Rebirth: My dad is too obedient

Chapter 573 Brother Bing Has Something to Ask You

Chapter 573 Brother Bing Has Something to Ask You
The next morning, Xu Zhiquan and Fang Jun went to Wang Shi's investment company for detailed negotiations, with Li Rui accompanying them.

Xu Chen was in class at school, but as expected, he was still somewhat distracted.

Chenfeng Technology is indeed facing a matter of life and death.

At noon, Xu Chen invited Nie Fei to lunch and tea alone.

There wasn't really anything special to talk about; it was just a way to relieve some of the pressure in my heart.

The tea restaurant on Miyun Road behind the school is always packed with students at lunchtime.

But the shop owner already knew "General Manager Nie" and "Young General Manager Xu" and arranged for them to sit in a quiet corner by the window.

Xu Chen ate an omelet rice; the sinfully delicious taste made him feel relaxed.

We also ordered fried chicken nuggets and lemon black tea, and enjoyed the meal just as much.

Nie Fei sipped a cup of unsweetened milk tea and said:
"The 'Burning Ice' company still has some funds in its accounts. Is it really unnecessary to touch them?"

Xu Chen: "I've already discussed it with my dad and Fang Jun, and we won't touch a single penny of the money from 'Burning Ice'."

There's a funding gap of nearly two billion yuan over there, and the little cash 'Ranbing' has in its accounts can't solve the problem.

In addition, the isolation between 'Ranbing' and 'Chenfeng' was also to guard against risks.

In extreme circumstances, if 'Chenfeng' really can't hold on, 'Dongchen Shares' still has 'Ranbing Sports' under its umbrella.

'Chenfeng Technology' itself has valuable assets such as its industrial park, production lines, electric vehicle inventory, and shares in motor companies and Da Tuo Auto Sales, which can easily cover most of the debt.

Even in the most extreme circumstances, I will not drag my father into the quagmire of personal debt.

After a period of transition, and with 'Burning Ice Sports' as a backing, my dad will still have the opportunity to start another company...

So although 'Chenfeng' is facing a serious debt crisis right now, it's not really a dead end for my dad and me.

Thanks to the existing projects at 'Gas Mine' and 'Chenxin Nursery,' my son and I are still living a stable life."

Nie Fei thought for a moment, then smiled and nodded.

Xu Chen joked:

"From now on, my dad and I will really have to rely on Sister Fei to support us!"

Nie Fei: "What are you saying!"

She then recalled another matter, "I didn't dare to ask a while ago, but were the seedling companies under the parent company also affected?"

Xu Chen: "It will have some impact, but it won't be fatal in the short term."

Since Wu Feifei's father is involved, it's become difficult to negotiate some new seedling projects.

However, existing projects are progressing steadily and are unaffected.

They were under some pressure, as some people wanted to halt all of Chenxin Nursery's projects.

But those projects are all highway and municipal engineering works; how can we just stop them like that? Even if we wanted to stop, our clients wouldn't agree.

He took a sip of refreshing lemon black tea and continued:
"Back then, I had my dad register and run several companies at the same time, which was to put our eggs in different baskets and to guard against risks."

'Chenfeng' is currently in a precarious situation, but 'Ranbing Sports', 'Dongchen Advertising', and 'Chenxin Nursery' are relatively stable.

If they really run out of money, Dongchen Advertising can just take on more projects; it shouldn't be a problem to support their large family.

Our company, which "sells solutions" and "sells drafts," may not make a lot of money, but it is actually safer and more flexible.

Unlike 'Ranbing' and 'Chenfeng', it won't be targeted by large capital and powerful forces, nor will it be as heavily influenced by various relationships and connections as 'Chenxin'.

……

Xu Chen said this as if to comfort Nie Fei.

But in reality, he was also "comforting himself".

Sure enough, after finishing the meal, Xu Chen felt much more relaxed.

Just as he himself analyzed, due to the initial "financial isolation," even if "Chenfeng" really collapsed, the Xu family father and son would not fall into a so-called desperate situation.

They are still the "extremely wealthy" General Manager Xu and his son, General Manager Xu.

However, the loss of "Chenfeng Technology" must have been a huge blow to Xu Zhiquan.

Xu Chen was well aware that Lao Xu had poured a lot of effort and energy into this electric vehicle company.

……

Around 3 p.m., Xu Chen, who was in class, received a message from teacher Fang Jun informing her that she and Lao Xu had returned to the company in Shanghai.

Xu Chen had one more class to attend, so he asked for leave and hurriedly headed towards the south gate of the school.

