Evergrande shares fell as much as 14% on Thursday in Hong Kong as they resumed trading after a 17-day halt.
The hugely indebted Chinese property giant had stopped its shares from trading ahead of an announcement.
Reports said real estate firm Hopson Development was set to buy a 51% stake in its property services unit.
On Wednesday, Evergrande said the $2.6bn (£1.88bn) deal had fallen through as they were unable to agree on the deals terms.
The crisis at Evergrande has triggered fears that its potential collapse could send shockwaves through global markets.
Investors have concerns about its more than $300bn of debt. The company’s total liabilities are equal to around 2% of China’s gross domestic product.
Hopson Development is another Chinese property firm that is owed money by Evergrande and some analysts thought this potential deal was a way for Evergrande to write off its debt.
Hopson said on Wednesday that Evergrande told it the deal had been terminated on 13 October and that it was now exploring other options available to protect its interest.
‘No guarantees debts will be paid’
The crisis over Evergrande began last year when Beijing, worried by sprawling debt in the real estate sector, brought in new rules to control the amount owed by big developers.
The firm hit an initial stumbling block back then to meet the interest payments on its debts. Now, things have gone from bad to worse.
Its share price has tumbled and its bonds have been downgraded by global credit ratings agencies.
Evergrande’s chairman and founder Hui Ka Yan says its plan is to try to secure extensions for its debts and “other alternative arrangements” with its creditors.
But, he added, “there is no guarantee that the group will be able to meet its financial obligations”.
In recent weeks, the indebted property giant has reportedly missed interest payments to overseas investors twice.
On Thursday it had been granted a three-month extension on another of its debts after agreeing to provide extra collateral, according to research firm REDD. (BBC)
