BTCC Pool Limited, the mining pool business of cryptocurrency exchange BTCC, has provisionally agreed to sell 49 percent of its equity.

According to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) published on Monday by BTCC Pool and its potential buyer, Value Convergence (VC) Holdings Limited – a Hong Kong-based financial service firm – the deal would raise 147 million Hong Kong dollars (US$17 million) if finalized.

It should be noted that the MOU is non-legally binding and the deal is subject to further revision and negotiation.

Publicly traded in Hong Kong, VC Group is a securities brokerage and asset management firm. The firm said in the MOU that the deal is being made through its wholly-owned subsidiary Initial Honor Limited, and comes as part of a wider effort to grow its business by a move into the financial technology industry.

The news comes soon after BTCC itself was acquired by a Hong Kong-based blockchain investment fund in January of this year.

As previously reported by CoinDesk, BTCC – previously called BTC China – was forced to shift its business overseas after the People's Bank of China outlawed initial coin offerings alongside a de facto ban on crypto exchange services. Currently its three main areas of business include the mining pool, a cryptocurrency wallet called Mobi and a USD/BTC exchange.

Data from blockchain.info shows that, currently, BTCC Pool accounts for 1.1 percent of bitcoin's hashing power, a decline from the figure of 3.3 percent recorded earlier this year.

Hong Kong landscape image via Shutterstock