Luyang Energy-Saving Materials Co.,Ltd. (002088.SZ) announced on September 4 that it received a notice from its controlling shareholder, Unifrax Asia Pacific Holdings Limited, stating that the indirect controlling shareholder, Ulysses Investment Holdco, Inc., and its affiliated entities obtained confirmation from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas on September 3, 2026 (U.S. time) for a reorganization plan under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. This development introduces a significant shift in the control structure of the listed company.

The company may transition to a state of having no actual controller. The restructuring is fundamentally a debt resolution arrangement at the Ulysses level, and the 52.66% stake in Luyang Energy-Saving held by Unifrax Asia Pacific will remain unchanged, with the controlling shareholder status of the listed company preserved. Under the reorganization plan, the original actual controller and its affiliated parties will completely exit Ulysses's equity structure, while participating creditors will obtain equity in Ulysses by forgoing a portion of their claims, with shareholding ratios corresponding to the scale of debt waived. Based on the current creditor composition, following the completion of the restructuring, it is anticipated that no single or combined entity will be able to secure control of Ulysses, and Luyang Energy-Saving may shift from its current state of having an actual controller to one without an actual controller.

In its announcement, Luyang Energy-Saving clarified that the listed company operates with complete independence from the upstream capital entities across business, personnel, assets, and financial dimensions, and that this overseas restructuring will not have a material impact on the company's daily production and operations, with existing business cooperation contracts continuing to be performed normally. The core driver of this restructuring stems from Ulysses's own debt pressures, utilizing a prepackaged bankruptcy reorganization approach to reduce debt levels and repair its balance sheet. This constitutes a capital structure adjustment at the overseas parent company level, rather than being triggered by operational issues at Luyang Energy-Saving itself.

Luyang Energy-Saving, registered in Yiyuan County, Zibo City, Shandong Province, was listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2006 and is a leading enterprise in the domestic ceramic fiber industry and a national manufacturing champion. The company's main business covers the research, development, production, and sale of refractory and insulation materials, including ceramic fiber, soluble fiber, alumina fiber, and lightweight refractory bricks. It has also expanded into industrial filtration, automotive emission pads, and lithium battery ceramic fiber paper. Its products are widely used in scenarios such as industrial furnace linings, building fire protection and insulation, and high-temperature thermal insulation, serving dozens of downstream industries including petrochemicals, metallurgy, and power, with products exported to multiple overseas countries and regions.

Beyond the capital event, Luyang Energy-Saving is grappling with sustained operational pressures from declining performance. Financial data shows that in 2025, the company achieved net profit attributable to shareholders of RMB 42.9032 million, a year-on-year decline of over 90%. In the first half of 2026, revenue reached RMB 946 million, while net profit attributable to shareholders was only RMB 5.6924 million, a sharp year-on-year drop of 92.57%. Operating cash flow turned negative, and profitability contracted significantly. Luyang Energy-Saving attributes the performance pressure to weak demand from traditional downstream industries such as steel and petrochemicals, compounded by intensified market competition from industry capacity expansion, which has continued to weigh on product prices.

Additionally, according to prior announcements, the company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Inner Mongolia Luyang, previously used calcined coal gangue as raw material and enjoyed a value-added tax (VAT) immediate rebate policy under resource comprehensive utilization incentives. In September 2024, tax authorities reviewed the subsidiary's situation for 2021-2023, and the inspection department determined that calcined coal gangue does not fall within the waste residue categories specified in the policy and therefore should not qualify for the tax preference. In February 2026, the company received a tax administrative decision notice, requiring the subsidiary to pay back VAT of RMB 36.9895 million and late fees of RMB 21.5222 million, totaling RMB 58.5117 million, with the amount recorded in 2025 results.