The Beijing-based retail chain operator said it planned to sell 2.28 billion new shares to a unit owned by its controlling shareholder, Wong Kwong Yu, at HK$1.97 apiece, or a 15.09% discount to Monday's close of HK$2.32.

The unit will subscribe for the new shares on completion of sales of the same amount of existing shares at the same price to third party investors, it said in a filing to the Hong Kong bourse.

Wong's stake in the Hong Kong-listed company will be reduced to 45.47% following the deal, from the current 50.28%.

The share sale came days after GOME, which operates more than 2,800 physical stores in mainland China, said its sales revenue for 2020 was expected to drop by 23%-29% from a year ago amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

It expected to post a 6.5 billion-7.2 billion yuan net loss, compared with 2.59 billion yuan loss in 2019, it said.

($1 = 7.7560 Hong Kong dollars)

(Reporting by Donny Kwok; Editing by Richard Pullin)