Rebirth starts from e-commerce

Chapter 398 The Final Negotiation

Song Mingjia, a representative of Pinru Capital, has had many conversations with Kalanick.

Several rounds of dialogues were held on the company's current internal situation, the difficulties encountered, and how to seek a breakthrough...

Both parties have shown strong interest in cooperation.

This is the first time that Luo Xiu, with Citibank, has a dialogue with Uber executives.

In the conference room, Song Mingjia, Luo Xiu, Lin Minyi, and Citibank representatives sat on the left; Kalanick and several other company executives sat on the right.

Now the two sides are seeking consensus on several key issues.

The first thing is, how much money does Uber need right now.

Kalanick's idea was to raise $5000 million for an 8 percent stake.

And Luo Xiu shook his head and said: "5000 million is too little, far from enough, my idea is to give you 2 million dollars."

2 million U.S. dollars, if calculated based on Uber's current valuation, it would have to sell more than 30% of the equity, which is unacceptable to Kalanick.

Selling too many shares in the early stage makes it difficult to raise money in the later stage.

Kalanick is not a fledgling entrepreneur. He had already had two entrepreneurial experiences before this, so he refused without thinking twice.

"I invested 2 million US dollars, and it is enough to give me 20% of the equity, and the post-financing valuation is 20 billion."

Luo Xiu once again threw out a number that was difficult for the other party to refuse.

In addition to Kalanick, Uber's other executives have already been moved.

Selling 20% ​​of the equity may seem like a lot, but the company’s valuation last year was only tens of millions of dollars. Now with only 20% of the equity, it can be exchanged for 2 million U.S. dollars. It’s hard not to be tempted.

What they don't know is that Uber is now on the eve of taking off.

By next year, with the popularization of smartphones and the arrival of 4G networks, the company's valuation will skyrocket from a few billion to nearly [-] billion.

Kalanick was not overwhelmed by the money at this time. He said again: "With our current operating model, we don't need 2 million. We can put this amount in the next round of financing."

"If you don't need it, then I think someone will. Uber is not the only company in the current travel market."

Luo Xiu's words mean that if you don't want the money, then I will invest in your competitors.

Although Uber temporarily has the upper hand in the competition with its opponents, if the opponent pays more money, it will crush Uber.

Everyone knows that the Internet is a money-burning business. People pay several times more money than you. This battle is really difficult to fight.

What's more, during the entire negotiation process, Luo Xiu had a very thorough understanding of the travel industry, and he was fully capable of raising another company to fight against him, no matter in terms of funds or operating methods.

In fact, Luo Xiu did not open a new taxi company to compete with Uber, or support other companies to take more equity from it, because he felt that in this industry, getting 20% ​​was already the limit.

It is impossible for this market to be taken away by foreign capital so much, and a large part must be reserved for other giants.

Let Google and other giants enter the market next year and stand in the same camp with them, so that you don't have to worry about other political risks.

At this time, several other partners of Uber have been completely persuaded, and they looked at Kalanick together, waiting for the founder to nod.

"There is another question, how do you ensure that the 2 million US dollars can be credited smoothly?"

Financing does not mean that after the contract is signed, 2 million US dollars will be directly transferred to Uber's account.

After all, this is not a small amount of money, and it is impossible to get it in place at once, and it will definitely be credited in batches.

Pinru Capital is not well-known in the United States, and he is still very worried that the follow-up money will not arrive.

At this time, a representative of Citibank came out to speak: "This money is guaranteed by our bank, so you don't have to worry about it."

Luo Xiu has no money in the United States, and the US$2 million is a loan from Citibank.

The reason why Citibank is willing to grant him this loan is because Pinru Group's business volume in China far exceeds this amount.

They are not worried that Luo Xiu will not be able to repay the loan.

During this process, Luo Xiu didn't spend any money, and he borrowed a chicken to lay an egg.

And it was a golden egg.

The premise is that he knows that investing in Uber is a very profitable thing.

Otherwise, the egg will not be born, and the chicken will die, and the bank will lose one chicken.

"Happy cooperation!"

Kalanick stood up and held out his hand to Rosh.

"Happy cooperation!"

The two clasped their hands.

It means that the preliminary investment intention of both parties has been reached.

The two hold hands and face the camera, posing as winners and smiling professionally.

The flash lights up and the picture freezes.

……

……

Luoxiu is still in the United States, and the due diligence on Uber has not yet been completed, and the news has already been sent back to China.

Major financial daily newspapers and websites reported the news one after another.

Coupled with Luo Xiu's aura as an Internet celebrity entrepreneur, news about him tends to spread very quickly.

No matter what other companies do, it is usually only circulated in the circle of the industry.

And no matter what good or bad deeds Luo Xiu did, it would often spread across the entire network in an instant.

Everyone saw that he spent 2 million US dollars to invest in an unknown company, and the first time he was angry.

"This Luo Xiu is really not a human being. After making money in China, he turned around and invested it in the United States."

"He has so much money, why doesn't he support our national enterprise?"

"Luo Xiu is obviously transferring domestic assets. The country should investigate quickly and don't let him escape."

"It's too late. He has arrived in the United States now. I don't think he will come back again."

"You can run away from a monk, but you can't run away from a temple, unless his domestic industry is gone."

"Fortunately, I supported him so much before. It turns out that rich people all have the same virtue."

……

When Luo Xiu saw the information on the Internet, he really couldn't laugh or cry.

What about transferring assets, I didn't use domestic money at all.

When these netizens saw the figure of 2 million US dollars, they felt that he had made money and started to transfer assets, and went abroad to enjoy happiness.

Although some people do.

This kind of people has a characteristic, that is, they make money that they shouldn't make.

He didn't spend the money safely in the country. He knew that there would be a thunderstorm sooner or later, so he would find a way to transfer the money out and escape the domestic sanctions.

But Luo Xiu's domestic business is open and transparent, and every transaction is legal and compliant.

He not only makes money for himself, but also creates more jobs and drives more people to increase their income.

What's more, investing in Uber is not only sending money abroad, but earning other people's money.

It's just that Luo Xiu has no way to explain to others that this thing must make money.

He could only post a message on Weibo saying:

"Don't worry, I'll be back soon."

(End of this chapter)