When I am reborn, I just want to be a top student

The Spring Festival of 2019 has passed, and March of 2019 is just around the corner.

Time is perceived differently by different people.

For the owners of express delivery companies like STO Express, YTO Express, ZTO Express, and Yunda Express, this period has been extremely difficult.

Especially this Spring Festival.

As a courier industry, it's common practice to suspend operations for a period of time during the Spring Festival, which is a tacit understanding within the industry.

But who would have thought that Xinghuo Express would be so shameless, directly throwing money at employees, paying them five times their normal wages to keep them working, and even encouraging merchants to continue taking orders.

Especially after word spread about Xinghuo Express's competitive compensation, every courier who was confident in their abilities flocked to Xinghuo Express, which quickly expanded the company's workforce and significantly improved its delivery fulfillment capabilities.

This creates a positive cycle: Xinghuo Express delivers packages quickly and provides excellent service, while its prices are not higher than those of other courier companies.

Merchants naturally prioritize Xinghuo Express, while consumers don't have much of a say in the matter. However, after comparing the services of other courier companies, their appreciation for Xinghuo Express grows day by day.

So, after the start of the year, the three major express delivery companies (STO Express, YTO Express, ZTO Express, and Yunda Express) discovered that they were short of many deliverymen.

Many employees did not come to work and chose to resign.

It goes without saying that they've joined Spark Express.

Blessings are unparalleled, and misfortunes do not come singly.

Besides the fact that many deliverymen have left, their delivery business has also decreased significantly.

Originally, the "one-cut" express delivery business accounted for one-fifth of the domestic express delivery business.

After such a long period of development, Xinghuo Express is now fully capable of handling all order delivery tasks.

However, Pinduoduo does not force all merchants to choose Xinghuo Express, so STO Express, YTO Express, ZTO Express, and Yunda Express can still get orders on the Pinduoduo platform.

However, compared to the past, this number of orders cannot be considered a decrease, but rather a sharp drop.

In addition, with orders accepted on other platforms, Xinghuo Express has become the largest express delivery company in China in terms of the volume of express delivery business.

Both its daily pickup and delivery volume far exceed those of the other companies.

This situation is also reflected in the stock price.

The three major express delivery companies, STO Express, YTO Express, ZTO Express, and Yunda Express, have all gone public, and their stock prices quickly fell out of favor with investors after Xinghuo Express went public.

This is especially true when a price war breaks out.

Without exception, the stock prices of all companies continued to decline.

Even with a lot of positive news released in the market, such as additional investment and strategic cooperation with Taotian Group, it didn't have much effect.

To some, this is obvious.

Domestic e-commerce platforms are mainly led by Taotian Group, JD.com, and Pinduoduo.

JD.com has its own courier company, Taotian Group has its own Cainiao logistics system, and now Pinduoduo has also launched its own Xinghuo Express.

The remaining market share is being captured by SF Express and China Post.

From this perspective, the three major express delivery companies (STO Express, YTO Express, ZTO Express, and Yunda Express) are not so necessary.

Because the shareholding is too dispersed, if it really exists, it should be directly tied to Taotian Group, just like Xinghuo Express.

This is something that outside investors can understand, and it's also something that the bosses of STO Express, YTO Express, ZTO Express, and Yunda Express can understand.

Therefore, no matter how difficult things got, they never asked Jack Ma for help again, for fear that Jack Ma would demand that they delist and merge.

However, seeing their company's business shrinking and orders decreasing, they could no longer sit still.

So, Lai Song from ZTO Express quietly arrived in Tangdu City.

Sitting in the conference room of Galaxy Technology, Lai Song's expression revealed a hint of curiosity.

He had long heard of Galaxy Technology, a tech giant that emerged out of nowhere in China, and this was his first time visiting.

If it weren't for the competition in the express delivery industry, he probably wouldn't have had many opportunities to come here.

Just as Lai Song was feeling sentimental, Xu Zhibin pushed open the door and walked in.

"President Lai, please forgive us for the poor hospitality."

As he spoke, he sat down opposite Lai Song, exuding a relaxed and confident aura.

Lai Song carefully examined Xu Zhibin; he had already read Xu Zhibin's information.

He was only twenty-three years old, and there was still a hint of youthful immaturity on his face.

However, Xinghuo Express, which has already secured the de facto number one position in China, has a market value exceeding 5 billion.

When Xinghuo Express was expanding rapidly, Xu Zhibin was the envy of countless people.

