Rebirth 76: Industrial Internet Empire

"Now the founder team has lost control of the company?" Yang Mo asked.

Han Xinyuan nodded: "Wang Zhidong wants to reverse the current unfavorable situation and needs to introduce capital companies to support him in the B-round financing! Isn't it because of Li Guoqing's recommendation that he begged us..."

"What do you think?" Yang Mo asked.

Han Xinyuan thought for a while and then said: "Sina's current equity structure is very dispersed. More than a year ago, Sitong Lifang, which was established four years ago, received investment from the United States, Walden Group, Bank of America Ross Corporation and Ivanhoe International The three groups invested a total of US$650 million. This venture capital was also the first venture capital received by a domestic Internet company from Wall Street. Subsequently, Sitong Lifang merged with Huayuan.com, the largest Chinese website in North America, and launched it more than two months ago. Sina.com is expected to become the world's largest Chinese portal. After this series of equity financing and mergers and acquisitions, the founder team's equity has shrunk significantly. Wang Zhidong himself holds less than 15% of the equity..."

Yang Mo chuckled and said: "Wang Zhidong is asking Capital to teach him a lesson!"

"This Wang Zhidong is still a master of two things! Mr. Yang, this is what I think. If we can help him get control of the company, we will have more say in the Internet in the future, and the Chinese portal happens to be our Zhiyuan Group The shortcomings..." Han Xinyuan explained.

"I just have time tonight, please invite him out to sit down! Let's talk first. If we have the same ideas, it's not impossible to cooperate..." Yang Mo said after pondering for a moment.

…………

Xishan Club.

Because of several venture capital companies in the surrounding area, this place has become a gathering place for Yanjing’s capital brokers.

"Mr. Yang, this is Wang Weidong from Sina!" Han Xinyuan saw Yang Mo coming in through the door and quickly stood up to explain.

Yang Mo took off his coat, smiled, stretched out his hand and said, "Mr. Wang, long time to see you! I am Yang Mo of Zhiyuan Group..."

"Mr. Yang, thank you very much! You took time out of your busy schedule to schedule an interview with me..." Wang Zhidong said gratefully.

After a brief exchange of greetings, Yang Mo chuckled and said: "Mr. Wang, we are all our own people, so there is no need to be polite to each other! I heard our President Han briefly talk about you, but I am not sure yet. What are your specific thoughts... …”

Wang Zhidong sighed and said: "Mr. Yang, to tell you the truth, although I founded Sina, now I have lost control of the company, and I am not willing to accept it! Duan Yongji will destroy Sina..."

"I checked your equity structure. The equity ratio of the founder team plus the capital company you found from Wall Street is still far higher than that of the Sitong system. How come you have lost control?" Yang Mo was a little confused. asked.

Wang Zhidong smiled bitterly and said: "It seems so at present, but the founder team is not monolithic. Wang Yan has been very close to Duan Yongji recently. As long as Duan Yongji gives him enough commitment, he may defect at any time!"

"That's not enough to bring you down. Walden, Luo Shi, Ivanhoe and Huayuan.com, as long as they continue to support you, Stone Group will still be unable to do anything to you!" Yang Mo said.

"That's the problem! The company has never found a profit model, and the B-round financing is around the corner. Duan Yongji didn't know what method he used to convince Goldman Sachs to lead the B-round financing..." Wang Zhidong said with a frustrated look.

"It's not a bad thing that Goldman Sachs leads the investment! With Goldman Sachs' appeal in the capital market, IPOs will not be a problem in the future!" Yang Mo said with a smile.

"With the appeal of Goldman Sachs, it is only a matter of time before Walden, Roth, Ivanhoe, and even Huayuan.com change sides!" Wang Zhidong explained.

"I would like to ask, Mr. Wang, what is the main reason for the disagreement between you and Sitong?" Yang Mo asked, changing the subject.

Wang Zhidong smiled bitterly and said: "Sitong hopes that Sina will improve its profit model as soon as possible, and my idea is to build Sina into the largest Chinese portal..."

"Can you talk about your specific ideas? How to build Sina into the largest Chinese portal? But there are commercial secrets involved here, you can choose not to say it..." Yang Mo chuckled.

Wang Zhidong thought for a while and then said: "I don't have a very mature plan, but I insist that Sina's top priority is to expand information acquisition channels and improve website content, rather than seeking business cooperation. There are too many advertisements and oriented soft articles. Not only will it affect the user experience, but it will also cause us to gradually lose credibility and become the mouthpiece of capital!"

Yang Mo nodded slightly, with a hint of appreciation in his heart.

To be honest, he is not even as interested in Sina as Dangdang. After Wang Zhidong was kicked out by Sitong, he was ignored by the public and did not do anything like Rebus, Li Bin, and Li Xiang, who restarted the track and made big achievements. movement……

As the largest Chinese portal in the world, Sina's development is not satisfactory except for Weibo, which is highly opinion-oriented!

"Mr. Wang, how do you want us to help you?" Yang Mo asked after pondering for a long time.

There was a hint of surprise in Wang Weidong's eyes, and after a slight hesitation he said: "If possible, I hope Zhiyuan Group can replace Goldman Sachs and lead the B-round financing..."

After Yang Mo thought for a while, he shook his head and said: "Mr. Wang, although I very much agree with your concept, starting from information channels and user experience, portals should not become the mouthpiece of capital, but Zhiyuan Group has no control over companies that cannot be controlled. Too much interest…”

Wang Zhidong's eyes dimmed instantly, and he looked at Han Xinyuan with pleading eyes, hoping that he could say a few kind words for him.

Han Xinyuan had no choice but to bite the bullet and said: "Mr. Yang, if we can get the Sina equity held by Walden, Luo Shi, Ivanhoe, and even Huayuan.com, it is not completely impossible to control..."

Yang Mo smiled bitterly and said: "Mr. Wang, let me tell you straight! The second reason is not being able to hold a controlling stake. The main reason is that Zhiyuan does not want to cooperate with these shareholders of your company!"

"Why?" Wang Zhidong asked with some confusion.

"First, let's talk about your major shareholder Stone Group. It has been trapped in the internal strife of equity struggles for many years. In recent years, you have basically lost what you invested in. The dividends from the Sijiqing demolition land have almost been lost, right? The rest are not just short-term interests. A Wall Street capital company is a team of founders who are internally discordant and can easily turn against each other. Such a ragtag group of people cannot accomplish anything big..." Yang Mo continued without mercy.

Wang Zhidong's face turned red, but he had no way to refute Yang Mo's heart-wrenching remarks, because he knew better than anyone else that what Yang Mo said was an irrefutable fact, and the endless internal friction made him physically and mentally exhausted...

At this moment, the belief he had held on to for many years began to waver!