Glorious Property Holdings Ltd got a USD589 million offer from billionaire owner Zhang Zhirong to take the company private. The move is seen as an effort to save China Rongsheng Heavy Industries Group, the debt-laden firm he founded. This was according to a report published by Reuters.

Zhang is the founder and biggest shareholder of China Rongsheng. The company is the biggest private shipbuilder in China. The firm had been hit hard by the crisis in the global shipping industry. This year, the shipbuilder was forced to seek financial assistance from the government, the report said.

An unnamed Hong Kong-based credit analyst said, "They may need money to save Rongsheng after the local government filed a claim against the shipbuilder. The company is in a difficult situation and my guess is they will have to sell a substantial portion of their assets. Property assets are a lot easier to sell. It is difficult to sell assets when they are a listed company so hence the privatization."

The buyout offer was made on Thursday. This was just after China Rongsheng said the the government was seeking around USD172 million for an alleged breach of contract, Reuters reported.