King of Capital

Chapter 492: Kill one to warn the rest, fight to the death

Dai Wei waited from early August to early September, but Alibaba did not respond. The company's cash flow was on the verge of exhaustion, and rumors spread that ofo had misappropriated user deposits.

He personally denied the allegations through his WeChat Moments at the airport, then turned on flight mode on his phone and boarded a flight to Shenzhen.

"Hu Weiwei's catchphrase is: if we fail, we'll just do charity. Her CEO said that in the future, they will expand the market without the purpose of profit. Mr. Li Bin's evaluation is that it is 'unsustainable and does not create any value.' Mr. Ma and Mr. Xie feel sorry for the small shareholders who are being coerced."

Dai Wei walked into the visitor room of Tencent headquarters and said frankly despite being covered in dust: "It seems that there is a contradiction within this company?"

"Everyone has the same attitude towards the merger transaction." Liu Chih-ping responded calmly.

Dai Wei nodded to himself: "The combined market share of ofo and Mobike exceeds 90%. If Tencent invests in ofo, it can quickly complete market integration and completely end the money-burning competition."

"I'm sorry, I'm not sure how you and Mr. Cheng communicate."

Liu Chih-Ping was very confused. Cheng Wei only said that the founder of ofo wanted to meet with the major shareholders of Mobike one by one, but did not tell him that there was going to be an Infernal Affairs drama.

Tencent led the new round of financing for ofo, and then pushed it to merge with Mobike, but in turn kicked Xie Jingxing and Hu Weiwei out. Isn't this crazy?
"Two years ago, Ele.me acquired Dianping.com, and last year, New Dianping acquired Meituan. Tencent operated in this way in both cases."

Dai Wei said confidently: "After the merger of ofo and Mobike, we are no weaker than New Dangdai. We will definitely be the second Didi."

"Don't worry about what others think. We will help Tencent achieve new growth in offline mobile payment business, so we won't lose anything even if the merger fails." He laid out his thoughts.

"..."

Liu Chih-Ping was speechless, imitating Wang Xing's strategy of changing camps at all costs. However, Meituan was worthy of optimism at the beginning, so he stabbed Xie Jingxing in the back and planned to take over the shares and bet on both sides.

Regardless of the quality of ofo and whether Dai Wei has the ability to become the second Didi, Tencent has now achieved its strategic goal of mobile payment and there is no reason for it to go to the trouble of joining its board of directors and fighting with Alibaba.

"To put it more bluntly, a week ago, Beijing issued regulations restricting the deployment of shared bikes. We can expect that there will be nationwide restrictions soon, and by then, the cost of competition will increase significantly."

Dai Wei shook his head to emphasize: "Now Xie Jingxing and Li Bin are against Mobike continuing to burn money, and they will be even more opposed when the time comes. Didi's stepping in to broker a merger also shows that they want to end the competition as soon as possible."

"Then Tencent is the only one left to promote mobile payments, which is obviously ineffective."

He concluded by changing the subject: "But currently ofo can give you a suitable financing valuation. If you support us to lead the merger and acquisition, all problems will be solved."

"Tencent's mobile payment business has passed the promotion stage, and we are also conservative about burning money for subsidies."

Liu Chih-Ping adjusted the legs of his glasses and explained thoughtfully, "You may have over-complicated the issue. It would be great if we could merge, but there is nothing we can do if we can't."

"Just like Mr. Li said, the business model of charging 5 cents for a ride was viable, but suddenly someone offered it for free."

All the internal rifts of Mobike are under the company's development prospects. No matter whether Li Bin or Pony Ma turns into Xianglin Sao and complains in the circle of friends with a big mouth, there are competitors in the external market who are willing to burn money. What can they do?
Oh, I'm so heartbroken by spending so much money that I might as well just find a rope and hang myself - it shouldn't be that serious.

Besides, New Dangdai and Didi still regard Mobike as a strategic location and are willing to charge forward. They are far from the point of cutting their own throats and raising their hands in surrender.

Ultimately, Dai Wei is not a good person. He actually thinks that Tencent supports Mobike's management in burning money, using Tencent's agreement to end the money-burning competition as a bargaining chip, and then cutting out some financing valuation benefits so that he can take control of the new company after the merger.

Xie Jingxing had been standing firmly behind Hu Weiwei for a long time, and the entire capital structure was built up by him!
Even now, he is still at a loss about the changes in the macro situation and has not even figured out the true situation of the infighting in his rival company. He just goes to any temple he sees, holding two pitiful pieces of pig's head in his hands and worshiping them.

Rather than letting this founder lead the merger, let’s just keep fighting…

The harder Dai Wei tried to prove that he was better than Hu Weiwei, the more Liu Chih-ping felt that he looked dead, and his confidence grew.

There is no need to complain about the money-burning competition. Maybe this guy will bankrupt ofo tomorrow. Its collapse is just around the corner!
"Wow."

Pouring cold water on his face was still unable to calm the hot sensation. Dai Wei leaned on the sink with both hands and stared at himself in the mirror. His entire face and neck were flushed red.

