King of Capital

Admittedly, 20 billion US dollars is a huge sum of money, but Xie Jingxing has no intention of over-allocating it.

The total fundraising amount of US$60 billion was allocated to the three funds, which means that if the crown prince's approval is accepted in full, these funds will become empty shells as a whole.

Fortunately, the Crown Prince was a respectable man, and the affairs officer came forward to negotiate the specific investment details, leaving both parties with ample room.

So this friend made the promise. Xie Jingxing counted on his fingers and could barely squeeze out 9%, or $5.4 million in subscription shares.

The affairs officer did not make a decision on the spot, but expressed his attitude by attending a fundraising lunch the next day, which was a thoughtful surprise.

“It’s a happy dilemma to choose whose money to take.”

The open-air lawn cocktail party venue rented in Queens had a futuristic industrial design feel. Buffett stood next to geometric building blocks that were as tall as a person, watching the people in white robes floating back and forth through the large glass curtains.

None of the potential LPs present knew in advance that Xiyou's funds actually had Middle Eastern funding channels. After all, PIF is a sovereign fund of a country that sells oil and is really very rich.

After successfully creating momentum, Xie Jingxing looked at Buffett implicitly, smiling without saying a word for a while.

Even the old man was a little surprised. He could already imagine that after the subsequent fundraising and subscription process was completed, the information would be announced to the public, and a large number of news releases would appear at home and abroad, exaggerating and praising the plot of the Middle Eastern prince's big move into China.

Indirectly use him to hype the so-called "Saudi Vision 2030 Plan" to show his European and American counterparts that he has such influence, it can be said to be a perfect mutual benefit.

The princes of the Middle East are particularly good at magnifying stereotypes to achieve bragging effects.

“Maybe you should open an office in New York. Wall Street is no worse than Silicon Valley. People will be jealous.”

Mr. Buffett's interest was limited, and just one sentence failed to find out how much PIF subscribed, so he simply stopped there and changed the subject with a joke.

"Soon, everyone will be able to come to the Grapefruit office for tea anytime before the end of the second quarter of this year."

Xie Jing Xing pretended to be helpless and shrugged, saying, "If Wall Street hadn't missed the rise of the venture capital industry, I would have settled down here."

"If it weren't for the subprime mortgage crisis, the stock market might have been taken over by Silicon Valley and Chicago through electronic trading. The more solid the existing rules of profit distribution are, the more they restrict the emergence of emerging things." The old man chuckled softly as if mocking himself.

Xie Jingxing cooperated and joked: "Three laws of science and technology, huh?"

Any technology that existed when I was born was part of the world's original order; any technology that came out between the ages of 15 and 35 was a revolutionary product that changed the world; any technology that came out after I was 35 years old violated the laws of nature and would be condemned by God.

——Buffett resists the extremely fast update and iteration of technology companies' products. Pony Ma doesn't understand why Snapchat focuses on the authenticity of pictures. It quickly became popular among the younger generation in the United States with its self-destructing function, posing a threat to Instagram, which uses beautifying filters for pictures.

Isn't it human instinct that 'everyone has a love for beauty'?

You can't directly attack people who are white, thin and rich, but you can question whether you are genuine enough. No one is perfect.

So Snapchat exploded and captured the minds of the young generation in the United States...

Mr. Buffett also has such doubts and is willing to communicate with young people about the changing trends in everything from technology to social thought. Two years ago, Xie Jingxing went to the United States to raise funds, and the two met at a Columbia University alumni donation event and mentioned writing letters.

Afterwards, we occasionally contacted each other via email, which led to the subscription of Grapefruit Fund.

I invested 5000 million US dollars as an individual LP, mainly because I have established a close relationship with Columbia University alumni and I am here to help support the company today.

"I have to go now. Keep in touch via email."

The old man chatted aimlessly for a while, and when he saw that he had successfully completed his task, he finished the Coke in his cup and left.

Xie Jingxing escorted him all the way to the entrance of the venue to express his gratitude: "I will still reserve a share of the next batch of funds for you."

"I hope that next time I will want to invest in your Jingxing Group." The old man encouraged with a gentle smile on his face.

Xie Jingxing was suddenly stunned: "What?"

"To be honest, Alibaba, JD.com, and many other Chinese companies that come to the U.S. for financing cannot do without the help of U.S. dollar shareholders. You know how this works."

The old man didn't notice his subtle change in expression and continued, "If your group has American shareholders, it will be much easier to raise more US dollar funds to develop global business in the future, just like Sequoia did."

"..."

Xie Jingxing's smile was stiff and speechless. Although his mouth was opening and closing and making sounds, he couldn't hear what he was saying.

The romantic encounter in Silicon Valley a few days ago instantly filled his mind again. Scenes flashed by clearly, as if murderous intent was bursting out.

