October 28th.
The day of the Weibo financing reception.
These two days, ordinary people did not notice, but the upper class of Jiangbei was stirring.
Those who paid attention would notice that in these few days, there were more foreigners staying in some star-rated hotels, and people frequently went to visit these foreigners.
In the eyes of those who were observant, these were not foreigners, but investors.
Taking advantage of Far away's Weibo financing opportunity, this time, investment banks and other financial institutions in the country and abroad, many big shots came.
Especially the arrival of some well-known investment banks, it was even more tempting.
Investment banks were not the same as venture capital.
The so-called PE/VC was the abbreviation of venture capital companies, they were all venture capital.
As for investment banks, venture capital was only a part of their business.
Investment banks included venture capital, but not limited to venture capital. Investment banks mainly engaged in securities issuance, underwriting, trading, corporate restructuring, mergers and acquisitions.
Of course, they also engaged in venture capital and financing.
However, the strength of investment banks was generally much stronger than venture capital companies, and they were also much more well-known.
For example, the top five investment banks in America, Goldman Sachs, Lehman, Morgan Stanley …
The influence of these five companies was far greater than venture capital institutions like Sequoia and IDG.
The bankruptcy of Lehman and the global financial crisis was proof of this.
This time, Far away not only invited venture capital institutions, but also many investment banks, this also let people have a better understanding of Far away's strength.
Now, it was not only the domestic business world that was paying attention to Far away.
For Distance to be able to invite people from foreign investment banks, it meant that these foreign financial institutions had paid attention to Distance. Otherwise, even if you sent an invitation letter, no one would care about you.
It was understandable that he would receive attention and favor from Faraway Lands.
In the business world of Hua Xia, the most favored by foreign investors were the internet companies.
Far away had Hua Xia's number one Weibo account, with as many as 200 million users!
There was the number one B2C shopping mall, which occupied more than 80% of Hua Xia's market share.
There was the number two internet payment platform, but soon to become number one, Wan Tong!
There was also Hua Xia's number two instant messaging software, PP Chat Software, which had over 200 million users.
This didn't even include pea pod, which was ranked number one on the distribution platform. After all, the distribution platform wasn't as important as it would be in the future.
If it wasn't number one, then it was number two. Far away technology was simply an undeveloped gold mine, no, a diamond mine!
Tencent had the number one instant messaging software. In 2008, there was only the instant messaging software QQ. At that time, Tencent did not have WeChat, nor did it have an explosively profitable gaming industry.
Just by relying on instant messaging alone, their stock price is now close to 20 billion USD!
And this was under the normal situation of the market this year. Otherwise, it would be even higher.
Far away PP was a little worse than QQ, but Far away PP was not just a business. PP Video had recently emerged because of the broadcast of several popular TV series and "Where Are We Going, Dad".
The PP game business was also developing quite well.
So far away, they had launched Happy Farm and Dungeon Fighter Online, which were popular all over the country. They had also acquired the parent company of Cross the Line of Fire. Tencent was currently in a state of cursing.
In addition, Far away had used the gaming platform to negotiate with NetEase, Jiuyou, and a few other gaming companies to obtain the authorization for some of their games.
At this time, the popular games "Kartrider" and "Dance Group" in 2008 could be played through the PP Gaming Hall.
Of course, the few gaming companies weren't fools. They had to cooperate with Far away.
But they had no choice. It wasn't a big problem for the gaming companies to run some online games, because online games had their own terminals.
Games like "Dance Group" also had terminals, but it was more difficult to promote them.
Finding a large gaming platform to cooperate with, or several platforms to cooperate with, was the norm in the industry.
Far away and Tencent had fought over this a few times, but they had lost to Far away in the end. It was all because Li Dong was willing to spend money.
Once a few popular games were released, Far away's gaming industry completely surpassed Tencent's, becoming one of the top three large gaming platforms in the country.
Many game manufacturers liked to release their own games in the PP Gaming Hall first.
The popularity of the game was good for both parties. Coupled with Li Dong's generous spending, it became popular in a short period of time.
There was also the PP Viewer that was released a while ago. Although the audience was average, Far away was willing to invest in building IDC data centers everywhere and adding more servers. The web experience was much better than the others.
