Andre Juice Buys Stake

93 million yuan in this year’s first quarter, marking its first-ever quarter in the black The AI boom is seeping into just about everything these days, pumping up valuations of the many companies that can claim to be part of a vast related supply chain covering everything from chips and servers to printed circuit boards (PCBs). One of the more unusual twists in that flow is taking a company best known for its juice business into the far different realm of semiconductor materials. That’s the big story from Yantai North Andre Juice Co. Ltd.

SH), China’s leading juice concentrate maker, which last week announced its plan to acquire Ningbo Yongqiang Technology Co. , a PCB materials maker, leaving many investors enthusiastic but also raising a few eyebrows. According to the announcement, Andre will pay between 600 million yuan ($89 million) and 800 million yuan for a controlling stake in Yongqiang, marking its entry into the high-speed and high-frequency, as well as the bismaleimide triazine (BT), substrate materials markets. The company said it must pay a 45 million yuan deposit within two days of signing an agreement, with the final transaction price contingent on the result of subsequent asset appraisals.

Following the announcement, Andre’s Shanghai-listed shares rose by their daily 10% limit for three consecutive days, pushing its market capitalization above 21 billion yuan at one point. 8% higher for the day, reflecting high investor hopes for the plan. The investor enthusiasm owes largely to Yongqiang’s position in the AI supply chain. Surging demand for AI servers has made PCBs and copper-clad laminates (CCL) into overnight investor darlings, and Yongqiang sits squarely within that value chain.

Public records show that Yongqiang was established in 2019, primarily engaged in the development and production of electronic interconnection materials. Its core products include CCLs and prepregs, which are both used to make the PCBs that are an important component of computers and servers. The company has annual production capacity of 10 million square meters of high-speed, high-frequency and BT substrate materials from its base in the Eastern Chinese port city of Ningbo. Major clients Yongqiang’s clients include such major PCB makers as Victory Giant and Shennan Circuits, with its products ultimately used in AI servers, data centers and 5G communications equipment.

Higher signal transmission requirements for AI servers have made producers of high-frequency and high-speed CCLs a key beneficiary of the AI boom. Yongqiang has tapped into a hot sub-sector of the AI supply chain, but its financials may not yet justify the market’s enthusiasm. 95 million yuan — a deficit equal to nearly 30% of its revenue that year. 93 million yuan.

Yongqiang’s net assets also rose modestly from 209 million yuan at the end of last year to 212 million yuan at the end of March. But the scale of its profitability clearly remains limited, and its operating cash flow has yet to show significant improvement, indicating the company is still finding its place in the PCB supply chain. It’s worth noting that just a month before Andre’s announcement, another suitor, Shenzhen-listed Yanjan New Material Co. 54% of Yongqiang.

Yanjan cited the failure of all parties to reach a consensus on core terms, such as performance commitments and transaction valuation. That appears to show that Andre only stepped in after the previous acquisition attempt fell through, suggesting some significant room for variation in final appraisals about Yongqiang’s valuation and performance. Profitable juice business From Andre Juice’s perspective, the company isn’t under any urgent pressure to make such an unusual pivot simply to survive. As one of the world’s major juice concentrate suppliers, the company’s operations have been quite steady over the last few years.

7% to 330 million yuan. 5% in the first quarter of 2026, respectively, affected by industry cycles and a high base effect. But the company remained profitable, and the fundamentals of its core business showed no signs of significant deterioration. All that said, the proposed Yongqiang investment would be substantial for Andre.

At the end of March this year, Andre’s combined cash and tradeable financial assets totaled about 717 million yuan, roughly equal to the expected transaction price of 600 million to 800 million yuan. More importantly, the company candidly admitted to its lack of experience in such a different sector, signaling the very real potential for future integration risks. 8 times, which looks quite high for a traditional consumer products maker. HK) at roughly 110 times.

Such high multiples reflect big investor hopes