After divorce, I can hear the voice of the future

Chapter 362 30% Success Rate

"Mr. Lu, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

Around half past two, a slightly plump man wearing glasses saw Lu Liang sitting by the window and walked quickly towards him.

Cheng Wei was born in 34 and is 7 years old this year. After graduation, he joined the Alipay department of Ali. After working there for years, he resigned and founded Xiaoju Technology, which is now Didi.

Since he was born in the same year as ByteDance's Zhang Yiming and they both started their own businesses in Beijing, 14 years ago, the media was still arguing over who was the business leader among the post-80s generation.

But since May 14, Didi accepted US$5 million in financing from Goldman Sachs. In July of the same year, Liu Qing was parachuted in and became Didi's Chief Operating Officer.

Since then, the topic of who is the business leader among those born in the 80s seems to have come to a conclusion.

It was as if Cheng Wei had disappeared suddenly. He was still there, but it felt as if he was gone.

After Liu Qing took over, she helped Didi complete investments of US$7 million, US$20 billion, US$45 billion, and US$10 billion from Apple.

When people mention Didi, they only think of Liu Qing. Liu Qing also often represents Didi and attends various meetings.

Cheng Wei's influence in the company is getting smaller and smaller, as if he is just the chairman of the company and nothing more.

"I just got here not long ago, Mr. Cheng, what would you like to drink?"

Lu Liang smiled, put away the information, and waved for the waiter. Cheng Wei said, "American style, please."

The two had met once before and had played cards together at the World Internet Conference held in Wuzhen last year.

Lu Liang asked someone to take the group photo of thirteen people, which netizens jokingly said was worth two trillion yuan. He and Lu Liang were in the photo.

At that time, there was no business dealings between them, they were just card-playing and drinking buddies.

Lu Liang asked straight to the point: "Mr. Cheng, what do you think about Didi's IPO being blocked this time?"

He needs to know what Cheng Wei wants and what he is willing to pay. After weighing the pros and cons, he can decide whether to get involved in this matter.

As for whether this would offend the Liu family, it was not within his consideration, and it could be said that it was a very low priority.

Zhu Hu said it well, blocking someone's financial path is like killing his parents. So what if it's the Liu family's daughter? Even Old Liu would do the same.

The market pie is so small, and doing business is like rowing against the current. If you want to take a bigger bite, others can only take a smaller bite.

"Didi doesn't have to go public in the United States. Listing in Hong Kong can also meet the expectations of most investors."

Cheng Wei set the tone with just one sentence.

Didi's domestic business is almost saturated, and it has been actively developing the international market in recent years.

Listing on the US stock market is indeed the best choice. Since the Hong Kong dollar is pegged to the US dollar at an exchange rate of 7.8, as many Hong Kong dollars are issued as there are US dollars. The Hong Kong dollar is just a US dollar exchange certificate. Listing in Hong Kong is also a second-best option.

Lu Liang smiled and said, "But in the end, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange is still not as good as the New York Stock Exchange, right?"

Cheng Wei nodded: "A regional market cannot compare to the global market."

International capital generally refers to capital institutions led by Wall Street, and the same is true for the market. Only U.S. stocks are considered a global market.

If Didi insists on listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, it will face greater internal resistance. Neutral foreign capital such as Temasek and Saudi Arabian sovereign will also have objections and may even take action to stop it.

“The Hong Kong Stock Exchange is good, but the New York Stock Exchange is undoubtedly better. Everyone wants to go to a market that is larger and has greater development potential.”

Lu Liang looked thoughtful, and after a long pause he asked, "Mr. Cheng, how much do you know about Didi's listing on the New York Stock Exchange?"

Cheng Wei looked a little unhappy, sighed, and said with a wry smile: "Boss Lu, I'm not afraid of you laughing at me when I tell you this, I only know that there is such a thing, and Boss Liu is in charge of the general direction and the details."

Since Didi's development, he has indeed been aware of these things every time there is a major choice.

Liu Qing only gave him the options of yes and no. It seemed that he had a choice, but he could only choose yes.

"..."

Lu Liang was speechless.

He thought of Hu Weiwei, who seemed to have received the same treatment when she was working at Mobike.

However, Hu Weiwei is better than Cheng Wei, because Li Bing is busy making bikes and his mind is not on Mobike at all.

