King of Capital

The Magic City has issued a 'ban on firework' this year, and the early morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year was exceptionally quiet without the sound of firecrackers.

Xie Jingxing rarely stayed in bed, and with sleepy eyes he was thinking about his schedule. He should go to London to see Zhou Fenglan.

"Honey, your phone is ringing."

Yu Tong lay in his arms and reminded him softly. He sighed negatively, cleared his throat, turned over and sat up to answer the phone.

“Happy Chinese New Year.”

When Xie Jingxing heard the greetings from Silicon Valley, his mind started to work again and he sat up straight.

"No problem, I'll pass it on, and I look forward to meeting you."

After a brief conversation, he simply hung up the phone and threw it back on the bedside table. He couldn't help but sneer softly, then pulled back the quilt and picked up his wife.

"Honey, what's wrong with you?" Yu Tong was caught off guard and murmured with a frown in pain.

"Jim Goetz invited Liu Qing and I to Silicon Valley to meet with Travis Kalanick to discuss the merger of Didi and Uber."

"It hurts, be gentle."

"He knew that if he said Happy Chinese New Year, then he should have taken the initiative to come to China to surrender, rather than inviting the enemy to travel to Silicon Valley for negotiations during the New Year holiday."

After spending so much money for less than a month, you're already dreaming of using violence to promote peace?
Sex without foreplay is violence, and the same is true for mergers and acquisitions without sincerity. The experience is extremely bad.

Exercise helps people concentrate. After morning exercise, Xie Jingxing's mind was completely clear. He coaxed Yu Tong tenderly for a while, then grabbed his phone and called Liu Qing.

It is not difficult to guess that Uber intends to restart its high-intensity money-burning business. Everyone has some psychological expectations for this, but how to respond to such a strong stance remains to be debated.

"Is it convenient for you to come to Beijing? Let's hold a small meeting first?" Liu Qing asked hesitantly.

"From an overall strategic perspective, Didi initially expected to burn $30 billion in three years. I personally don't think it's necessary to follow Uber's pace."

Xie Jingxing answered without hesitation: "Resolutely implement your own plan. The initiative is in Didi's hands."

"In 2015, we spent $17.8 billion on market operations alone, and $1 million in January alone. The intensity of market competition is beyond imagination."

Liu Qing pondered and expressed his attitude. In thirteen months, 20.1 billion US dollars were burned, not to mention the large amount of funds consumed by long-term strategic layouts such as car manufacturing.

Didi's financing ability has been under severe pressure for a long time. In 2015, apart from a single round of financing of US$20 billion at the beginning of the year, two subsequent rounds of financing of US$20 billion were required to barely fill the endless pit.

The company completed a total of US$40 billion in financing in batches within months. This gave her the confidence to say in an interview, "I can always be the president."

But to this day, as Uber restarts its high-intensity money burning, Didi's book funds have been rapidly drained. Looking around the world, how many investors are willing to bet on this war?

"I'll give you $10 billion and keep fighting for three more months. After three months, I'll let Kalanick come to China to discuss mergers and acquisitions."

After a long period of silence on the phone, Xie Jingxing broke the silence and got out of bed.

"Shhh."

Yu Tong suddenly pulled him and signaled him not to make a sound. She slowly knelt beside the bed and raised her charming, flushed face. Her bright eyes showed excitement and mischief. She gently and carefully helped him clean up.

Xie Jingxing smiled, putting aside unnecessary personal emotions. If Liu Qing went to Silicon Valley as agreed now, he would not get good M&A conditions, which would only make Uber misjudge the situation and think that it could gain more benefits.

Lala kept talking about it, and it was difficult to calculate how much time, opportunities, and financial costs the entire merger and acquisition process would consume, compared to burning money for another three months, which one would be more profitable.

"It's a good thing that Uber is willing to release its merger intention. No matter how we acquire, we have to go through the initial contact and collision process to build a certain degree of mutual trust. This cost is necessary."

After another long silence, Liu Qing seemed to ignore the $10 billion. With this money, Xiyou will surpass the startup and management team and become the largest shareholder of Didi.

She insisted, "Come to Beijing. Cheng Wei and I can talk face to face. You may not have paid much attention to the recent market situation."

"Hiss, OK, I'll be there tomorrow."

Xie Jingxing closed his eyes comfortably and took a breath of cool air. Liu Qing may have noticed something and hung up the phone directly.

After patiently letting Yu Tong play enough and clean himself up, he put on his bathrobe and went to the living room to pour a glass of wine and think about the financing issue.

Excluding Tencent, Alibaba, and Xiyou, investors who can come up with $10 billion in a short period of time and are interested in investing in Didi...

Jichun Bank will be listed soon, and loan borrowing can be used as an alternative. The banking operating system is not as flexible as that of non-bank financial institutions, and it is best to avoid skirting the risk control and compliance issues right after opening.

Moreover, they have been working intensively for half a month. Since Liu Qing has considered not taking Xiyou's money, he must have expectations for a new round of financing.

We are far from being so hungry that we will do anything. We still hope to plan from a long-term perspective and the investors have strategic value.

