Chapter 323: Fighting against the Tyranny of Qin
Now it is the end of April. The average number of stock market account openings per week is 400 million, the market index has broken through 4000 points, and the total amount of OTC leveraged funds bubble exceeds 4 trillion.

The eyes of the global financial industry are on the A-share market. Southeast Asian peers, who are close to the mainland, describe this market performance as an economic overheating, while white people far away in Europe call it a casino.

Amidst all the clamor and discussion, a financial derivative that can be used to short the market - stock index futures - was officially launched.

Xie Jingxing didn't need to use his brain to think. He could make a judgment based on the data starting with 4 and the open short-selling tools. The stock market was probably not far from 4.

Grapefruit Capital's active securities investment team will clear out its inventory in an orderly manner next month.

I won’t short sell because I’ve made too much money.

The net profit exceeded expectations by at least 1500 billion yuan. According to the plan, 400 billion yuan will be invested in Xinhai Fund, and there will be more than billion yuan of funds left.

Xie Jingxing felt that holding such a large amount of cash was a bit hot, and he had to find a place to put it as soon as possible, so if Meituan was able to stick with it to the end, he really didn't mind spending 500 billion out of his own pocket.

"Just treat it as charity and treat the whole country to a few takeaway meals to accumulate blessings for my daughter."

He calmly emphasized, "500 billion, not a cent less. New Big Hungry will not take a single step back until this amount is consumed."

"Is this your bottom line? Does Shen Nanpeng know about this?" Liu Chih-Ping suppressed all his complicated emotions and looked serious.

Xie Jingxing remained silent, taking a sip of his coffee cup. Song Anli sat beside him and quietly swiped her phone to send a message.

"Xiao Xie, there is an information gap between the parties. I suggest that internally, Xindashi needs to hold a shareholders meeting to have a good talk; externally, ask the middleman to convey our attitude to Meituan."

Liu Chih-ping made a decisive decision without hesitation: "You admitted that you intend to seek to acquire Meituan. I think that in this regard, whether it is Wang Xing or Jack Ma, everyone's heart is the same as yours, hoping that the cooperation will benefit both sides."

"This is the support I can give you on behalf of Tencent." He also gave the bottom line conditions.

Preventing Ele.me and Meituan from continuing their high-intensity money-burning showdown will not solve all problems. The essence lies in the competition among the three BTA companies in the field of local life services. There will be a next truce sooner or later, and the winner will be decided!
It's just that the intensity of money burning this time is unprecedented. The stakeholders are terrified, and the irrelevant spectators are exclaiming that it is exciting and shouting that they are witnessing history. Everyone is stunned, and their first reaction is only to consider how to make an emergency ceasefire.

Since the history of the domestic Internet industry, only the war of online ride-hailing can barely compare to it.

But that was just the peak period of burning money. In less than two months, Didi and Kuaidi quickly completed the merger under the collective pressure of investors who were furious with their losses.

And now Xie Jingxing has given a similar once-and-for-all psychological bottom line. Since he is willing to invest 500 billion into the market, why can't he use 500 billion to break the legs of Meituan's shareholders?

The founding team headed by Wang Xing has reduced its shareholding in Meituan to around 40%. This entrepreneurial unicorn, ranked first in the group buying market and second in the food delivery market, is not owned by him alone.

Correspondingly, Xindai is not owned by Xie Jingxing personally, although the shareholding ratio of Yunshan Group + Zhang Tao's entrepreneurial team gives them absolute actual control.

Shareholders led by Tencent have as much say as they provide strategic resources!
Based on this, Xie Jingxing's 500 billion seems very abnormal and ridiculous.

He has money and doesn't need any investors. Does he need traffic support, regional market development and platform technical operations... Does he need all kinds of resources?
All existing tangible and intangible assets of Xinda'e can be converted into cash, jointly invested by all shareholders and jointly owned according to their shareholding ratio.