But Liu Qing is different. Didi is her first job after leaving Goldman Sachs, and it may also be a token of her loyalty.

The level of care taken in treating it is not on the same level.

Lu Liang restrained his smile and said bluntly: "Mr. Cheng, please forgive me for being a little blunt." "Mr. Lu, you go ahead."

"What can I get by helping you?"

Lu Liang already had a plan in mind. He couldn't guarantee its absolute success, but the success rate would not be less than 30%.

It’s just that Didi’s ticket fee is too expensive. If the plan fails, it’s unclear when the ticket price can be recovered.

So he needs to know whether the price Cheng Wei paid is worth his gamble on the 30% success rate.

Hear 30%,

Cheng Wei's eyes lit up.

He thought for a long time, because he knew that every sentence that followed was crucial.

Due to a slight mistake, the reward offered failed to satisfy Lu Liang and the meeting came to an end.

"Ms. Liu not only has a huge amount of resources and connections, but her abilities and vision are also outstanding."

"In April 15, Didi completed a huge financing of US$4 billion. At that time, the company's cash reserves exceeded US$20 billion."

"The merger of Kuaidi and Uber only cost $15 billion to appease the market, and more than $ billion was invested in the research and development of driverless technology."

"Now, more than two years have passed, Didi has achieved results in this field, and its patented technology is not inferior to Baidu's Apollo project."

A few days ago, before Lu Liang came to Beijing, Cheng Wei had met with Li Junyi many times, including Lu Liang, who was also the candidate recommended by Li Junyi.

At that time, Li Junyi said that Lu Liang was cold-hearted by nature and was a perfect man with almost no weaknesses. If one had to point out a weakness, it would be Tianxing Technology.

I don't know where his obsession comes from. This is obviously a field that he is not good at and not familiar with, but in the past two and a half years, the direct or indirect beneficiary of all his actions has been Tianxing Technology.

If you want to convince him to help, considerable profits are only one of the basic conditions, and you still have to start with Tianxing Technology.

Cheng Wei said in a deep voice: "Mr. Lu, as long as you join Didi on behalf of Tianxing Technology, Didi will not only fully open its database, but also permanently and exclusively share all patent technologies and shareable qualifications free of charge."

As long as Lu Liang joins Didi and helps him balance the foreign forces headed by Liu Qing, Didi will have no secrets from Tianxing Technology regardless of success or failure.

Lu Liang was stunned and squinted his eyes: "Boss Cheng, whether it succeeds or not? Can you make the decision on this matter? Will Boss Liu have any objection?"

"I can make the decision because I am the chairman and CEO of Didi." Cheng Wei's eyes were firm and he was determined to give it a try.

Lu Liang laughed dumbly: "It's better for you to be here than not to be here."

Cheng Wei's face froze and he fell silent. This was the same reason why Dong Zhuo kept Emperor Xian.

After all, he is the founder of Didi and has a certain prestige in the company. Liu Qing is just an airdrop.

"Let me think about it."

Lu Liang finished his coffee, brushed off the nonexistent dust on his body, and left a message: "I'll give you an answer before I leave the capital on Wednesday."

The three elements of success are the right time, the right place and the right people. Didi's listing was blocked, Guoan was the matchmaker, and Cheng Wei was invited, so it seems like all of them were involved.

In fact, it just seems like everything is touched, otherwise the success rate wouldn’t be only 30%.

Moreover, entering Didi in such a dry manner has a bit of a break-up feeling.

Even if you agree, you have to wait for the right time.

After saying goodbye to Cheng Wei, Lu Liang came to ByteDance to attend the Douyin shareholders' meeting.

The plan is to invest 15% of the equity, raise US$30 billion in financing, and have a valuation of US$200 billion.

The funds raised will be divided into three parts to develop e-commerce, group buying, and live streaming.

Lu Liang was almost sleepy after listening to the news. He only knew that after this round of financing, his 9.25% stake would become 7.86%.

Although the equity has decreased again, it has become more valuable, worth about US$15.72 billion.

After the shareholders' meeting, Zhang Yiming found Lu Liang and asked with a smile, "Are you not going to follow this round?"

Lu Liang smiled and said, "We'll see if no one invests then."

As one of the original shareholders, if no one agrees with the valuation, they will take over. If someone agrees, they will naturally retire.

(End of this chapter)