If Tencent has concluded that there is no need to promote mobile payments, then why does Alibaba firmly oppose the merger? And who within Mobike is supporting Hu Weiwei?

Yan Wenhua has met with Wang Xiaofeng several times in the past month, hinting that he could send Wang Xiaofeng out and let him serve as the CEO of the new company after the merger. The original executive teams of both parties competed for the position. Compared with the mergers and acquisitions of Internet unicorns in recent years, the conditions are generous, but it is meaningless if you can't have full control.

Calm down, what would Wang Xing do?
Decisively reject the merger and try to win back Alibaba's support, then try to convince Mobike's shareholders, or seek new external investors...

Why do one or two people think that he is not as good as Hu Weiwei? This woman was clearly implying the capital shareholders in the official media Blue News last month. From Yan Wenhua to Liu Chih-ping, they turned a blind eye in front of him and unanimously acted as if they had no disagreements and firmly supported the founder.

This is so weird, damn!

Dai Wei forced himself to think about various directions. He couldn't help but clench his fist and hammer the sink hard, splashing cold water stains.

[Mr. Cheng, please help me arrange a meeting with Mr. Xie. ]

He wiped his hands unwillingly and walked out of the bathroom while sending a message to Cheng Wei. By process of elimination, only Xie Jingxing was left.

"Hello, Mr. Dai. I'm the business director of the WeChat division. Can we chat?"

A Tencent employee who was guarding the corridor blocked my way and politely raised his work badge to signal me.

Dai Wei's mind raced: "What's the matter?"

"Yes, you should know that there are some third-party applications on the WeChat personal homepage interface. We call it the 'Nine-square grid' recommendation position. Many customers, including JD.com, have been purchasing this traffic entrance for a long time, and the effect is very good."

The Tencent employee gave a detailed introduction and then proposed: "We can exchange resources. Ofo will give WeChat Pay a recommended position, and we can give you a discounted price for a recommended position in the Jiugong grid."

"Mr. Liu asked you to come see me?" Dai Wei's brows relaxed.

The Tencent employee smiled and said: "In fact, the Nine-Grid should be considered as a pre-cooperation. Later, WeChat will launch a new function to share traffic entrances with third-party applications and provide high-quality support resources to strategic partners. Mobike and Didi are in this sequence."

"Let's find a place to talk about it in detail."

Dai Wei seemed to be suppressing his joy as usual, but Liu Chih-Ping was not as nonchalant as he said, he still cared about the promotion of mobile payments!

By joining the Tencent camp, you can obtain the same level of resources as Mobike, and at least fill a large part of the traffic entrance gap.

[He just sent me a message asking to meet Jingxing. He will probably give up by then.]

[Young people still have strong character. They walk on two legs and strive to ease the money-burning subsidies through cooperation and restore rational competition.]

[Mobike's financing plan is almost settled. I will arrange a time for him to meet with Hu Weiwei. If it doesn't work out, I can give ofo some more money.]

[Let's see what he thinks. Ali's veto power is a big problem. If he can't handle it, everyone will be powerless. ]

[Let’s keep communicating~]

The WeChat chat box displayed "typing" for a full half minute before Yan Wenhua finally replied with a short message. Liu Chih-ping looked at the meaningful "~" and sighed with the corner of his mouth slightly.

Tencent does not need to promote mobile payment, but WeChat will launch the "Mini Program" function at the end of the year. Zhang Xiaolong personally described it as a super built-in traffic engine comparable to the Apple Store, worthy of the highest level of marketing efforts. Many strategic partners will participate in it to make profits, but the sweet and smooth chocolate is fine for people to eat, but it will kill dogs if they eat it.

Dai Wei should consider this carefully.

…………

[According to Zero9IPO Ventures on September 15, the shared bike brand Mobike announced that it has completed a new round of financing of more than US$10 billion, with New Big Elephant leading the investment with US$5 million. Newly introduced strategic and financial investors include star institutions such as ICBC International and Bocom International, and early investors such as Grapefruit Capital, Didi, and Tencent followed suit and increased their holdings. This set a record for the highest single financing in the shared bike industry.]

When the press release was sent out without warning, the final work of investment financial due diligence was being done in the conference room of Mobike headquarters, with various investors huddled together to coordinate the details of the subsequent fund delivery.

Xinda'e sent out the general manager of the strategic investment department, a typical young man. He spread his hands and licked his face, saying that the money could not be transferred until the end of the year.

"We will pay the money after seven working days."

The investment director from Grapefruit Capital took over the conversation, accompanied by a beautiful young girl who was very eye-catching and just starting out.

The name is also nice, Zou Jingyi. Jingyi means quiet, virtuous and kind.

Yan Wenhua was racking his brains and was filled with sourness. He vaguely remembered that Song Anli, whom he had met once before, was also from Guangdong. Why was Xie Jingxing specifically targeting his fellow countryman?

"Let's take a group photo. Mr. Yan, please go to the middle station." The new hungry young man smiled and declined.