Xie Jingxing poured in 500 billion in cash at once, which meant that if Tencent did not follow up with the financing, its shareholding ratio would be diluted and the value of the strategic investment would be gone; if it followed up with the financing, it would be passively participating in a gamble.

The same is true for all other shareholders. It is meaningless whether they agree or not to follow the subsequent money-burning war. The early assets of New DAEH that they held were completely kidnapped and pushed onto the gambling table by Xie Jingxing's 500 billion.

Therefore, from Liu Chih-ping's perspective, on the one hand, he is throwing huge amounts of money into a bottomless market, and on the other hand, he is directly acquiring Meituan to completely monopolize the market.

To hell with the money-burning wars that break through the sky, it is obvious that direct acquisition is the ultimate answer to seek the best of both worlds.

In the final analysis, Xie Jingxing's 500 billion is really, really, really too abnormal!

Liu Chih-Ping realized that he was not the only one who felt uneasy after listening to this. If he asked Teacher Ma, he would definitely feel confused as well.

"Xiao Xie, I think you must be a good father. Your daughter will be happy for you."

In silence, he drank the coffee in his cup to relieve the dryness in his throat, and advised earnestly: "But to be fair, we have reason to seek a more certain solution rather than engaging in out-of-control market competition."

"I guess Ma Yun should have taken the initiative to talk to you recently. There is no grudge between us that cannot be resolved."

Liu Chih-ping took a breath and said, "Even Didi and Kuaidi can be acquired, and you even led the merger yourself. Now the competition between Didi and Uber is almost over. It will take at most one or two years?"

"The market is changing rapidly. It would be dangerous if we cannot adjust our thinking in time. Have you ever considered that if we spend 500 billion, it will force Meituan Waimai and Baidu Waimai to merge?"

Xie Jingxing was finally moved and raised his eyebrows in surprise.

Without even taking a breath, Liu Chih-Ping suddenly tensed up again: "Baidu and Meituan are joining forces to fight against Qin?!"

"..."

Xie Jingxing couldn't help laughing, shook his head and nodded: "Teacher Ma did talk to me before Shen Nanpeng, and a few days after the talk, Enlight Media acquired a stake in Meituan Maoyan."

"In March, Alibaba made a strategic investment in Enlight Media and became its second largest shareholder." Song Anli added the key element.

Liu Chih-Ping immediately calmed down and analyzed calmly, "Does he want to stop the war, or does he want to get you to join his side?"

"Both. His bottom line is that Alibaba refuses to appear on the same board of directors as Tencent." Xie Jingxing answered tactfully.

Kick Tencent out of the board of directors of New Dangdai, and let Alibaba push for the merger between New Dangdai and Meituan, and everything can be discussed.

Liu Chih-ping understood what you meant and didn't ask you why you didn't agree or other questions that would damage the relationship between the two parties. He automatically ignored it and continued to analyze: "So he increased his investment in Meituan Maoyan and is very willing to maintain high-intensity money-burning competition?"

"I can't say I'm very strong, but at least I'm willing to fight with you."

Xie Jingxing chose his words carefully. Teacher Ma was talking to him on the phone, and it was difficult to figure out what he was thinking over the phone.

Liu Chih-ping did not comment and then asked: "What do you think is the probability that Alibaba and Baidu will come together?"

"Thirty percent." Xie Jingxing raised three fingers.

"Why is it only 30%?"

"Because you are afraid, you don't know the answer."

Xie Jingxing's words sounded a bit arrogant, but Liu Chih-Ping didn't care. He nodded slightly as if thinking about something.

Admittedly, 500 billion in cash is a huge amount of money, but the three Internet giants of BTA are not short of this money, or even more.

However, the company is big and there are many hungry mouths to feed, and the priorities of various businesses are clear. Tencent's ability to come up with hundreds of billions of cash and equivalents to acquire WhatsApp is a reflection of the priority of its social-mobile payment strategy.

The social-mobile payment ecosystem built by WeChat and QQ is becoming more and more wonderful, and there are many unicorns like Didi thriving in it.

