Winning the new financial era

Chapter 233

"Rules are also made by people! It's not impossible to make exceptions, but Mr. Bitney needs to come up with something that allows me to convince the board of directors."

Zhang Yida's smile at this time seemed very treacherous and annoying to Bitney.

But thinking of the company's predicament at this time, he fell silent again, and said hoarsely after a long time: "Mr. Zhang, tell me, how can we get Ruixiang to agree to invest?"

Looking at Bitnei with a helpless face, Zhang Yida was full of emotion. Last year, Ruishang was rushing to invest, and you didn't have this attitude.

Zanda encountered financial difficulties this year, and he became more honest all of a sudden.

Zhang Yida had never experienced the threat of venture capitalists intimidating the founding team, so naturally he did not feel the pain.

Now Zhang Yida is playing the role of the employer. From the perspective of maximizing the company's interests, of course he will not show mercy.

Rubbing his temples, Zhang Yida kept silent, while Bitney next to him was so anxious by Zhang Yida's ambiguity, he licked his dry lips, and said again:

"Mr. Zhang, Ruixiang is also an important shareholder holding 7.1% of Lazada's shares, and I'm afraid I don't want to waste the $1 million invested.

Since its operation, Lazada has opened up in many countries.I believe that as long as we persist for another 1-2 years, the market will definitely usher in a turning point.

In addition, our company will definitely remember your kindness from top to bottom.It will surely create rich returns for you in the future. "

Zhang Yida pretended to be very conflicted and said: "But 3 million euros is a lot of money! Lazada's current loss situation makes it difficult for me to make this decision."

"It doesn't need 3 million euros, 3 million US dollars is also possible." Bitney quickly replied.

"In addition, this valuation is too high. I doubt very much that Lazada has such a serious loss. Our investment of 3 million US dollars may not be enough for you to lose money this year.

Lazada's profitability is still far away.In this case, it is impossible for us to accept your pre-investment offer of 15 billion euros. "

Bitney gritted his teeth and said, "How much quotation can Ruixiang accept?"

"$14.1 billion!"

Hearing Zhang Yida's quotation, Bitnei immediately became furious, and he shouted angrily: "This quotation is only equivalent to the valuation of Ruixiang after becoming a shareholder a few months ago!"

Bitner shook his head again and again: "This is too low. I will not sell my "child" so cheaply."

"I still consider the sincere price given by the "ratchet clause" that you may suffer. I believe you have also contacted other investors. Are they willing to give a higher price than Sharp?

If so, I take my words back and apologize to Mr. Bitney. "

Zhang Yida said reassuringly that he had seen through Bitnei's sternness.

At present, in the entire Southeast Asian venture capital market, institutions that can invest hundreds of millions of dollars are basically rare.

Except for sovereign wealth funds such as Temasek and Malaysian treasury investment, other local investment institutions are basically making small investments, investing hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars, mainly investing in early-stage projects.

Lazada has received Sharp’s G+ round of financing in the last round, plus this round, it is the ninth round of financing.

Ordinary investment institutions really can't afford this money.

In the Southeast Asian venture capital market, Wall Street giants and domestic BAT institutions mainly play the role of late-stage investment.

JP Morgan and Temasek joined Lazada in the previous rounds of investment, but Bitnei asked Zhang Yida to come here. Obviously, the early investors have already rejected Lazada.

However, BAT has not yet entered the Southeast Asian market in a large scale. In this case, Ruixiang is naturally a rare commodity.

When Bitney heard Zhang Yida say the "Ratchet Clause", a trace of panic flashed across his face.

For entrepreneurs, the ratchet clause is still very scary. The valuation of the next round of financing is lower than the valuation of the previous round. The ratchet clause will be triggered, and the founding team will compensate the investors of the previous round of shares.

If this happened, it would be unacceptable to Bitney.

After 8 rounds of financing, his shares have been reduced to single digits. If it is further diluted, he may not even have the motivation to fight.

Isn't it just to make money when you work hard to start a business?If it became a job for a venture capitalist, he would definitely quit.

In addition, what Zhang Yida said is correct. Lazada contacted all the previous rounds of investors, and none of them were willing to give a valuation of 15 billion euros.

Temasek, the G-round investment institution in the previous round of sharp, is even more hateful, only willing to give a valuation of 12 billion euros.

Bitnei directly rejected the other party, what a joke, after completing the sharp G+ round of financing, Lazada's valuation has reached 12.9 billion euros, which is approximately equivalent to a valuation of 14.1 billion US dollars.

If he agrees to Temasek's conditions, it will inevitably trigger the ratchet clause and provide equity compensation to the G+ round investor Ruixiang.

He has a bottom line in his heart, that is, the ratchet clause cannot be triggered no matter what.

And Zhang Yida's quotation just met his bottom line. It not only raised the much-needed development funds, but also won't weaken the management's equity.

Looking at the hesitant Bitnei, Zhang Yida knew that his offer had basically moved the other party.

As an entrepreneur, Zhang Yida naturally knows what worries a company founder who has gone through 8 rounds of financing.

Corporate Control, Equity...

Enterprise control is easy to say, there is an AB share model.But if the founder's equity is too small, even if the company goes public, it will not get too much cake.

So he offered Bitne such an undeniable price.

"Okay, Mr. Zhang, I accept your conditions. But 3 million euros must be paid in one go." Bitney said firmly.

"It's not a problem at all." Zhang Yida said happily, "As I said, Ruixiang will be the most solid backing for you Laizanda."