Yan Wenhua didn't like him very much, thinking that he had no money yet he was asking for 50 million shares at a valuation of 5 billion. Didi gritted its teeth again and again but still didn't make up its mind, and only gave 2.5 million shares in exchange for 5% of the shares.

Xinda'e increased its stake by 10%. After this round of financing, plus the early holdings of Xiyou and Taihe, the total shareholding of the Xie family increased to 37.2%.

Of course, the single largest shareholder is Hu Weiwei personally, with a 24.6% stake, and the two parties together hold 61.8%.

This means that Yan Wenhua's recent efforts have been almost in vain. Dai Wei reacted too slowly and was hesitant, which led to the financing being completed first. Even if there is a subsequent merger and acquisition and refinancing, Xie Jingxing + Hu Weiwei will be diluted to less than 40% at most.

Didi wants to make an effort to lead the next round of financing.

In addition, the new guy named Chen Shaohui is so cool that you can feel his strength just by looking at his resume.

He holds a bachelor's degree from Peking University and a master's degree from Harvard. He worked in financial institutions and Tencent's strategic investment for many years. He joined Meituan two years ago. Not only was he not purged, but he took control of the new Daehan strategic investment at the age of thirty-something.

Yan Wenhua tried his best to respond negatively and refused to go to the company. As a result, Chen Shaohui brought his own stool and stayed in Didi headquarters for four consecutive days. He even became best friends with the girl at the front desk. On the fifth night, he returned to the office to get documents and was arrested on the spot.

The two of them battled wits and courage and barely delayed the progress by a month, but were eventually forced to sign Mobike's current round of financing plan.

"Let's have dinner together tonight to celebrate?" Yan Wenhua suggested angrily.

Chen Shaohui simply responded: "No problem, I have caused a lot of trouble to Mr. Yan during this period, so I must treat you to dinner tonight!"

"We're going to take the high-speed rail ticket back to Shanghai this afternoon." The investment director of Grapefruit declined.

"It's hard work. Mobike is waiting for the rice to cook, and we are waiting for the rice to cook too."

Chen Shaohui patted his shoulder familiarly and said vaguely: "Let's get together again after we're done."

Xindashi is pushing forward a new round of financing, which is expected to be the last round of financing before listing, so the scale is relatively large, starting at US$20 billion, mainly introducing new external lead investors, with Xiyou and Tencent as the backers.

This is also the reason why they dare to give Mobike such a high valuation. Chen Shaohui became extremely rich before the end of the year and was so proud that his face was broken with laughter.

Yan Wenhua looked at his fellow villager and said, "I want to give your boss some advice. You have one project after another and you don't give employees any space to socialize. How can you accumulate personal connections?"

"Mr. Yan, would it be convenient for me to add you on WeChat? We can also make friends online." Zou Jingyi was very considerate.

Yan Wenhua glanced at Chen Shaohui and said, "Okay, I'll create a group chat so we can keep in touch."

Zou Jingyi smiled sweetly and gently took out her mobile phone to show the QR code. Thanks to the fact that two of the seven front desk interns in the same batch were persuaded to quit, she successfully passed the internship period and became a regular employee.

Compared to when she first joined Xiyou in March, she can now be called a venture capital practitioner, and she gradually understands why female leaders like Tang Man and Shen Xin are so stingy towards her.

Beauty is both an advantage and a disadvantage.

"Hmm? Wait a minute, scroll down the page." Yan Wenhua suddenly interrupted.

Zou Jingyi didn't understand why and jokingly said, "Do you want to see the balance of my electricity bill?"

"We'll meet again some other day." Yan Wenhua restrained his expression and walked quickly out of the meeting room.

Zou Jingyi thought she had said something wrong. She pursed her red lips and turned her eyes helplessly to the teacher. However, the latter had no time to meet Chen Shaohui's eyes. They both understood each other and picked up their phones.

"It's over."

Chen Shaohui looked at the ofo recommendation position on Zou Jingyi's personal WeChat homepage on his mobile phone, then looked at the default WeChat payment and the folded Alipay payment in the ofo payment settings on his own mobile phone, and uttered two words quietly.

Mobike’s valuation of 50 billion yuan includes expectations for the M&A integration market.

…………

"Let him come to Hangzhou now and give me an explanation in person."

"There may be some misunderstanding here, I think..."

"You are an angel investor of ofo. If you can't even maintain the most basic communication with him, then this project is meaningless."

"I'll book a flight right away and arrive in Hangzhou this afternoon."

"I think you should take a vacation."

The call was simply hung up and Zhu Xiaohu was shaking with anger. Dai Wei pushed the matter beyond the scope of business and used Alibaba's money to divert traffic to WeChat. Even Wang Xing dared to do so only after they had a complete falling out.

Then they formed a deep hatred and created the current extremely embarrassing situation of Koubei.com...

To make an example of one and not give up until one is dead, Alibaba can afford a loss of billions of dollars.

"If it weren't for his dad, who the hell would be his angel investor!"

Zhu Xiaohu gritted his teeth and called Dai Wei again and again. He heard the prompt tone that the user you dialed has been turned off over and over again, and the urge to pick up a knife and kill him arose spontaneously.

(End of this chapter)