That’s right, JD.com and Alibaba were very successful in their US listings by leveraging their dollar-denominated shareholders; a large number of top institutions including Sequoia and Warburg Pincus not only have dollar-denominated LPs, but also have dollar-denominated shareholders themselves.

And he can only rely on his fame, which is half from his achievements and half from hype, to sell his face everywhere...

But, who has ever seen a private bank with foreign shareholders, or who has ever seen a financial securities company with several foreign shareholders?
"Boss, boss, what's wrong with you?"

Hearing the voice calling him, Xie Jing Xing suddenly retracted his thoughts and responded normally: "What did you say?"

"Buffett is gone. Why don't you go in and talk to other investors?"

Chen Xi reminded him tactfully, and then added: "The crew is ready. Shall we go to the airport in two hours?"

"Well, return home as usual."

Xie Jingxing's Adam's apple moved as he suppressed his troubled emotions. He turned back and entered the cocktail party venue to continue dealing with all kinds of monsters and demons.

No matter what kind of unspeakable greed or persecution complex he may have, a group with diversified businesses covering the domestic financial system is not allowed to introduce foreign shareholders under legal supervision or at a higher level.

…………

The direct flight from New York to Shanghai takes fourteen hours, which is enough time for Xie Jingxing to get some sleep, clear his mind of all distractions, and summarize this long trip to the United States.

"Chen Xi, come here."

He sat in the middle cabin and opened his laptop: "I tell you to write."

“The group has established a New York office to maintain investor relations and cultivate an international financial securities business team. The Silicon Valley office will maintain its current status and suspend its strategic investment plan in the virtual currency field. In the future, it will find an opportunity to clear out the shares of Mark Mellon’s company.”

Xie Jingxing clasped his hands together and rested his chin on them. The laptop screen was glowing with a faint light, making his face look inexplicably deep.

The first and most important thing is fundraising. With strong US dollar LPs and expanding Middle East LP channels, we will just have to wait a few days to launch the subscription channel and see the money.

According to the estimated proportion of funding sources, it is necessary to set up an office in New York, and the Middle Eastern LPs need to have a place within reach. He doesn't want to go to the Middle East himself, and he can't let the Crown Prince go to China.

In addition, the group has long planned to cultivate its own asset management business, which is indispensable in the international financial market. Virtual currency is incidental, but due to complicated reasons, the business with Mark Mellon has come to an end, and Mark Anderson's pure virtual currency fund has been introduced to invest, diluting the equity.

Since we don’t have the extra energy to promote related strategic investments for the time being, we might as well stop deploying the entire industry strategy. In the future, the Grapefruit Silicon Valley office will only do some venture capital business on a limited basis.

There is no need to stick to virtual currency or anything else, just regular investment.

In this way, the New York office focuses on the secondary market, while the Silicon Valley office focuses on the primary market, and both take into account fundraising/post-investment management work.

"Sort out the itinerary and help me arrange a meeting with Liu Chih-Ping." Xie Jing Xing pondered and issued the second instruction.

When he went to the United States two years ago, Ballmer took the initiative to approach him and invited him to jointly acquire the Clippers team. This time, the three internal shareholders all showed no attitude and just stood by and watched.

From the outside, Facebook is eyeing us with ill intentions, even resorting to black box operations such as drawer transactions.

With Zuckerberg's behavior of being the mother of whoever feeds him, Xie Jingxing suspects that once Zuckerberg takes office next year, WhatsApp will face the same treatment as TikTok.

He himself doesn't care about the murderous intent, but it's better for Zhou Fenglan and his son to live safely in a foreign country. Tencent needs to have a clear statement on whether to continue its overseas mobile payment strategy and how to do it if so.

If it doesn't work out, everyone will find their own way out. Anyway, the honeymoon period with Tencent has been exhausted with the successive projects of Meituan, LeTV, and Mobike. The three-year after-sales warranty of the WhatsApp acquisition project itself is quite generous!

"Third, confirm the time of the group financing meeting with several state-owned enterprises, and try to arrange it on the day after the first round of US dollar subscription." President Xie Jing breathed a sigh of relief.

Chen Xi's hands stopped moving for a moment, and then his ten fingers quickly tapped the keyboard to record.

After two and a half months of strategic adjustments, the company has finally reached the final step of revealing its cards, just to pursue a valuation that meets market standards, nothing more.

"Okay, that's all for now. It's worth the trip." Xie Jingxing said to himself with a calm mind.

Fundraising, Middle East LP, and WhatsApp were all accomplished, with an unexpected virtual currency.

The US dollar subscription channel will be officially opened on the 24th, and it is estimated that the first stage will be completed by the end of the month, or by the middle of next month at the latest.

In the final analysis, the huge scale of $60 billion in funds is not an easy task. Wanda's privatization and delisting operations, or the desperate battle between Vanke and Baoneng, are all about funds of this size.