Xie Jingxing gradually sorted out his thoughts, and a person popped up in his mind.

"I want to drink too."

Yu Tong ran over from the bedroom in slippers, with a sly and innocent smile on his face. He grabbed his wine glass and took a sip without saying anything. He leaned on the counter with both hands and said, "I haven't seen you make decisions in a long time. You look so handsome."

"I feel the same way."

Xie Jingxing picked up the wine glass and turned the rim to avoid her lip print. Fighting with players like Jia Yueting was really a waste of energy, and suddenly returning to the main battlefield felt very good.

Yu Tong blinked his big eyes without saying anything, snatched the wine glass, took a big gulp, pouting his lips and moving forward.

Xie Jingxing's face was filled with fear and he couldn't dodge in time. He tilted his head back and tightly closed his mouth, but it was still useless. He tasted his own taste.

"Go, young man, give them double the strength you just put on me." Yu Tong ran away with a satisfied smile.

[Hey, Tim, I send you greetings from Shanghai. We have survived the harsh winter and welcomed the spring in the warm sunshine. Grapefruit Capital is as vibrant as apples... I hope we can meet soon, in a house covered with green vines, leisurely basking in the sun and drinking a cup of black tea, reminiscing about the past when we defeated Zuckerberg side by side.]

Pah, pah, Xie Jingxing raised his hand to rub his lips from time to time, and tapped the keyboard to write an equally delicious email.

…………

The next day, the plane flew across the sky and landed at the Beijing airport under the midday sun.

There was no airport pick-up arrangement, so Xie Jingxing walked into Didi's headquarters alone. Even though it was a new generation of Internet sweatshop, there were not many employees in the company on the second day of the Chinese New Year.

For reasons of confidentiality and decision-making power, Uber does not need to report its acquisition intentions to the board of directors for the time being, and will not convene senior executives for a discussion.

Xie Jingxing took the elevator upstairs and passed through a large deserted office area before Liu Qing received the message and came to greet him.

“Yidao Travel is under siege.”

As soon as they met, she thrust her phone in front of Xie Jingxing's face. On the screen, dozens of drivers and many employees wearing Yidao T-shirts were holding banners.

Give me back my hard-earned money; there is no limit to the amount of wages owed to me!
All kinds of bright red slogans fluttered in the wind, and there was a lot of hysterical cursing and noise.

"Yidao's cash flow was completely cut off. They didn't pay wages for more than two months, so they sued Jia Yueting." Liu Qing explained with the help of the mobile phone screen. Xie Jingxing was confused: "What happened to Jia Yueting?"

"LeTV doesn't hold shares in Yidao Travel?" Liu Qing responded sharply.

Xie Jingxing shrugged: "Jia Yueting needs Yidao Travel to link up with his US car-making strategy."

"He illegally withdrew all of the 13 billion cash flow on Yidao Travel's books. Yidao has already returned all the executives he sent to the company as a major shareholder, including the financial director. It's good that you didn't get involved." Liu Qing breathed a sigh of relief.

When Didi and Kuaidi were competing, Yidao Chuxing was the third in the market after the two.

Its founder Zhou Hang is driven by idealism and publicly stated that spending money on subsidies goes against economic laws. He would rather spend money on improving user experience and driver happiness.

It was his first idea to allow drivers to earn no less than 20,000 yuan a month. In the subsequent fierce competition with Uber and UCAR in the high-end private car market, Yidao Travel once had the upper hand for a long time.

Jia Yueting jumped out to express his agreement with Yidao's concept and said he was willing to invest at any time if the company was short of money. Later, he really invested and held a 70% stake.

But a journey of a thousand miles tests the horse's strength. The fastest ones are gone, UCAR has withered, and Didi and Uber are operating 365 days a year, fighting a high-intensity war in Africa that will allow them to sweep away tribal chiefs and establish nations.

Yidao Travel was struggling to survive, and when LeTV was split up, Xie Jingxing kicked the project to Jia Yueting and asked him to take it all away as soon as possible.

I didn't expect this guy to be so perverted. It would have been fine if he had just secretly drawn blood, but he actually killed this company that had the tone of a hero in his twilight years.

"It seems that the debt crisis of the old LeEco system has already materialized. The full-year financial report will be released in March and it will be a sad day for him to flee to the United States."

Xie Jingxing made a brief judgment in secret and then put it out of his mind, continuing to listen attentively to Liu Qing's explanation of the situation.

"Based on the platform's order turnover rate, Yidao should be able to survive for a while if it only guarantees the basic salary for employees and drivers."

The two chatted as they walked into the office side by side. She paused for a moment to emphasize the point: "But our spending intensity is too high, and the market has a siphon effect."

"Other platforms can't keep up with our subsidy pace. If they don't lose users and drivers, they will lose their turnover capacity, which will block both ends."

Liu Qing concluded: "In this regard, we have the support of Alipay + WeChat red envelope New Year activities. Uber will have to pay 1.2 to 1.5 times the cost to break even with us."

It is not an exaggeration to paraphrase the saying in fantasy online novels that all the great roads have been erased. Yidao Chuxing is about to be buried, which indicates that the entire online car-hailing market is about to be cleared.