"Of course!" Bitner no longer had the same swords drawn just now, and boasted with a smile on his face: "Your generosity will definitely give you satisfactory returns in the future."

Then the two chatted about the details, and reached a preliminary conclusion: Ruixiang invested 12.9 million euros (14.1 million U.S. dollars) in Lazada based on the pre-investment valuation of 3 billion euros (3.3 billion U.S. dollars), making Lazada's post-investment valuation to $17.4 billion.

After the investment is completed, Ruixiang's shareholding in Lazada will also increase from 7.1% to 24.72%, and it will become the company's largest shareholder.

Lazada has gone through 8 rounds of financing, and the management shares together with Bitnei are less than 20%. Other shares are scattered in the hands of 15 large and small investment institutions except Ruixiang.

……

"Old Cai, where do you think our next international expansion goal for Ahri should be?"

In the office of Ari Group, Jack Ma and CFO Cai Xin chatted about Ari's international strategy.

Cai Xin is undoubtedly the second person under Jack Ma in Ahri Group, and his shareholding ratio in the management is also second only to Jack Ma, and Jack Ma regards him as his right-hand man.

Cai Xin replied without hesitation: "Southeast Asia!"

"Why?" Jack Ma asked again.

Cai Xin sorted out his language, and said slowly: "Southeast Asia is close to mainland China, and our country has the most influence in this region."

Jack Mamin glanced at him and thought, what about our country!Are you a foreigner, Canadian nationality?

But Jack Ma would not say such words, and then nodded in agreement: "I think so too. Is it better for us to build our own branch or buy it?"

Cai Xin pondered for a long time before he said: "In my spare time, I have observed the Internet industry reports in Southeast Asia. There have been a number of e-commerce unicorns in the local area.

In my opinion, it is best for us to acquire a local e-commerce company as a starting point.

It not only saves time, but also facilitates localization transformation. "

"Hehe," Jack Ma said with a smile, "Isn't it an e-commerce unicorn? It's only a billion dollars. The shallow pond in Southeast Asia can't raise any big dragons."

Cai Xin nodded in agreement, and said: "That's true. The scale is not particularly large, and they have only developed for a few years. And the market is so big, it is true that the scale cannot be increased."

"Have you seen a suitable target?" Jack Ma asked again.

Cai Xin introduced: "Currently, the four fastest-growing and largest e-commerce companies in the Southeast Asian market are Lazada, Shopee, Tokopedia, and Bukalapak.

The former two are headquartered in Singapore, while the latter is in Indonesia.E-commerce companies in other countries are either out of scale, or too low-tech and slow to develop.

Singapore has technological advantages, while Indonesia has population advantages, so the four largest e-commerce companies in Southeast Asia were born in these two countries. "

Jack Ma nodded in agreement and said, "Then send someone to investigate these four companies and find the most suitable acquisition target."

Cai Xin shook his head and said with a wry smile: "Shopee is a subsidiary of Sea Group, and Penguin is Sea's largest shareholder, holding nearly 40% of the company's shares.

Therefore, we can just give up this one. "

Jack Ma sneered, and said: "Penguin's heart for e-commerce is never dead. It's okay to cultivate Goudong in China, and Vipshop will forget it. Even Southeast Asia has their layout."

"That's right! Back then, Paipai.com didn't start, and Ponima regretted it all his life! Haha!" Cai Xin laughed.

"Then let's talk about the other three companies!" Jack Ma signaled Cai Xin to continue talking.

"For the other three companies, Lazada is the largest and has entered the markets of Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

According to their recent G+ round of financing estimates, the valuation should be in the billions of dollars.

Tokopedia is slightly smaller, with a valuation close to $10 billion...

Bukalapak is the smallest, and its valuation should be around $1 million..."

Cai Xin analyzed the other three e-commerce companies one by one, and Jack Ma squeezed his chin and said: "Bukalapak is too small, so we can directly exclude it.

I am most inclined to Lazada. Its size is there, and it has entered the markets of 6 countries. We acquired them, and the speed of business deployment in Southeast Asia can be greatly accelerated.

Tokopedia is also available, but the priority is behind Lazada! "

Cai Xin sighed, and said: "In fact, the above four companies all have shares in Ruixiang."

"Ruixiang?" Jack Ma looked puzzled, and asked again: "Zhang Yida?"

Cai Xin nodded and said, "Yes, that's him. He made a lot of investments in Southeast Asia last year."

Jack Ma grinned and said, "This Yida is not doing his job properly all day! It seems that the pressure from Leech Financial Services is still too small."

Cai Xin said in a serious way: "No matter which company is acquired, you have to deal with Ruixiang. The most important thing is, are they willing to sell their shares?"

Jack Ma naturally knew about the hostile relationship between each other, and he also had some headaches. He sighed and said, "Let's get in touch first! They are also financial investors, and they mainly want to make money. If it doesn't work, let's pay a certain premium!"

"I'm afraid they will talk too loudly!" Cai Xin also felt quite aggrieved at this time, no matter which e-commerce company to acquire, Ruixiang cannot be avoided at all.

"As long as they are willing to talk, things are easy to handle. Don't care about money gain or loss, strategic layout is the most important thing.

Even Penguin has deployed e-commerce in Southeast Asia, but we have not. "

Cai Xin looked ashamed and said, "I'm to blame for this, I made a mistake."

"It's okay, there is still time to remedy it." Jack Ma comforted.

Jack stared into the distance and thought, this inattentiveness, Ruixiang has grown to this point, and has begun to become a roadblock.

(End of this chapter)