"There is another piece of news. There is new progress in acquiring a team. The family office has initially identified Leeds United. Richard has helped to contact them and is planning to send a team to the UK for on-site research."

Chen Xi was aware of the situation and brought out the bonus as a topic for casual conversation. Xie Jingxing waved to the flight attendant with interest and asked for a glass of wine. While drinking, he pulled out the corresponding preliminary research report to check.

Leeds United is a team that has always been at the top of the Championship. The intended acquisition offer is 5200 million pounds, which is about 2.3 million less than Southampton.

The difference is basically more than double the club's annual revenue from broadcasting rights to Premier League games.

Xie Jingxing was able to use this money to defeat the richest Middle Eastern club, Manchester City, during the player transfer period, and also Chelsea, which was half of the Russian tycoon.

We don't pursue players with high fame and cost-effectiveness. One team can play in the Championship and the other team can play in the FA Cup.

Moreover, Leeds United has a rich cultural heritage and is a sworn enemy of Manchester United. The War of the Red and White Roses in the Middle Ages took place in the region where these two teams were located.

The feud between the two sides in the last century once reached the point where they told hellish jokes to each other's faces and mocked the death of each other's fans. Later, the white rose Leeds United was relegated to the Championship, and no one mentioned the Rose Derby because of its poor performance.

Its team's home stadium, Elland Road, needs to be acquired separately. As it is a community asset, it will be managed and operated by Leeds City Council. More details will be discussed later.

"That's right. Buy it, build a good team and find an excellent coach. Returning to the Premier League means the white rose will finally bloom." Xie Jingxing thought of the slogan with satisfaction.

Chen Xi deliberately asked: "A coach who advocates offense?"

"The turtle formation is boring. It would be nice to spend more money to play beautiful football." Xie Jingxing took it for granted.

Chen Xi smiled knowingly. A few days ago, the two football idiots were playing a real version of Football Manager in the hospital. The boss’s lineup on paper was very extreme. He waved his arms and shouted: Even if you give me 11 goalkeepers, I have to set up an offensive formation on the court!
There is no other way. Facing a half-big toy, my nature is released. I attack until I die.

…………

"Come, look at grandma, Xiaobao, look at grandma."

The living room was covered with red carpet. Little girl Xie Yun, wearing a lucky red dress, crawled forward. Her grandmother stood at the end and greeted her happily.

Xie Jingxing and Yu Tong stood side by side, arm in arm. Many relatives surrounded them, talking and laughing in low voices, witnessing the veritable little princess's one-year-old ceremony.

"Oh my baby, do you want this?"

When the child grabbed an object, her grandmother smiled and clapped her hands, glancing at her son-in-law. All the relatives had different thoughts and their eyes were flying around.

Little girl Xie Yun herself didn't understand the messy thoughts of adults. She held her father's 'Xintian Master' jade seal with green jade and interlaced dragons in her two tender little hands, and she looked down on the Einstein manuscript that her grandmother pushed to her side.

Seeing that Xie Jingxing was just smiling and saying nothing, some relatives were smart and said that they would catch two more things if they said three times the limit.

"Jingxing, I have something to do."

In the lively atmosphere, Yu Nian came closer and looked at Yu Tong while talking.

Xie Jingxing kept smiling, patted his wife's shoulder to signal him to come back soon, and walked outside silently with his aunt.

Yu Nian led the way to a secluded corner of the garden, lit a thin lady's cigarette and puffed out smoke, and said seriously: "Social Security Fund, China Merchants Group, and CITIC, three companies jointly invest, can the social security fund lead the investment?"

"There are changes. Modou International Group and China Development Bank want to join." Xie Jingxing responded concisely.

Yu Nian frowned and thought: "You want them all?"

"I only want three companies that will transfer 5000% of their shares at a valuation of no less than 5 billion yuan." Xie Jingxing gave a definite decision.

Shanghai International Group is a local state-owned enterprise in Shanghai, and China Development Bank is a strong state-owned enterprise in the financial field. Both participated in Ant Financial's Series A financing last year.

But compared with the three social insurance companies, the former is relatively weaker in terms of resources as it has local support.

Yu Nian was silent for a moment and said, "Are they willing to give a valuation of 5000 billion?"

"Slow down if the valuation is less than 5000 billion. We can talk when that price is reached." Xie Jingxing said slowly and firmly.

Yu Nian opened her red lips slightly and hesitated for several times: "As long as the fundraising of the Grapefruit US dollar fund performs well, the overall valuation of the group will reach its peak, even if it is less than 5000 billion, it will not be much different. If you miss this window of opportunity that you have worked so hard to create, you may not have such a good opportunity in the future."

"I created the opportunity, this time and next time, no exceptions."

Xie Jingxing raised his hand and took the cigarette butt from her fingertips, put it into his mouth and took a deep breath, then lowered his head and gently exhaled the light blue smoke. (End of this chapter)