As long as Didi acquires Uber, it will return to its peak period of rapid mergers and acquisitions, with a market share of over 90% and invincibility.

Yesterday, Liu Qing was simply weighing the cost of his own financing, but today his views and ideas have evolved. He is considering acquiring Uber as soon as possible and integrating the entire industry, and he can accept a slightly higher cost for this.

"Cheng Wei was traveling with his family to Koh Samui in Thailand. The airport was unexpectedly closed and he could only come back tomorrow. We talked on the phone for several hours."

She made it clear that this was a consensus reached after careful discussion between the two of them.

Xie Jingxing did not comment: "Let's separate the issues now. One is Didi's own financing, and the other is whether it wants to go to Silicon Valley."

"In fact, we have discussed internally that Uber may be more powerful, but the specific situation is still best understood through face-to-face discussions. It is also possible that they are very willing to merge."

Liu Qing thought he wanted to ask for $10 billion from Xiyou, so he didn't directly respond and said, "Our financing plan will be adjusted flexibly according to the specific interview situation. If Uber is not sincere, then we can continue to fight."

"I have an appointment with Cook." Xie Jingxing took out his computer from his backpack.

Liu Qing was stunned: "Who?"

"Apple CEO, Tim Cook." Xie Jingxing opened his computer email and placed it in front of her.

[Jingxing, when I received your email, I was lying on the beach in the Bahamas. There was warm sunshine and wind from the Caribbean Sea. It was a little cool in the morning, hot at noon, and a little cool at night...Except for the poor network, I really couldn't find any shortcomings. When I wrote back to you, I imagined that if you were here, we would definitely have a great party - your friend Tim Cook. ]

Liu Qing widened his eyes, opened his mouth and asked dryly: "You... have such a good relationship with him?"

"That's another topic. The main point you should focus on is this - you have the opportunity to discuss investment with Apple, a company that has tens of billions of dollars in cash on its books. Do you want to try to convince them?" Xie Jingxing encouraged.

Liu Qing couldn't understand for a moment: "Why?"

"The year before last, Cook approved Apple's car-making plan, and the brand was named 'iCar' after its mobile phone and computer series. Then Apple received a letter from Chery Automobile's lawyer, warning them that they could not use the 'iCar' product name in mainland China."

Xie Jing Xing clapped his hands and raised his voice slightly: "Wake up, what does this story tell us?"

"Chery registered a trademark?" Liu Qing was led into a ditch.

"Look at me. Look at me."

Xie Jingxing looked into her eyes and said seriously: "The smart car I told you about is very real and not exaggerated at all. Apple also regards this as the next generation of mobile terminals."

"And now, Didi's first 'D1' new energy vehicle is in the development process, and the platform has million users and millions of transactions every day, creating a huge amount of traffic information data."

He announced in a rhythmic tone: "I guarantee that when Cook receives my email, he will be lying on the beach in the Bahamas drooling like an idiot. Apple is willing to invest 10 billion or even more dollars in Didi."

"This is the reward for you listening to my advice. I never missed it, right?" Xie Jingxing asked softly in a slow tone.

Liu Qing insisted on making eye contact for more than ten seconds, but finally gave up and nodded his head to avoid her gaze.

Indeed, Apple is a very high-quality investor, even if they do not consider car manufacturing as a strategic development direction.

But Didi needs to end the war as soon as possible.

Kuaidi was acquired by Didi because Uber rushed into the domestic market, and Meituan was acquired by New Oriental because of the capital shortage caused by the stock market crash.

The numerous large-scale mergers and acquisitions that have emerged in recent years have proven that mergers and acquisitions themselves place particular emphasis on the collision between the external environment and people. This truth is worth repeating thousands of times.

The M&A window period is often fleeting, and there are too many uncontrollable factors in the next three months.

"It's getting late. Let me treat you to dinner. We'll talk again tomorrow when Cheng Wei comes back." Liu Qing forced a smile and ended the argument abruptly.

Xie Jing Xing pulled up the corner of his mouth helplessly, slowly straightened his collar, and calmly said frankly: "Are you ready for me to veto your merger proposal?"

"We just went to talk to Kalanick, just for initial communication, not to sign any clauses that would be humiliating to the country!" Liu Qing raised his arms in despair.

Xie Jingxing stood up and left without hesitation. At the same time, he took out his cell phone and called Chen Xi: "Book me a flight to the Bahamas that's close at hand. It's too troublesome to apply for a flight route for a business jet."

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Just as Liu Qing was about to persuade him to stay, her phone rang: "What? China Life and Taiping led a new round of financing of US$5 million in Uber. Are you sure?"

"Okay, I understand. That's it for now."

She held her forehead with one hand to calm her chaotic mood. When she looked up, she saw Xie Jingxing coming back and standing silently in front of her. She was so scared that she almost jumped up: "Ah! Didn't you leave?!"

"You just said you wanted to treat me to dinner. How about going to the Bahamas?" Xie Jingxing asked leisurely.

Liu Qing swallowed his breath and rubbed his cheeks vigorously. Why did Uber have to exert extreme pressure to see who was more powerful? (End of this chapter)