In the eyes of the outside world, it was only a matter of time before they took over other people's markets.
This was Far away's comprehensive PP. In terms of strength, it wasn't any worse than Tencent's QQ.
Even if it wasn't worth 20 billion USD, with a discount, it would definitely be worth 10 billion USD once it was listed.
Not to mention the other projects, they were all worth tens of billions of USD.
Far away Technology and Weibo were listed, and it might even exceed the 50 billion USD mark.
When it involved such a large-scale industry, it was inevitable that the investment banks couldn't help but be tempted.
Not to mention them, even the Internet companies in the country were eager to get in on this. Li Dong had a few good cards in his hands.
Unfortunately, this guy was used to eating alone. This time, he finally smelled the scent of blood. Almost all the people who received the invitation were present, unless they were really in trouble.
…
Far away did not choose to hold the financing reception at Tianhu Hotel this time.
Although Tianhu was known as a five-star hotel, it could only be considered a quasi-five-star hotel.
In the whole of Pingchuan, only Hilton had reached the international five-star standard.
Hilton had the largest banquet hall in the city, and it was a foreigner's property. It was more suitable for the financing reception.
The reception started at 7pm.
Far away Building's entrance.
Li Dong, Yuan Chengdao, Liu Hong, and Wang Xin were in the same car.
In the car, Wang Xin reported, "There are a lot of institutions here this time. Let's talk about investment banks. America's Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are here. Citigroup's Solomon Smith Barney is also here. Other than that, UBS Warburg, Deutsche Bank, and Credit Suisse, which were part of UBS, also came. Although we did not invite Japan's Nomura Securities, they are also here. I took the liberty to send them an invitation as well. After all … "
Wang Xin did not continue. Financing does not discriminate between countries.
He knew that Li Dong did not like to work with Japanese investment banks and venture capital firms. But they were all here, and they were world-renowned investment banks. Far away would be narrow-minded if Li Dong did not accept them.
He did not tell Li Dong, but he reported to Liu Hong and Yuan Chengdao, and both of them agreed to send an invitation.
Even if Li Dong was unhappy, they had to accept it.
Luckily, Li Dong did not say anything. He nodded and said, "It doesn't matter. There are a lot of investment banks here. One more won't make a difference. These are all world-renowned investment banks. What about venture capital firms? "
"In terms of venture capital, Sequoia and IDG are here. These two are the top venture capital firms in the world. In addition, people from Softbank also came. These are all foreign institutions. There are a lot of domestic institutions here too. "In terms of investment banks, Merchants Securities, CICC, Bank of China, Guoxin, and Haitong are here. "In terms of venture capital, Association Investment, Today Capital … and Xihua Investment are here too."
"Xihua Investment?"
Li Dong found the name familiar. Yuan Chengdao said dryly, "CEO Shen's mother's company."
Li Dong suddenly remembered and laughed. "No wonder it sounds familiar. I thought it was Huaxi Securities. I didn't expect CEO Shen to be from CEO Shen's company."
They all laughed.
Liu Hong continued, "Other than these investment banks and VCs, we also invited a lot of people in the same industry. Baidu's General Manager Li led a team here. General Manager Ma said he could not come because of something, but Sina's Mr. Cao led a team here. "Also, Jiangbei. We invited a lot of companies to accompany us. Most of them will be here. Oh, CEO Xu said he will be here too. He hopes you can help him get some investments … "
"Nonsense!"
Li Dong said angrily, "Does he think foreigners like to speculate with him? Besides, the real estate market is so bad now. Who will invest in him? Hasn't he been collecting shares? Why does he want to get investments? "
Liu Hong smiled and did not say anything. Yuan Chengdao said with a smile, "I'm afraid he's joking. But we can't rule out the possibility that CEO Xu has this idea. He might be preparing to go public."
"Does he want to go public in the United States?"
"Not necessarily. I think he wants to go public in Hong Kong. These investment banks and VCs don't have much influence in the mainland, but they still have influence in Hong Kong."
Li Dong understood, but Hsu Shengzhe was mostly joking.
At this time, even if someone was willing to invest, he might not agree.
Moreover, there were many restrictions on foreign investment in the real estate industry, not only in real estate, but also in other industries.
Only the Internet industry was not subject to many restrictions in China.
