Chapter 379 Wanda has an appointment
Three years ago, director Lu Chuan claimed that he used 90 million yuan to shoot the Chinese version of the epic film "The Banquet". However, it only made 40 million yuan in the first week, and the investors couldn't even cry.

Today, three years later, the financial and business circles used the title of this movie to summarize the real-life drama in which Wanda Group has starred in the past two months.

In July, when the mid-year financial report was released, Wang gave a speech lasting more than 40 minutes in which he affirmed the group’s good performance growth. On the contrary, he expressed dissatisfaction with the low valuation of Hong Kong stocks and proposed a strategic transformation for the first time.

We will no longer engage in heavy asset real estate business. We want to be a light asset operation company that provides professional and standardized property management services and connects Internet + finance!

Then in August, it officially announced the launch of its plan to return to the A-share market. Relying solely on the emerging concept of connecting local life with the Internet + finance, the fundraising scale is expected to reach tens of billions of yuan.

The feast of the king refers to the return of Wanda Commercial to the A-share market. During the issuance of an IPO worth tens of billions of yuan, everyone from securities intermediaries to capital buyers ate big chunks of meat and drank big bowls of wine.

Therefore, Qu Dejun was very confident and proud. With Lao Wang topping the rich list with a wealth of 2500 billion, he surpassed Li Ka-shing and became the richest Chinese in the world.

The entire Wanda Group system was exposed to the public, with its core commercial real estate business [Wanda Commercial] listed on the Hong Kong stock market and its film industry chain [Wanda Cinema Line] listed on the A-share market.

Add to that the hotel, culture, sports, tourism and financial businesses, which are in the midst of a period of crazy expansion through mergers and acquisitions at home and abroad, and these four hard dishes together constitute a feast for the king of real estate.

Just looking at Wanda Commercial's A-share listing project, countless capitals want to get involved and get a piece of the pie.

Even if he is the young marshal, it is okay for him to drink first when he sits at the table. Qu Dejun is in high spirits: "I'll drink it, you hurry up and have another glass, we brothers must drink well tonight!"

"I'm still early. I should have come two hours later, when you've had enough to drink." Xie Jingxing slapped his thigh in regret.

"Then I'll have to go to your hotel and knock on the door. Young people should exercise moderation. Be careful not to get squeezed dry by staying up for an hour or two."

Qu Dejun started to tell dirty jokes and filled his glass with wine: "Drink it. If you really can't drink more, I'll call two people to accompany you."

"That's not necessary. Even if you're squeezed dry, you're still a young man. Drinking you old man will be easy."

Xie Jingxing shook the goblet, and the brown-red wine reflected the traces of time. This was a bottle of Petrus that was one year older than him.

Older people basically only drink old red wine and white wine, as other types of alcohol are not easy to metabolize.

Xie Jingxing felt that although the drink tasted good, the aftereffect was too strong and he couldn't handle the alcohol. He drank slowly while chatting with Qu Dejun about random things.

I have been too busy over the past period of time and don’t know much about Wanda’s latest situation. I need to catch up before taking any action.

"The liquidity of Hong Kong stocks is getting worse and worse. Returning to the A-share market is a good choice. Both financing business and internationalization strategy can be guaranteed." He inadvertently mentioned the key point.

Qu Dejun quietly got rid of some of the alcohol: "We were very enthusiastic about going public at the beginning, but we didn't expect the situation to change so quickly. Before we knew it, Hong Kong Island was no longer a free port for Asian capital. How can we justify this?"

"The main reason is that the aesthetic differences between A-shares and Hong Kong-shares in their attitudes towards real estate companies are extremely different. You have wasted too much time in A-shares before. It is also a solution to invest in Hong Kong first and then A-shares." Xie Jingxing comforted casually.

Wanda lingered at the doorstep of the A-share market for five years but never got what it wanted. It was only last year that it reluctantly went public in Hong Kong.

It is well known that real estate is the core driving force for the domestic economic takeoff, which leads to the fact that real estate companies listed on the A-share market often receive high premium valuations.

On the other hand, everyone knows how much bubble there is, so the A-share market has strict review procedures for real estate companies to go public, artificially suppress leverage bubbles, and keep risks out of the market with a one-size-fits-all approach.

As a mature capital market, Hong Kong stocks are open to listing and warmly welcome giant companies from the mainland. But after listing, everyone knows that your bubble is scary, so naturally they will not give you a high valuation.