It's worth noting that, to date, Xinghuo Express has invested over 3 billion yuan.

Buy land, buy equipment, purchase delivery vehicles, hire deliverymen, build a delivery system, and acquire other delivery companies.

Each of these transactions involves expenditures of hundreds of millions.

He just handed it over to a young man like that; anyone would say Wang Donglai had great courage.

Xu Zhibin also did these things very well.

It is steadily driving the development of Xinghuo Express.

Even though he had already prepared himself mentally, Lai Song still couldn't help but feel a complex mix of emotions when he actually saw Xu Zhibin's young face.

"Mr. Xu, you're too kind. I really envy your excellent conditions."

His words involuntarily carried a hint of sarcasm.

This was indeed Lai Song's honest opinion. In his view, Xinghuo Express was simply a company built up by sheer financial resources from its parent company, Yinhe Technology.

It's fair to say it requires absolutely no technical skill. Even if you replaced Xu Zhibin with a complete idiot who only knows how to sign documents, you could still have developed Xinghuo Express to this level.

Lai Song was naturally dissatisfied with being defeated in business by such a responsible person.

Of course, he also had an unspoken reason in his heart: he was jealous of Xu Zhibin's age.

How old is he? How old is Xu Zhibin?

As a result, he was surpassed by Xu Zhibin and became the loser in the business competition. Naturally, he could not accept this disappointment.

Xu Zhibin could naturally understand the implication in Lai Song's words, and he immediately sneered inwardly.

Even at this point, Lai Song was still putting on airs in front of him.

"President Lai, sometimes, a person's achievements depend not only on their own efforts, but also on the development of the times. The latter is more important than the former."

"Those that should be eliminated should be eliminated, and those that are destined to fall behind will definitely fall behind."

"If Mr. Lai came here in person just to laugh at my good luck, then I think it's completely unnecessary to waste our time. Don't you agree, Mr. Lai?"

Xu Zhibin didn't give Lai Song any face and immediately retaliated.

Lai Song quickly composed himself and said earnestly to Xu Zhibin, "Mr. Xu, let's not beat around the bush. I've come here to ask you what your thoughts are on ZTO Express."

"After this Spring Festival, your company will become the number one express delivery company in China. If you continue to engage in price wars like this, it won't be good for any of us, don't you think?"

Xu Zhibin said with a smile, "If only President Lai had said this earlier, we could all be frank. Actually, our boss's goal for the domestic express delivery business is to capture half of it, but we're still far from that."

"As for the funds we have prepared, we still have a lot left, far from being exhausted."

"If Mr. Lai wants to sell his Zhongtong shares, I wouldn't mind taking them over if the price is right."

Since he agreed to meet with Lai Song, Xu Zhibin must have thought about this.

Faced with fierce competition from Xinghuo Express, not only are major express delivery companies like STO Express, YTO Express, ZTO Express, and Yunda Express struggling, but even SF Express is finding it difficult to survive. There will certainly be others like Lai Song who are unwilling to continue the price war and choose to sell their companies.

It's just that Lai Song was the first one.

When Lai Song saw that Xu Zhibin had agreed immediately and said that Xinghuo Express's market target was 50%, he was first surprised, and then frustrated.

After all these years, he's only managed to develop ZTO Express.

And Xinghuo Express, right off the bat, claimed 50% of the market share.

Such boldness made him realize that he was getting old and couldn't keep up with the times.

Before he arrived, he was worried that Xinghuo Express would look down on ZTO Express and be unwilling to acquire his shares.

Now, hearing about Xinghuo Express's market target, I immediately feel relieved.

If we continue like this, we don't know how much more we'll lose.

Given the scale of Xinghuo Express's investment, some of these numerous courier companies will inevitably go bankrupt.

Lai Song also knew that selling his shares at this point would be a huge loss.

However, compared to the risks, he felt that the cost of the loss was acceptable, better than ending up with nothing.

As long as you run faster than your competitors, you've already made a profit.

However, Lai Song's sale targets were not limited to Spark Express; Jack Ma was also among them.

However, he understood that Spark Express was a competitor and would try to lower prices, and Jack Ma would be even more likely to do so.

Compared to the other two, Galaxy Technology, the company behind Xinghuo Express, is more generous and naturally became the first choice.

"As Mr. Xu knows, although I only own 27.1% of the shares, I have 78.3% of the voting rights. And the shares and voting rights I can control are not limited to these. If I really decide to sell, it can be approved quickly. So I am doing this with sincerity."

