Origo Partners PLC (LON:OPP) saw its shares jump early on Thursday following news the private equity investment group has sold its remaining interest in Niutech Energy, although the stock had surrendered those gains by the afternoon.
The company, which is focused on China-linked core economic growth opportunities, has flogged its stake for around US$2.1mln, which was at a discount of 20% to book value, partly reflecting the decline of the Chinese currency against the US dollar
READ: Origo Partners to raise US$30m to fund investments in China and Mongolia
Origo shares rose 45% to 0.4p in an initial reaction to the news, but by late afternoon trading they were flat at 0.25p.
The company said it has already received 90% of the proceeds from the sale and will use the money for general corporate purposes.
Niutech has a technology that essentially produces energy from scrapped tyres and waste plastic.
The sale follows just under a year after the company announced the indirect sale of a 4.7% beneficial interest in Jinan Heng Yu Environmental Protection Technology, the operating company of Niutech Energy, to Chinese institutional and other investors, for net cash proceeds of RMB 18.8mln (roughly US$3.0mln).
In its interim results, announced in late September, Origo said its stake in Niutech at the end of June stood at 3.67%.