Just as he came out of the teaching building, he bumped into Fang Tao and Cheng Yong, who had come to "escort" him.

It must be another instruction from my father.

……

Shanghai City Company, small office on the 8th floor.

Looking back, keeping this small office was a wise decision; it provides an extra space to discuss important and confidential matters.

Xu Zhiquan, Fang Jun, and Nie Fei were all there, sitting around the large table that Xu Chen had bought.

The phone on the table was connected; it was Yang Congxin on the other end.

When Old Xu saw his son come in, he raised his hand to invite him to sit down.

During the phone call, Yang Congxin was reporting some information about the situation in Tiancheng.

The park is currently still shut down, and employees are still receiving their basic wages as usual, but a sense of anxiety and worry has clearly spread widely.

In particular, a large number of employees who came from the "old Guangming Factory" had experienced work stoppages and salary suspensions and waited for the factory to go bankrupt, so they were obviously more anxious.

Yang Congxin could only try his best to appease her; he didn't have any other good options.

The "working group" has completed some of its "investigation and data collection" work and has at least withdrawn from the park office.

However, Gu Xuewei from the Finance Department still went to the city with the "working group," saying that he needed to provide some assistance.

In addition, Yang Congxin also took care of some personnel matters at the same time.

In the past two days, several frontline team leaders and junior managers from various departments have resigned.

It's obvious they saw the company was in bad shape and ran away beforehand.

HR Director Ding Shaohui tried his best to retain them, but some still insisted on leaving the company.

Yang Congxin specifically asked Ding Shaohui to look at the list. Most of the people who left were recruited from outside in the past six months to a year, and many of them were "high-level talents" poached from the provincial capital.

During the phone call, Yang Congxin expressed clear concerns:
"The departure of some team leaders has further destabilized morale within the unit."

Xu Zhiquan frowned and said:
"If it's going to rain, it's going to rain; if it's going to be a mother, it's going to be a mother who wants to remarry, you can't stop that."

"He might not have been on the same page with the company to begin with, so leaving early is actually a good thing."

Xu Chen remembered something important and asked:
Where is Dr. Liu?

Xu Zhiquan: "Don't worry, Dr. Liu hasn't run away."

He was a scholar who had never experienced anything like this before.

I was afraid he would be implicated, so I arranged for him to return to the capital in advance.

He's considered a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, so nobody can easily mess with him.

He looked up at Xu Chen:
"Dr. Liu is a very single-minded person. Once he decides to work with us, he won't easily run away."

He was texting me last night, thinking about trying to pull some strings in Beijing.

But his circle is purely academic, so he really can't be of much help. I told him to stay home and not worry about anything.

……

The meeting continues.

We finally got to the most important topic of the day: the meeting and negotiations with Wang Shi Investment Company this morning.

Xu Zhiquan began by saying:

"Mr. Wang is willing to invest 30 billion yuan in cash in us."

If we agree, the funds should be in place by the end of March.

Fang Jun continued, "However, the investment valuation is still too low."

Even without the current crisis, this offer would be very unprofitable for us.

After all, we've already achieved the top position in the northern electric vehicle market..."

Xu Chen: "What is the specific plan?"

Fang Jun: "The current offer is an investment of 30 billion yuan for a 51% stake." Xu Chen gasped: "That's a valuation of less than 60 billion yuan, and they want a controlling stake."

Currently, "Chenfeng Technology" has firmly surpassed "Aibang" and "Shenbiao" to become the number one seller in the northern market.

Although the overall size and strength of the company cannot compare with "Aibang", a valuation of 60 billion is definitely not worth it.

Xu Zhiquan, smoking a cigarette, began to speak:
"Currently, the situation faced by 'Chenfeng Technology', including work stoppages, production halts, and future uncertainties, has been taken into account in the valuation considerations."

Therefore, in this situation, there's not much we can say.

He paused and then said:
"During the meeting, Mr. Wang also answered the phone."

He made two points near the end.

First, there is still room for negotiation on the overall valuation, which can be appropriately increased.

But judging from the tone of his voice, there isn't much room for an upward adjustment; the valuation will likely be around 60 to 70 billion.

Secondly, Mr. Wang was very insistent on having a controlling stake; he was determined to acquire more than half of the shares and become the majority shareholder.

They are willing to offer more cash in return.

They can avoid getting involved in the company's day-to-day operations, but they still need to form and control the board of directors..."

Fang Jun: "But we don't need 'more cash'."

Actually, we only need 2 billion. As long as we get through the debt payment period in March, and Wu Yongming's matter is resolved, refinancing will not be a problem.

It doesn't need to be 30 billion or more.

