(Yicai) June 22 -- Chinese private equity giant Hillhouse Capital has trimmed its stake in Chinese home appliance firm Gree Electric Appliance for the first time since its investment six years ago. However, the reduction was only 38 percent of the initially disclosed amount.

Zhuhai Mingjun Investment Partnership, an investment fund controlled by Hillhouse, sold 42.8 million Gree shares, equal to nearly 0.8 percent of the total, for CNY1.6 billion (USD236.1 million) on June 4, Zhuhai-based Gree announced late yesterday.

On Feb. 25, Gree said in a statement that Zhuhai Mingjun was planning to sell up to 112 million of its shares in the three months starting in 15 trading days, aiming to raise funds to repay loans.

The three months have ended, and the reduction did not exceed the maximum amount previously disclosed, Gree noted yesterday.

Gree's shares [SHE: 000651] closed 0.7 percent up at CNY36.99 (US5.45) in Shenzhen today, giving it a market capitalization of CNY207.2 billion (USD30.6 billion).

Zhuhai Mingjun, which also boasts an investment company owned by Gree's Chairwoman Dong Mingzhu as an investor, acquired a 15 percent stake in Gree from state-owned Zhuhai Gree Group for CNY41.7 billion (USD6.1 billion) in January 2020, becoming the firm's largest shareholder.

Due to Gree's multiple share buybacks, which reduced its total share capital, Zhuhai Mingjun's ownership percentage increased throughout the years and is now about 15.4 percent.

As the Chinese air conditioning market is experiencing an overall downturn, Gree faced some financial pressure last year. Its net profit and revenue both shrank 10 percent to CNY29 billion and CNY171.1 billion, respectively, in 2025 from the year before.

However, the company's performance rebounded this year. In the first quarter, its net profit widened 3 percent to CNY6.1 billion from a year earlier, and revenue grew 3.5 percent to CNY43.1 billion.

Editor: Futura Costaglione