On the other hand, although Alibaba also has e-commerce and mobile payment as its lifeblood, it is adjusting its strategic direction due to the recent crackdown on counterfeiting in e-commerce, and has lost market share in the mobile offline payment field for two consecutive years due to Tencent. In comparison, if Alibaba spends 10 to 8 billion yuan every year to slowly compete in the local life service field, the former is determined.

But when it comes to a fight, the latter is more determined to win a quick victory with the intensity of spending 3 to 4 billion yuan every month.

In terms of specific operations, Liu Chih-ping is keen on acquiring Meituan, while Mr. Ma thinks that the acquisition is ok, but with additional conditions to kick Tencent out.

In short, whoever has fewer options for retreat will pay more attention to the local life service sector. Tencent's retreat is more about controllability and reducing risks, while Alibaba's retreat is less about reducing casualties and more about reducing the number of casualties.

The most important thing is that all these choices are based on their uncertainty about the future - the commercial value and strategic value of the local life service sector will definitely be a great success.

The same is true for Baidu. If it is very successful in the field of local life services, then the merger of Baidu Nuomi + Baidu Takeout + Meituan will create another Didi.

Baidu will inevitably become disgusted with Alibaba and regret it, not to mention that Baidu has also launched the unpleasant and annoying Baidu Wallet to enter the mobile payment field and cause trouble.

Unless they are at their wit's end and forced into a life-and-death situation by hunger, the probability of these two families joining forces to fight against the tyranny of Qin would be high.

Just as Liu Chih-Ping said, the market is changing rapidly, so we should take one step at a time and fight slowly. If Xie Jingxing were to die suddenly, wouldn't everyone celebrate?

The tide of the times is surging, uncertainty and certainty are intertwined in everyone's heart, teammates and enemies change day by day, and adventure and conservatism are the main themes that run through the entire business logic under normal circumstances.

Liu Chih-Ping broke down every detail and thought it through thoroughly. He was filled with emotion and couldn't tell whether it was envy or jealousy.

The young man in front of me was an abnormal alien. He was never confused, as if there were extremely bright stars guiding him above his head. He just walked forward leisurely with a spirited attitude that attracted the attention of onlookers.

In other words, he himself is the so-called bright star, and wherever he shines is the way forward.

"So, you don't deny the possibility of Alibaba and Baidu joining forces?" Liu Chih-Ping finally got to the point and asked.

Xie Jingxing sighed: "Based on the current market share of Meituan + Baidu Nuomi + Baidu Waimai, if they really merge, it will look quite impressive."

"Do you have any idea?"

There was a hint of inquiry in Liu Chih-ping's tone. As he spoke, Song Anli quietly stood up and left the coffee shop box.

"We have two options. Tencent is willing to follow up on the new round of financing for New Daewoo. Then please take the lead and communicate with Shen Nanpeng and Meituan to prevent them from turning to Baidu immediately."

Xie Jingxing said lightly: "I am responsible for upgrading the intensity of competition on an equal basis, fighting and negotiating at the same time."

"What do you plan to do specifically?" Liu Chih-ping tacitly accepted the responsibility for the peace talks.

Xie Jingxing tilted his head to look at the door of the box room: "Wang Xing has the courage to directly give up half of the shares of Maoyan platform for open win-win, and Alibaba took advantage of the opportunity to enter the pan-entertainment field by investing in Guangguang Media."

"This war is chaotic, and everyone is trying to take advantage of it."

He groaned and said, "We will suffer if we don't follow up."

"How to follow up?" Liu Chih-Ping had some vague guesses and smiled wryly in agreement.

With a bang, the door of the box opened, and Song Anli and a middle-aged man with glasses and a slightly bald head and a gentle temperament appeared in the field of vision.

"The head of Wanda Financial Business, Mr. Qu Dejun."