This was also the reason why the domestic Internet industry was very popular. Foreigners were also afraid of this kind of trouble even if they had the money to invest.
After a brief introduction of the situation, Yuan Chengdao said again, "In addition, we also invited Governor Wang, Governor Chang, and a few Jiangbei government officials, as well as several experts and professors in economics and the Internet from Jiangbei University and the University of Science and Technology of China. Also, we have invited a group of stars to help us on East Star. That's the general situation. At the cocktail party, Boss Liu will be the representative and briefly talk about the financing on Weibo. The specific agreement will depend on the negotiation after the banquet. General Manager Li, you just need to show your face later … "
Li Dong rolled his eyes and said impatiently, "What? You even deprived me of the chance to speak? Are you afraid that I will talk nonsense? "
Yuan Chengdao was about to cry. You are so smart!
We are afraid that you will talk nonsense!
If you promise to open up financing for PP and other industries at the banquet, but you fail to do so, aren't you teasing them?
It doesn't matter if you leak the news earlier because it is not an official statement.
But if Li Dong continues to agitate at the banquet, but nothing happens, the trouble will not be Li Dong. It will be the rest of them.
How are they going to negotiate with the investment banks?
They did not even prepare a report and proposal, and they cannot just quote a price blindly. If they quote blindly and someone agrees, will they agree?
That's why it's best not to talk about this to save themselves trouble.
Yuan Chengdao trusted Liu Hong, and he dare not say anything.
He could not control Li Dong, and he might get into trouble.
Li Dong grumbled for a while and said, "It will save me the trouble if I don't say anything. Anyway, the main purpose of this cocktail party is still Weibo.
Not only the financing, but also the next round of financing could also be contacted in advance.
After the third round of financing, I might be listed. It is more suitable for Weibo to be listed in the US, and I need the help of these institutions.
Another purpose is to open up Weibo's international market. Try to choose institutions from different countries.
There are too many investment banks in the US, and you can choose whichever one has the most influence in the European market.
The amount of money is not important, as long as the difference is not big.
As for the Japanese … "
Li Dong seemed to be in a dilemma. He wanted to enter the Asian market, and Japan was not a small market.
It will be a pity to give up.
But if he does not want to give up, it will be best to cooperate with the Japanese institutions. Without their cooperation, it will be difficult for Hua Xia's enterprises to enter the market.
Japan has a large population, and they have a large market share in the Asian market.
If they can enter the market, especially with Far Away Mall's O2O model, they will be able to eat well in Japan.
Far Away retail groups also have the desire to expand into the Asian market. If you do not accept them now and reject them, you will be boycotted in the future.
After thinking for a while, Li Dong nodded. "If the Japanese are interested, we will see. If the conditions are right, we can accept them! But … "
Li Dong thought for a while and said, "Forget it. We will talk about this later. Anyway, just remember our main purpose. The price is secondary. It depends on how much it can help us. It is not beneficial for us to raise funds now. We are raising funds to expand our influence and scale, so that we can get more value when we get listed in the future. The money we earn now is not ours. When we get listed, it will be our money. Do you understand? "
Everyone nodded. They are very clear about this.
Li Dong's intention is very clear now. He wants to get Weibo listed, and it will be best if it earns tens of billions of USD. That is his goal.
With so much money, it is not impossible for Li Dong to give up on Weibo.
But Yuan Chengdao still asked, "What about the domestic institutions …"
"It depends. If we are going to get listed in Hong Kong, BOC and CICC will definitely be fine. But my goal is not to get listed in China. But we cannot completely reject national assets. If the price is right, we can accept it. If the second round is not enough, tell them that they can get priority in the third round. In short, even if the shares of Far Away Mall is less than 50%, it will be more than 50% when we add up the shares of national assets. Do you understand what I mean? "
Liu Hong's heart sank, and he quickly nodded to show that he understood.
Weibo is a self-media platform, and it must be in the hands of the Chinese people.
Once it becomes a foreign company, Li Dong will be attacked by the public, and the higher-ups will be dissatisfied. They know this.
As they talked, they arrived at the Hilton Hotel.
At the entrance of the hotel, the red carpet was spread out, and the media gathered. The atmosphere was no worse than the East Star Charity Night.
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