In short, Wanda has not suffered any great injustice. It is just jealous and feels aggrieved when it sees its peers like Vanke enjoying the high premium in the A-share market where people are rich and stupid.

Xie Jingxing changed the subject and continued, "However, the low valuation of your listing on Hong Kong Island will greatly drag down your performance when you return to the A-share market."

"It's not a big problem. Just like you said, A shares and Hong Kong stocks have different positioning. Vanke's Hong Kong stocks performed poorly while A shares continued to rise." Qu Dejun controlled his facial muscles and put on an indifferent smile.

"That's right. You have been developing rapidly overseas recently. It is necessary to retain the Hong Kong stock channel."

Xie Jing Xing took a sip of wine and stood up: "I'm going to the toilet."

Looking at his back, Qu Dejun exhaled the alcohol deeply and pressed his eyebrows to relieve his tiredness.

At the macro level, a company is usually listed on both the Hong Kong and A-share markets. The former allows for convenient capital inflow and outflow for the international development of the company's business, while the latter relies on the market's high liquidity and high valuation premium to meet financing needs.

Then the problem arises at the specific stock level. Hong Kong stocks have poor liquidity and low valuations. Currently, Vanke's share price in A shares is 15 yuan, and in Hong Kong stocks it is 7 yuan.

The stock prices differ by more than twice. Even if A-shares are immature, investors have to think carefully about whether it is worth it before buying.

Vanke is serious about expanding its business overseas and can tolerate its stock price being dragged down. Wanda is different. It is returning to the A-share market just for the stock price.

What to do if you can’t stand it?
It would be better to delist from the Hong Kong stock market and focus on listing on the A-share market. This leads to the second question: where will the funds come from to repurchase the outstanding shares required for delisting and privatization?

A few months ago, Qu Dejun came into contact with Xie Jingxing through the Micro-Film Times project, and laid some groundwork in advance to prepare for a rainy day.

The stock market crash has caused a shortage of funds in the market, and tens of billions of funds need to be raised for delisting and privatization. There is endless debate within the company as to whether it is necessary to delist.

In this situation, facing Xie Jingxing's deliberate probing, Qu Dejun was slightly caught off guard.

There is a reason why the nickname "Young Marshal" brought up by Cheng Wei and Liu Qing has gradually spread and become a recognized nickname.

While most people were attracted by the listing feast, he not only saw the deep-seated opportunities of delisting projects, but also showed his fangs and took the initiative to explore without hesitation.

Sharp and incisive, working with such a person will make you feel nervous.

"Is this the men's restroom?"

Walking through the dim corridor of the office building and into the toilet, Xie Jingxing held up his trouser waist and looked around. He was about to turn around and go to the squat toilet to relieve himself when he suddenly saw a lady standing at the toilet door.

He had a slow and confused look in his eyes and removed his hands from his waistband.

"This is the women's restroom." Yang Mi had the same smile on her face as when she encountered it by chance on the high-speed train this morning.

"Sorry." Xie Jingxing brushed past her and walked out of the bathroom.

I looked back at the sign on the wall and calmly walked into the men's restroom across the corridor. No wonder I felt something was wrong just now, there was no urinal.

I drank tea and wine with the two old guys in succession, and my belly was full of water. After I peed comfortably and washed my face to recover, I must drink Qu Dejun tonight.

This guy is not honest. He seems to be drinking and laughing, but he actually doesn't reveal a single word.

Xiao Wang is my good brother and you are my good elder brother. I am clearly sincere in wanting to help Wanda, but who are you guarding against? Your father?!

Xie Jingxing straightened his back and staggered back to the bar. He saw several men and women gathered at the booth and chatting with Qu Dejun. They looked like they were about to leave after drinking.

"Hey, Mr. Xie, I wouldn't have known you were here if Mr. Qu hadn't told me." One of the middle-aged men in formal attire bowed slightly.

Xie Jingxing thought about it and remembered the name: "Chen Xian, you are also coming to the summit."

"Yes, I received an invitation and came here to make up the numbers."

Chen Xian smiled and explained, "I saw you at the venue this afternoon, and I didn't want to bother you."

"I should have known you were here to have a couple of drinks with me." Xie Jingxing patted his shoulder.

Chen Xuan is from the Chinese Culture Fund, and their boss Li Ruigang is also a familiar face in the background. They dealt with the Pony.com project last year, and participated in the investment in Weying Times and New Big Hungry in the first few months of this year.

