"Mr. Liu, I'm making an appointment with you today. I mainly want to talk to you about the future of the shared bicycle industry."
In a private club in Beijing, Zhang Yida and Liu Dahai, a partner of Happy Capital, drank tea and chatted.
"Shared bicycles? The future of the industry?"
Liu Dahai was a little confused. Yesterday, the venture capital king Shen Beipeng sent him a message: Zhang Yida wanted to make an appointment with him.
Liu Dahai didn't think much about it, but when he thought about it: he and Zhang Yida were strangers to each other, and it was definitely a business-related matter that he was looking for.
The companies in Zhang Yida's hands, whether they are Ruixiang, Yimin Wangjin, or Huimin Travel... all of them are very popular!
People like Shen Beipeng and Xu Xiaoming made a lot of money next to Zhang Yida, the God of Wealth.
Could it be that Zhang Yida wanted to attract investment from him?
It’s not necessary. If he wants to raise funds and the news is released, the threshold will be crossed by venture capital institutions...
"Yes! After receiving a new round of US$1.5 billion in financing, Huimin Travel Group plans to integrate industry resources and reshape the industry order."
Zhang Yida nodded slightly and revealed the next step for Huimin's trip.
"Integrating the industry... Do you want to acquire Bicycle?" Liu Dahai asked in surprise, remembering that the only connection between himself and Zhang Yida was Bicycle.
"Yes. The shared bicycle industry has entered the second half and will surely undergo a reshuffle.
Wouldn’t it be better for Baimo Bicycle and Huimin Bicycle to merge and seek common development?
Mr. Liu, what do you think?"
Zhang Yida picked up the teacup, took a sip, and observed Liu Dahai's reaction.
The topic raised by Zhang Yida made Liu Dahai startled, but he quickly regained his composure and replied calmly:
"I respect the opinions of the founding team. As an investor, it is not convenient for me to express any opinions on this."
Zhang Yida didn't believe that he wasn't interested. How long had it been since he invested in Bicycle? It was less than a year.
In such a short period of time, the invested projects will pay off, which is something that many venture capital institutions can only dream of.
There are many ways to exit venture capital: IPO, equity buyback by the founding team, and mergers and acquisitions.
Zhang Yida knew: Liu Dahai just wanted a memorial arch! Just build one for him.
Looking at Liu Dahai, Zhang Yida continued: "The shared bicycle industry has now entered a state of vicious competition.
Bicycles are free to ride and there is no charge. In the future, who will pay for the operation and maintenance costs of the bicycles, employee salaries, and the production of new bicycles?
Is it possible to keep burning venture capital money?
It’s long past time to return to the essence of business. If we continue like this, everyone will be buried together.
Mr. Liu, you have been in venture capital for so many years and have rich experience. You must be able to distinguish between good and bad business strategies.
I heard that Happy Capital invested US$30 million in Baimo, which is quite a lot, but the sunk cost is too high.”
Liu Dahai was silent. He knew everything Zhang Yida said.
Happy Capital invested US$30 million in Baimo Bicycle in Series A financing, and after dilution in Series B financing, it still holds 22.5% of the company's shares.
It can be said that a lot of money has been invested in this project.
After a year of development of shared bicycles, he has a clear vision of the future development direction: it will definitely be an era of large capital investment and large capital operation.
Can Baimo become the final winner? It’s hard to say. There is some hope, but not much.
The gap with Huimin Bicycle is already there, and it will get bigger and bigger.
Eliminate the gap? Catch up with Huimin Bicycle?
Let’s first raise 10 billion in one-time financing!
Otherwise, Baimo will raise a round of financing of one to two billion US dollars, and Huimin will raise another one to two billion US dollars...
How to fight this battle? I have no money to play with shared bicycles.
If you sell your body now, you should be able to get a good price, and everyone can happily take the money and leave.
If it's too late, I'm afraid the price won't be high...
Sighing, Liu Dahai said: "Mr. Zhang, tell me what you think!"
When Zhang Yida heard this, his eyes lit up and he had a way. He quickly said: "Mr. Liu, this is what I think. If Baimo Bicycle merges into Huimin Bicycle, the acquisition money can be divided into two parts, one part is the additional equity issued by Huimin Travel
, part of it is cash..."
After listening to Zhang Yida's words, Liu Dahai frowned slightly: "Mr. Zhang, the purchase price of US$250 million is a bit low!
With such a low price, I can't convince Fu Weiwei and the others."
Zhang Yida glanced at him and thought to himself: 30 million US dollars entered the market, which has nearly doubled in half a year, but he is still not satisfied.
Don't be too greedy as a person. Accepting things when you see them is the right way to go.
Zhang Yida thought about it for a while and then said: "Let's do this! Give Mr. Liu a face and increase the price to 300 million US dollars."
Liu Dahai was still about to speak, but Zhang Yida interrupted him and said: "A friend of mine once said that it is better to spend half the price to defeat your opponents than to acquire them.
But he is a foreigner, and in a foreign business society, interests come first.
We Chinese are different. We value harmony and wealth. There is no need to resort to such tricks unless it is absolutely necessary."
