A Rolls-Royce Phantom weaves in and out of traffic.
In the car, Bao Fan introduced the situation of the target company to Zhang Yida who was in the same car.
“The predecessor of Digital Domain Group is Digital Domain, a special effects company whose reputation is second only to Industrial Light and Magic.
The company was first established in 1993 by "Avatar" director James Cameron and others. It has participated in the production of movies such as "Titanic", "Fast and Furious", "Lord of the Rings", "Transformers" and "Avengers".
Won an Oscar for the first time.
However, it is recognized that the special effects company is a money-loser. The company was sold to Michael Bay, the director of "Transformers" in 2007.
When it was listed in the United States in 2011, its market value reached over US$300 million.
As a result, the company went bankrupt after a year."
Speaking of this, Bao Fan also lamented, "This company is cool, but it really doesn't make money."
Zhang Yida nodded first, and then asked: "Then how come it was in the hands of Taiwanese and listed in Hong Kong?"
Bao Fan touched his shiny head and said, "Then it's a long story.
After the bankruptcy, the company was jointly acquired by Pony Galloping Company and India's Reliance Media Group for US$30.2 million, with 70% and 30% of the shares lost."
"A galloping pony?"
Zhang Yida was stunned for a moment and then confirmed again: "Which company is it that failed in its bet and left its widow and young child with a debt of 200 million yuan?"
Bao Fan scratched his head and said, "Yes, it's that company. It's exactly the opposite of you."
"Stop it, stop it, don't say that. From now on, no company will bet with me anymore."
Bao Fan smiled and didn't think this was pretentious. The investment community was really scared.
I don’t know who spread this rumor, saying that Zhang Yida has been in business for five years and has successfully won more than a dozen bets without losing a single one.
There is no definite evidence for this rumor, so most people don't believe it.
If the news is true, then Zhang Yida is too outrageous, right?
I'm afraid we have to wait until Ruixiang goes public and makes all the data public before we can tell the authenticity.
Bao Fan was different. He was the one who personally promoted the bet between Yuan Ruixiang Group and Zhonghe Group.
And this was done under Zhang Yida's suggestion. He didn't believe that Zhang Yida didn't have one or two special skills.
If you don’t have any special skills and just gamble rashly, isn’t it like an old man eating arsenic?
“Let’s keep talking about Digital Domain!”
Bao Fan continued, "Pony Galloping and CCB Investment have signed a gambling agreement and will be listed before the end of 2013.
If this is not achieved, the founders need to bear unlimited joint and several liability.
Galloping Horse was dragged down by Digital Domain, and its net profit fell sharply, leading to its failure to go public.
So just six months after taking over, Galloping Horse sold Digital Domain to Hong Kong Aoliang Group.
The founder died of illness in 2014. CCB Investment demanded compensation of 425 million yuan of investment money plus interest from the orphans and widowers, a total of more than 600 million yuan.
In the end, the court ruled that the orphans and widows should bear a debt of 200 million yuan.
Look, this special effects company is a trap, and it’s an extremely big trap.”
Zhang Yida smiled and said, "You said that, are you afraid that I won't buy this company? Then you won't get the commission."
"I don't even bother with this kind of bad money."
Bao Fan adjusted his glasses and looked extremely righteous.
"Go on, what will happen after Aoliang Group takes over?"
Bao Fan continued, "In 2013, Aoliang acquired 70% of Pony Galloping's equity in Digital Kingdom for HK$392 million, which was approximately US$50.5 million at the time.
Aoliang's actual controller, Che Feng, is also a big shot. It is said that Digital Domain's backdoor listing of Aoliang resulted in a net book profit of HK$5.8 billion.
Didn’t the peak of the car behind go in?
In addition, there are rumors that Che Feng, the "rich son-in-law", cheated Galloping Horse in this merger.
I heard that the widow of the founder of Galloping Pony even went to Hong Kong to seek debt from Che Feng.
Ji Xiaobo from Macau also got involved and worked with Che Feng in the backdoor operation.
The current CEO of Digital Domain is Xie An, who was born in Taiwan in 1984 and went to the same university as you.
I heard that in school, I liked studying and playing in clubs with my peers who were the children of dignitaries, so I got involved in the circle.
Xie An initially represented Ji Xiaobo, but later became involved with Che Feng.
The relationship is very messy. He is the current professional manager and CEO anyway, so the relationship behind it is hard to explain."
Zhang Yida frowned, of course he knew about this major case.
Che Feng once served as a supervisor of Anping Insurance and made six to seven billion through Anping Insurance's stock trading. He also made several billion at Haitong Securities.
Just these two transactions from ten years ago earned more than 10 billion.
The rest is hard to say in depth, just know that the background is extraordinary.
"Everyone who should have gone in has gone in. All the troubles should have been sorted out, right?"
Bao Fan nodded, "Poly, CITIC, and Kingkey all hold shares, and it has basically returned to stability now.
However, the stock has become a penny stock, and the total losses from 2015 to 2017 reached HK$1.16 billion.
The loss in the first half of this year was HK$226 million, and the operating income was only HK$342 million, showing a trend of decline year by year."
Zhang Yida nodded, it doesn't matter if he loses money, the main thing is that some unstable factors must be removed.
"I heard that Nicholas Tse is also the chairman of this company's Greater China region?"
Bao Fan smiled disdainfully, "Tse Tingfeng has a special effects company called PO Chaoting. The year before last, Digital Domain acquired 85% of the shares of this company for 145 million yuan, and Nicholas Tse also joined.
The most important thing is that Digital Domain wants to enter the mainland market through this acquisition.
After Nicholas Tse joined Digital Domain, his first big move was to conduct a global VR live broadcast of Faye Wong's Fantasy Music concert.
At present, there are only two parts of Digital Domain that are still valuable, one is movie special effects, and the other is the VR industry.
There is a certain connection between the VR industry and movie special effects. Digital Domain has been actively developing the VR industry since 2015.
In 2015, it became the controlling shareholder of virtual reality technology company IMV with US$39 million; in 2016, it launched the 360-degree camera Zeus; in 2017, it acquired the VR video content creation platform Sprawly;
In March this year, it spent 240 million yuan to invest in the parent company of Pengcheng virtual reality technology manufacturer Sess Holdings, accounting for 66.88% of the shares, which is equivalent to indirectly controlling this wearable VR head-mounted display equipment manufacturer, and indirectly holding 40.72% of the shares.
At present, it has successfully launched a one-stop solution integrating VR cameras, VR live broadcast, VR film and television content production, and VR content distribution.
The layout in VR is very comprehensive. If Ruixiang wants to layout in content production, it has a certain business relationship with you."
Zhang Yida nodded, "5G will explode soon, and the VR industry will definitely be able to make a difference.
But this company seems to be missing a VR game, so it’s not particularly comprehensive.”
Bao Fan laughed and said, "After all, I started out as a special effects artist, so I pay more attention to linking up with the film and television business."
Zhang Yida smiled and nodded, and Lan Lan found a good target.