Hundred-billion family conglomerate sold to Anhui state-owned assets (安徽国资): post‑80s stepmother and post‑90s eldest son “both lost”

Sale sealed after family fight and debt crisis

It has been reported that Wanwei Group (皖维集团), representing Anhui state-owned assets (安徽国资), has emerged as the successful bidder in a court‑led restructuring that transfers control of Shanshan Group (杉杉集团) — once a clothing pioneer turned global lithium‑battery anode and polarizer giant — out of the founding family’s hands. The move ends a roller‑coaster roughly 800 days long in which the conglomerate moved from industry darling to distressed asset, driven by heavy leverage, complex cross‑guarantees and a sudden leadership vacuum after founder Zheng Yonggang (郑永刚) died without a clear legal will.

Family feud accelerated collapse

The proximate cause was not market forces alone but a public, bitter succession fight between Zheng’s post‑80s widow Zhou Ting (周婷) and his post‑90s son Zheng Ju (郑驹). Who would control the empire became a boardroom and courtroom spectacle that reportedly spooked banks and suppliers into curtailing credit; once lenders stopped renewing facilities, the group’s mother company quickly hit more than RMB 30 billion in liabilities. Zhou briefly stabilized the listed arm by pruning non‑core, cash‑burning units and restoring profitability — a move that arguably made the asset sale palatable to state buyers — but she and Zheng Ju ultimately failed to secure long‑term control.

Why Beijing‑backed rescue matters

The deal underscores a broader pattern in China: state actors stepping in to stabilize strategically important private firms amid systemic credit tightening and concerns about supply‑chain security. Shanshan’s anode‑material and polarizer plants are integral to China’s EV and electronics supply chains. For Western observers, the episode raises familiar questions: who bears business risk in family‑run conglomerates, and how far will state capital go to preserve industrial capacity? It has been reported that the restructuring was finalized in February 2026, and the outcome signals that, at least this time, neither the stepmother nor the heir retained the prize — the family lost control, and the state gained a foothold in a key battery materials play.