A construction company that spent $125 million on a Michelangelo and a sapphire will be delisted from NASDAQ.
Michelangelo, Crucifixion, date unknown. Courtesy Yulong- Eco-Materials Ltd., via Global News Wire.
Yulong Eco-Materials Ltd., a company based in China’s Henan Province that formerly manufactured environmentally friendly construction materials, was delisted from NASDAQ Friday after pivoting to a business model involving fractional ownership of valuable art, international tours of a precious stone, and museum games.
In a statement announcing the delisting, Yulong Eco-Materials Ltd. also teased its plans for the Millennium Sapphire:
The Company plans to take the Millennium Sapphire on a tour of museums around the world, produce a television documentary, and include it [sic] the gemstone in a number of feature films. The Company will develop games around museum tours.
The company made headlines in August when it dropped $50 million on the so-called Millennium Sapphire. Then, in November, it acquired a Michelangelo painting, Crucifixion, for $75 million, announced a name-change to Millennium Fine Art Limited, and revealed plans to sell shares in the work for $10 each. The unusual acquisitions fueled a 260 percent increase in the company’s stock price, including a bump of up to 48 percent on Thursday when the acquisition of the Michelangelo was confirmed.
Forensic analysis of the Michelangelo by an Early Renaissance art expert. Courtesy Yulong Eco-Materials Limited.