Fang Jun suppressed his annoyance and spoke again:
"The investment company on Mr. Wang's side knows about our debt situation."

If we agree, the first installment of 2 million can be paid immediately, without even waiting for the contract process to be completed.

In this way, the debt crisis of over 3 million yuan that occurred on March 5th can be resolved directly.

Xu Zhiquan: "This is actually forcing us to agree..."

He knew that we had over 100 million yuan in debt due on March 5th, and he used that 200 million yuan to persuade us.

Overall, they remain optimistic about the value of 'Chenfeng Technology'.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have been willing to shell out 200 million without even waiting for a contract.

“But with a valuation of less than 60 billion, it’s still equivalent to selling ‘Chenfeng’ for a pittance.” Fang Jun frowned and then talked about her dissatisfaction with the offer.

Xu Zhiquan smoked a cigarette, exhaled, and remained silent.

Clearly, like Fang Jun, he felt sorry for Chenfeng Technology when faced with a valuation offer of 60 billion.

Xu Chen: "What were the initial valuation quotes from BlackRock and Changfeng Investment?"

How much are they respectively?

Fang Jun: "Their quotes came earlier, when the sales of 'Chenfeng Electric Vehicle' had not yet fully taken off, so they were all relatively low."

BlackRock only gave a preliminary valuation of $12 billion, which is roughly equivalent to more than 80 billion RMB.

Once the final valuation is determined, they will need to conduct due diligence and then re-anchor the valuation.

Initial discussions suggested a valuation of $12 billion, with them hoping for a 30% stake…

Changfeng Investment offered a very low price, valuing the company at 38 billion RMB. At the time, they also required a controlling stake and the direct assignment of management personnel.

They even wanted to appoint a 'general manager'.

Therefore, in summary, Mr. Wang's offer falls between those of BlackRock and Changfeng Investment.

Xu Zhiquan smoked his cigarette in silence, clearly still pondering the matter.

Fang Jun began to speak:

"They gave us four days to consider, and we need to give them a reply before the 29th."

The four-day consideration period was also for the payment deadline of March 5th.

If they can make a decision within four days, they can immediately arrange for 200 million in cash for us.

Of course, this four-day deadline was also forcing us to accept their terms.

She looked up at Xu Zhiquan:
"However, if we accept this, we'll really be selling 'Chenfeng Technology' for a pittance..."

Xu Chen and Nie Fei also looked up at Xu Zhiquan.

Ultimately, it's up to Lao Xu to make the decision on this matter.

Xu Zhiquan stubbed out his cigarette, then leaned back in his chair, supporting himself on the table with both hands.

He tilted his head back and exhaled a long puff of white smoke.

"The specific valuation isn't a big problem."

Whether it's a little more or a little less, if it can solve our current troubles, that would be a great favor.

But they want to control the company…

Xu Chen remained silent, knowing full well what Old Xu was thinking.

"Chenfeng Technology" is Lao Xu's life's work. He has always resisted the introduction of external investment, with the aim of keeping the company completely in his own hands.

If Mr. Wang wants to "control" the company, although Xu Zhiquan will still be the major shareholder with 49% of the shares, "Chenfeng Technology" cannot be entirely said to belong to the Xu family.

From a purely business perspective, Lao Xu's thinking is somewhat self-limiting or even outdated. After all, most startups nowadays rely on external investment and have a multi-faceted board of directors.

But perhaps due to his deep-seated beliefs and nature, Lao Xu was clearly still very resistant to handing over the core equity and control of "Chenfeng"...

Xu Zhiquan sighed, picked up the water glass on the table, took a sip, and said:

"Accept it, we have no other option!"

We couldn't raise more than 100 million yuan in cash before the 5th, and we still have no way of securing the next billion yuan by the end of next month.

Mr. Wang's side is the only way...

I estimate that either 'Changfeng' or 'Panshi' will come to talk in the next couple of days, and their quotes will only be lower, or even ridiculously low.

Therefore, Mr. Wang's proposal is the best available at the moment.

"We must be decisive and at least save 'Chenfeng Technology' so that we can resume production as soon as possible!"

Fang Jun frowned, clearly somewhat indignant, but ultimately said nothing.

Xu Chen glanced at Lao Xu and could still see the disappointment in his heart.

……

The phone on the table suddenly vibrated.

Nie Fei reminded him, and Xu Chen realized that it was his phone ringing.

Xu Chen glanced down and was taken aback:

"Brother Bing?"

It's quite unusual to receive a call from Xie Bingran at a time like this.

He picked up his phone, got up, and went to the small conference room next door by himself.

……