US equity fund Carlyle has agreed to pay about US$233 million for a minority stake in China's biggest machinery maker, Xugong Group Construction Machinery Co, the listed arm of Xugong Group said last Friday.

The new price values Xugong about 17 percent higher than an original deal in October 2005, when Carlyle said it would pay US$375 million for an 85 percent stake.

Carlyle has now agreed to pay 1.8 billion yuan (US$233 million) for 45 percent, the Shenzhen-listed arm, Xugong Science & Technology Co, said in a statement.

The US firm has been trying unsuccessfully to win approval from the government for the purchase for more than a year, amid concern among officials that the country may be selling industrial assets too cheaply.

Since the original deal, Carlyle has cut the size of its proposed stake twice, to 50 percent and then to 45 percent. The government is still considering the purchase.

A spokesman for Carlyle was not immediately available to comment.

Xugong also said in its statement that Xugong Group had no plan to float shares or inject assets into the listed arm this year. It was responding to speculation in local media about the possibility of such a move.