Zhang Yida was talking about Chen Bingyao. In his previous life, he was unwilling to acquire GoJek. When a reporter asked him, he replied like this.
Liu Dahai thought for a while, and if the acquisition price was 300 million, the 22.5% stake held by Happy Capital would be worth 67.5 million US dollars, and the return on investment would be more than double, which is not bad.
Although this was a bit far from the ten to eight times return he wanted, considering the pressing situation, it was not a decent ending. So he replied:
"I dare not give Mr. Zhang a guarantee. I can only say that I will try my best to convince the founding team."
"It's okay, just do your best!"
Zhang Yida said generously.
…
"Brother Bin, Zhang Yida has gone too far and incited other shareholders to force us to oust him."
Fu Weiwei came to Li Bing's office and began to complain.
"Don't worry, come on, have a drink of water first."
Li Bing poured a glass of water for Fu Weiwei and comforted her with a smile.
"Can I not be in a hurry? There is a fire in our backyard. If this continues, people will not be united and the team will not be able to lead.
This Zhang Yida is really despicable, and he is capable of all kinds of dirty tricks.
You were negotiating with us with a smile that day, but I stabbed you in the back.
He is not a big man, but he is full of bad water."
Fu Weiwei looked angry and kept scolding Zhang Yida.
"Shopping malls are like battlefields, and using these methods is absolutely normal."
Li Bing looked at Fu Weiwei and thought: You are still too young!
“If a fly doesn’t bite an egg, those shareholders are originally venture capital investors and only care about business interests.
Now that Zhang Yida has promised some benefits, I will naturally go with him!"
Li Bing has nearly 20 years of entrepreneurial experience. He has seen so many different types of venture capitalists that he is no longer surprised.
"Liu Dahai and several investors from our Series B financing came to put in good words for Zhang Yida.
They say things like "the situation is serious", "decision must be made early", "choice is greater than effort".
When the company was doing business in the past, I never saw them being so concerned.
Now there are opportunities for mergers and acquisitions and exits, and each one is more diligent than the other."
Fu Weiwei continued to complain about investors.
"Normal operation. How many successful exit projects can these small investment institutions have in a year?
Is it not necessarily possible to exit perfectly after being listed? If the stock price is broken and the stock price is depressed, there are too many.
Now that there is a merger and acquisition project, they will naturally grasp it tightly."
Li Bing was very calm. He knew those little Jiujiu from venture capital institutions very well.
Fu Weiwei pursed her lips and said aggrievedly:
"But they can't collude with Zhang Yida and come specifically to force our founding team?"
Li Bing smiled, shook his head and said:
"We can't say they are colluding. In fact, they are on the same side as us.
We all have a common interest: selling the company at a good price."
Fu Weiwei was stunned for a moment and then quickly realized that this was indeed the case!
Brother Li Bing is worthy of being a boss. He is so rational in analyzing problems. He is still a rookie and needs to learn more.
Li Bing continued: “Now venture capital institutions are the middlemen between us and Huimin.
We must make good use of it. In fact, it doesn’t matter if there is an intermediary to pass the news, our relationship with Zhang Yida will not break down. There is always a step to go down."
Fu Weiwei nodded, fully agreeing with these words, and added: "But this is very inefficient! Our 7-day agreement with Pang Lei expires in two days.
If Huimin’s deal falls apart, Ahli’s investment will also be missed..."
Li Bing tapped his fingers on the table. This problem is really difficult. If it is not handled well, Baimo may die without a burial place.
Suddenly, Li Bing thought of a good idea and said: "In this case, you can talk to Pang Lei. Just say: the company's shareholders have differences and need to discuss it again and give them another week's grace.
Huimin, speed up the negotiations. There must be a result within a week.
If you still can't negotiate within a week, then give up this idea! Decisively choose Ahri."
Fu Weiwei felt quite embarrassed. If she finally negotiated the acquisition with Zhang Yida, wouldn't it be a trick on Ah Li?
If you offend such a giant, it will be difficult to start a business in the future...
Li Bing saw that Fu Weiwei didn't say anything and had a troubled look on her face. He knew that this girl had a moral disorder, so he advised:
"Don't worry. What about Ahri? Their venture capital department often plays tricks on entrepreneurs like this.
If you have reached an agreement with Zhang Yida, ask him not to disclose the merger news yet.
On Ahri's side, just reject him politely.
For a giant like Ah Li, as long as you help him take care of his face, nothing will happen to him.
Even if we suffer a loss, we won’t spread the news.”
Fu Weiwei struggled for a while, but nodded and agreed to Li Bing's plan.
"Brother Bing, what is our psychological price?"
Li Bing thought for a few minutes and then said: "Zhang Yida has now offered US$300 million, which is an increase of US$50 million compared to when we negotiated.
I guess this definitely didn't reach his bottom line.
His bottom line is estimated to be between US$350 million and US$400 million.
Let’s talk about it this way, and don’t let it go until the last minute.”
"Okay! Got it!"
Fu Weiwei nodded. She was relatively satisfied with this valuation range and could accept it.