquisition of “little giant” falls through, 80 billion diaphragm leader turns around to invest 4 billion on its own!

On May 13, Enjie Co., Ltd. announced that due to the parties involved not reaching a consensus on the valuation of the target company, Zhongke Hualian, and failing to agree on core terms such as the transaction price, the company has decided to terminate the issuance of shares for asset acquisition and the fundraising of supporting funds. The company also commits not to plan any major asset restructuring within one month from the date of the announcement.

According to available information, Zhongke Hualian was established in 2011 with a registered capital of approximately RMB 206 million. It was once listed on the National Equities Exchange and Quotations (NEEQ) and was delisted effective April 26, 2018.

The company’s core business focuses on the R&D, manufacturing, and sales of complete production equipment for advanced materials such as wet-process PE separators, BOPET, PI separators, proton exchange membranes, and high-strength fibers. It is a leading domestic equipment manufacturer, with the core components of its production lines having been largely replaced by domestically produced alternatives.

In addition, in 2016, the company established the Lanketu brand, directly entering the R&D, production, and sales of separator products. As of 2025, its subsidiary Lanketu has built three mass-production bases in Qingdao, Shandong; Yuncheng, Shanxi; and Bengbu, Anhui, with a combined capacity of approximately 2 billion square meters. In addition, two major bases are under construction in Suining, Sichuan, and Yibin, Sichuan, and are expected to reach full production in the second half of 2026. By the end of 2026, total capacity may reach 3 billion square meters. After all five bases are fully operational, the combined capacity is expected to reach 5 billion square meters.



Figure: Lanketu Diaphragm Products

It is reported that in November last year, the company announced the acquisition plan, aiming to extend upstream along the industrial chain and build synergies between “equipment + materials.” With the lithium battery industry currently seeing a recovery in prosperity and the “anti-involution” trend accelerating, this is likely what gives Zhongke Hualian the confidence to “refuse to budge on price.” As for Enjie, its attitude is: “If you won’t sell to me, I’ll leave you far behind.”

Also on May 13, 2026, Enjie Corporation announced that it plans to invest in and build a lithium battery separator project with an annual capacity of 5 billion square meters in Rong County, Zigong City, Sichuan Province, with a total estimated investment of RMB 4 billion. The company signed a Strategic Cooperation Agreement with the Zigong Municipal People’s Government, and its controlling subsidiary Shanghai Enjie signed an Investment Cooperation Agreement with the Rong County People’s Government. The project will be implemented by a newly established subsidiary, in which the company will hold a 67% stake, the industrial partner recommended by the Zigong municipal government will hold 33%, and additional partners may be introduced later with a combined shareholding of no more than 10%. The project will be financed through the company’s own funds and self-raised funds, with the aim of improving its capacity layout and increasing market share.

As of the first quarter of 2026, the company’s existing separator production capacity is approximately 15 billion square meters. Monthly production scheduling in Q2 2026 is expected to approach 4 billion square meters, and the full-year shipment target of 15 billion square meters is expected to be achieved. By year-end, an additional 1 billion square meters of capacity will come online; together with the 5 billion square meters from this project, total capacity will exceed 20 billion square meters.

The confidence of Enjie comes from the improvement in its financial situation and growth expectations.

In 2025, Enjie Co., Ltd.Achieved total operating revenue of RMB 13.633 billion, up 34.13% year-on-year, and net profit of RMB 143 million, turning from a loss to profit compared with a loss of RMB 556 million in the same period last year, emerging from the performance downturn in 2024.

In 2026, the company continued to make efforts, achieving a revenue of 3.908 billion yuan in the first quarter, a year-on-year increase of 43.21%; the net profit attributable to shareholders reached 260 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 901.70%. The net profit for the single quarter has already surpassed the total for the entire year of 2025. This is attributed to the sustained strong demand from downstream end-users, with the company's membrane shipments still experiencing rapid year-on-year growth.

Boosted by these favorable factors, the company’s secondary market performance has been climbing steadily since last year, and its market capitalization has now returned to 80 billion yuan, though it still remains far below its peak.

In fact, it is not only Enjie Co., Ltd.; other leading companies have also been expanding recently.

On May 8, Cangzhou Mingzhu announced that it plans to jointly invest with Guangzhou Zengcheng Development Zone Eastern Center Investment Co., Ltd. to establish Guangzhou Mingzhu New Materials Co., Ltd. for the construction and implementation of the “Cangzhou Mingzhu South China Base Project.” With a total planned investment of approximately RMB 3.38 billion, the project will include a wet-process lithium-ion battery separator facility with an annual capacity of 2.4 billion square meters and a PE pipe facility with an annual capacity of 30,000 tons. Construction will cover eight new wet-process lithium battery separator production lines, seven PE pipe production lines (with one additional line reserved), and supporting facilities. Upon full completion and reaching designed capacity, the company’s annual wet-process lithium battery separator production capacity will reach 4.19 billion square meters, while its annual PE pipe production capacity will reach 229,500 tons.

Just last month, on April 1, Cangzhou Mingzhu also announced that its subsidiary’s subsidiary, Mingzhu Lithium Battery, and Mingchuang Lithium Battery planned to jointly invest in establishing a company in the Cangzhou High-Tech Zone to jointly implement the Phase II project for an annual output of 1.2 billion square meters of wet-process lithium battery separators. The total investment is RMB 1.8 billion, mainly for the construction of four ultra-thin wet-process separator production lines.

Additionally, Foshan Plastics Technology announced that it plans to increase the capital of its wholly owned subsidiary, Hebei Jinli New Energy Technology Co., Ltd., by RMB 300 million using its own funds to supplement the subsidiary’s working capital. Due to the previous acquisition,In the first quarter of 2026, FSPG Hi-Tech’s net profit increased by 2,695% year on year, with the lithium battery separator sector emerging as a new business growth driver, and its asset scale, main business revenue, and profitability improving significantly.

Besides major leading companies competing for market share, competition is also focused on emerging areas such as solid-state batteries.

SEMCORP has completed a ton-scale lithium sulfide production line, while a hundred-ton pilot line and a 10-ton solid-state electrolyte production line are currently being advanced. The company has also secured orders from WeLion New Energy for several hundred million square meters of separators and a hundred-ton scale of solid-state electrolytes. In addition, through its controlling subsidiary Jiangsu Sanhe, the company has established mass production capabilities for separators specifically designed for semi-solid-state batteries.

Recently, the company also reached a deep strategic partnership with solid-state battery company Enli Power.，Jointly develop high-performance electrolyte separators compatible with solid-state batteries, accelerating technology implementation and commercial application.