"I'm transferring all my Zhongtong shares and voting rights to your company for 30 billion!"

Lai Song nervously offered his price.

In Lai Song's opinion, the price is a bit expensive, but not entirely unreasonable.

Compared to last year's prices, his net worth has decreased significantly.

However, Xu Zhibin burst out laughing when he heard Lai Song say that.

"I didn't expect that Mr. Lai would still recognize your company's market value of 120 billion at this time."

"Spark Express has only been around for less than a year and has invested less than 10 billion yuan, yet it has already reached this scale."

"When Mr. Lai tells me at this time that he's going to acquire 27.1% of ZTO's shares for 30 billion yuan, is he trying to take advantage of my youth?!"

By the end, Xu Zhibin's expression had become serious.

"Mr. Xu, when you're in business, you can always bargain!"

"Although I don't own a large number of Zhongtong shares, I am the largest shareholder and hold 78.3% of the voting rights. That's the most important thing."

"Once you get the voting rights, your company can do whatever it wants, and you can easily get the shares back."

“We have existing service outlets and transit centers across the country, which can greatly help your company expand.”

"It's like trading money for faster development, so this deal isn't a bad one!"

Since Lai Song quoted this price, he must have already made a budget in mind.

This rhetoric was used to persuade Xu Zhibin.

"This valuation is not something I just blurted out. The logistics industry is also a real economy with a lot of real assets, which are worth a lot of money."

"In addition, our express delivery system is very mature. As soon as we acquire it, we can immediately put it into operation and make money."

“We already have a sizable user base, and with the added bonus of your company’s discounted orders, it’s a perfect deal.”

Xu Zhibin listened quietly to Lai Song's introduction, his expression calm.

After Lai Song finished speaking, he said, "Mr. Lai, as I just said, let's not beat around the bush."

"I cannot accept Mr. Lai's price."

"If Mr. Lai is convinced of this, then let's pretend we never met today."

"Alright, I'll give you a price I can accept: 10 billion."

Lai Song's eyes widened immediately.

"What, 10 billion?"

"Mr. Xu, you're not joking, are you?"

"Ten billion? No way! Don't even think about that price!"

"I'm preparing to sell my shares, not to sell them off cheaply!"

"No matter what, ZTO shouldn't have fallen to a valuation of 40 billion."

"If Mr. Xu is serious, then I don't think there's anything else to say."

Lai Song was prepared for Xu Zhibin to haggle, and had roughly estimated a price range in his mind.

But he never expected that Xu Zhibin would cut the price down to the bone.

A price of 10 billion? That's a joke.

It's worth noting that last May, investors led by Taotian Group invested $13.8 billion in exchange for a 10% stake.

Furthermore, ZTO Express also owns a 15% stake in Cainiao Station, which is also worth a considerable amount of money.

Over the past three years, ZTO's revenue has increased from 130 billion to 176 billion and then to 201 billion, while its gross profit has also been rising steadily, from 43.46 billion to 53.66 billion and then to 62 billion.

With such revenue and such profits, even if it's undervalued, it should still have a PE ratio of 10.

Based on this calculation, the valuation is close to 200 billion.

Now, Xu Zhibin is offering 10 billion to acquire his shares, which is undoubtedly forcing him to bleed money. No wonder Lai Song is so vehemently opposed to this.

Xu Zhibin was not surprised by Lai Song's reaction; it was entirely within his expectations.

"Mr. Lai, things are different now."

"You know better than I how quickly ZTO's orders have dropped and how much the market has shrunk."

"Although the domestic e-commerce business is also growing, it is far behind the development of the express delivery industry."

"I can say with certainty that this market has reached the point where it is transitioning from a growth market to a stock market."

"The more market share we have, the less market share you will have, and so on."

“If it weren’t for that, Mr. Lai wouldn’t have come here in person.”

"Anything can happen in a year."

"As Mr. Lai said, we have a huge advantage in the market. You can't compete with me in terms of money, and you can't compete with me in terms of business orders either."

"In this situation, I have no idea that you have any chance of turning things around."

"Ten billion is the price at this time, but it may not be in a while."

"Mr. Lai, you should really think this over!"

Xu Zhibin's tone remained calm, but Lai Song couldn't bear to listen anymore.

He simply couldn't accept that price. "Cutting off a piece of flesh and bleeding him dry" didn't even begin to describe his feelings; it was as if his heart was being ripped out. (End of Chapter)