Xie Jingxing stood up to greet him and introduced him, then announced in a crisp and clear manner: "New Big Hungry has divested its online entertainment ticketing business such as movies and performances, and has joined forces with Wanda Cinemas under Wanda Group, Pony Ma Film Production Company, and Grapefruit Capital to jointly invest in Tencent's online ticketing distribution project Tencent Microfilm."

"…We need to discuss this in detail."

Liu Chih-ping was a little embarrassed. He originally came to mediate the fight today, but ended up being persuaded to change the established goal by the mention of 500 billion.

As he spoke, he extended the battlefield from local life services to general entertainment. He was really not prepared.

Tencent Microfilm is just a small project with a business volume of billions. It is good enough that Liu Chih-ping can remember the name of such a project. If he can come up with it easily, the group's shareholders will be panicked.

As the president of Tencent, you don't do your job seriously but focus on a tiny project. What do you want to do? Do you want to be like Xie Jingxing and hang out in the entertainment industry like a playboy?
At this moment, Playboy really accurately grabbed Tencent Weishi from a corner, a carrier that is suitable for directly competing against Meituan Maoyan.

"How about this, Mr. Liu, Mr. Qu, I treat everyone to dinner?"

After a brief greeting, Song Anli suggested that her private restaurant was very famous in the high-end venture capital circle, and she seemed to be dealing with everyone.

Some time ago, there was a story about a founder who waited at the entrance of a restaurant for a month with a business plan in hand, and finally impressed a well-known venture capitalist and got investment.

Besides, she is the actual manager of Pony.com, so it is not inappropriate for her to organize the group.

The four of them immediately went to the restaurant. Xie Jingxing took Liu Chih-ping into a car, and the two began a new round of discussions, exchanging views on the pan-entertainment industry from a macro perspective.

Song Anli and Qu Dejun were riding in the same car, and the content of their conversation was extremely straightforward and explicit.

"It is true that the cooperation between Enlight Media and Meituan Maoyan has a certain impact on Wanda Cinemas in terms of cinema ticket distribution."

Mr. Qu crossed his hands and said, "But we are also worried about the risks of joining the ticketing camp led by you. Objectively, the current high-intensity competition between New Dang E and Meituan is unbearable for our traditional heavy asset industry. Subjectively, the Panda TV project came first, and our cooperation is very pleasant."

"None of this matters. I just know that you arrived on time for your appointment today."

Since the Chinese New Year, Song Anli, who had gradually become independent, had become more calm and indifferent. Her words and actions were full of the shadow of Xie Jingxing. When she opened her mouth to speak, she was so strong that President Qu blushed.

The online ticketing business is the bread and butter of celebrity singers, the lifeblood of media companies, and the lifeblood of the entertainment industry.

But at the same time, it is just one of the businesses of Wanda Cinemas under Wanda Group, one of the businesses of local life platform under Xinda Group, and one of the downstream businesses of Tencent Group's pan-entertainment business.

What is so unbearable?
Unless Wanda Cinemas allows Light Media to enter the market and become the boss, it will have to watch its online ticketing business being monopolized by any of the Internet companies including New Oriental, Meituan, and Baidu.

Otherwise, Baidu Nuomi will make a strategic investment in China Film Star Media, the leader in the cinema market, and Meituan will bring in Light Media, the leading listed company in film and television production.

Wanda Cinemas is the second largest cinema chain. If it still wants to be the leader and beg for food from the Internet giants, it has no choice but to join the Tencent + New DAEON camp.

Four days ago, on the night when Yu Tong gave birth, Meituan announced the introduction of Light Media. The next day, Xie Jingxing responded by contacting Wanda Cinema through Xiao Wang.

After three days, Lao Wang's right-hand man Qu Dejun bypassed Wanda Cinemas and showed up in person to attend the appointment, which showed his true attitude.

"And Mr. Qu, Mr. Xie just said it very clearly. Xinda E will divest its own ticketing business and invest in Tencent Weying. Our cooperation will be led by Tencent." Song Anli brought up the topic again lightly.

Qu Dejun's sparse hair trembled. What a ruthless operation, what a big deal!

(End of this chapter)