Sotong Development (603612.SH) said in a November 10, 2026 announcement that a Beijing court had accepted a post-divorce property dispute filed by Wang Ping against her former husband, Lang Guanghui, the company’s controlling shareholder and actual controller. As of the announcement, the case was in mediation and had not gone to trial.
According to the announcement, Wang is seeking to terminate their acting-in-concert and voting-rights entrustment agreement and to receive an additional 23.7187 million Sotong shares. Her other property claims total approximately 393 million yuan. At Sotong’s November 10 closing price of 16.72 yuan per share, the shares sought were worth approximately 397 million yuan, putting the combined value of her claims at about 790 million yuan. These are claims, not a court award.
The dispute follows a 2019 divorce settlement under which Lang transferred 56.053 million Sotong shares to Wang, then equivalent to 16.47% of the company. They also signed an agreement intended to maintain stable control of Sotong. It runs for eight years and provides for an automatic eight-year extension under specified conditions if Wang still holds shares. The agreement restricts Wang’s share sales and gives Lang a right of first refusal if she proposes to transfer shares by agreement. Its terms allow unilateral termination only under specified circumstances involving a binding legal finding.
As of September 30, 2026, Lang directly held 72,473,022 shares, or 14.55%, while Wang held 56,053,012 shares, or 11.25%. They were Sotong’s largest and second-largest shareholders and, as parties acting in concert, held a combined 25.8%. If the court grants Wang’s share-division request, their respective direct holdings would be approximately 48.75 million and 79.77 million shares, making Wang the largest shareholder by direct stake. Whether the voting agreement will be terminated remains before the court.
Sotong said the case concerns its shareholders’ personal interests, not its operations, and that it does not expect a material effect on its business. The company reported revenue of 16.324 billion yuan for the first nine months of 2026, up 27.91% year on year, and net profit attributable to shareholders of 657 million yuan, up 0.48%.