After a few pleasantries, he turned to introduce an older man with black-framed glasses next to him: "This is Chen Sijie, the general manager of SMG Shangshi Pictures, and Mr. Zeng and Mr. Li from Jiaxing Media." "We just met this morning. We took the same high-speed train here."

Xie Jingxing shook hands with the man with black-framed glasses and nodded to the other two women.

"Mr. Xie, I'll call Mi Mi back." Zeng Jia walked out and called Yang Mi without waiting for his response.

Everyone was used to it. In such occasions, female stars were just vases that added luster and played the role of a lubricant. Seeing this, Xie Jingxing chatted with Chen Xian casually.

Li Ruigang, known as 'Uncle Li' in the industry, is not only the chairman of the Chinese Culture Foundation, but also the chairman of Oriental Pearl Media Group (Maodu Broadcasting). He has been up and down several times and has just resigned.

The influence is deeply rooted, and SMG Shangshi Pictures is a subsidiary of Oriental Pearl Group.

Although Chen Xuan's words were vague and he didn't give a detailed introduction on how they got together, it was most likely related to Yang Mi's widely circulated "betting agreement" investment.

"Thank you, nice to meet you again."

Less than two minutes later, Yang Mi followed Zeng Jia back and joked with a hint of meaning.

Xie Jing Xing was speechless: "Today is indeed quite fateful."

"Don't worry if we're destined to meet. It seems like we should meet Mr. Xie today." Zeng Jia agreed without knowing the reason.

"I'm glad to meet you this time. I'll treat you to a drink next time we meet."

Just give face and say hello, Xie Jingxing said lightly that he would not entertain him today, and Yang Mi's rosy lips could not help but freeze.

He was about to leave, but he called her back. Was it just to make up for not taking the initiative to shake hands and say hello in the ladies' room just now?

Zeng Jia was also a little embarrassed. After all, she had met a familiar middleman twice, who was also the most popular female star at the moment. It was really unkind of her to be reluctant to even smile at him.

Chen Xuan and Chen Sijie have completely opposite thoughts. One is in the same industry and the other works for a state-owned enterprise. They don't think there's anything wrong with this at all. Calling Yang Mi back to say hello is the basic courtesy she should perform.

"The big star is so beautiful."

The little episode diluted the tentative atmosphere, and Qu Dejun resumed his relaxed demeanor with a nonchalant look on his face.

Xie Jing Xing retorted: "They are married, have children and have a happy family. It's too late for you to make a move."

"Do you know who this villain is?"

Qu Dejun didn't take it seriously. He flicked the portrait printed on the label of the red wine bottle with his finger, picked up the bottle in a pretentious manner to help Xie Jingxing pour the wine, and then made a please gesture.

The name of Château Petrus comes from 'Saint Peter', one of the twelve disciples of Jesus, who holds the key to the gate of heaven.

Qu Dejun calls himself Saint Peter of Yang Mi and his group. Between a happy family and going to heaven, who knows which is more tempting.

Xie Jingxing remained silent. No matter how beautiful the flowers were, one would get tired of them if he picked too many. His appetite had been greater than his lust recently, and Wanda was such a delicious piece of meat.

"I heard that you are a collector. There will be an auction at Poly Auction in Beijing in a few days. Would you like to come and join us?"

After all the wine was consumed, Qu Dejun finally made an invitation under the influence of alcohol, and Xie Jingxing gladly accepted.

It’s just right that I get together with the old president.

…………

"Uncle Li doesn't want to get involved. We think it's too risky for Shangshi to invest alone, so the conditions they offer us will definitely be a bargain."

The nanny car smelled strongly of alcohol. Zeng Jia frowned slightly, looking tired and disappointed. "Can you think of a way to talk to Uncle Li alone later?"

"Mr. Zhang whom we met today has the final say. The Chinese Culture Fund feels that our valuation is too high, and forcing them in is not a good thing." Li Juan holds the opposite view.

Jiaxing's initial discussions with Shangshi Pictures and China Media Capital were about a pre-investment valuation of 15 billion, with the transfer of 25% of its shares to raise 3.7 million yuan, and an attached segmented "betting agreement".

Starting from this year, the cumulative total net profit for the next three consecutive years must not be less than 3.8 million yuan, otherwise Jiaxing will have to repurchase the 15% shares at an annualized interest rate of 25%.

The investment is 3.7 million, and the net profit requirement is 3.8 million. If the segmented net profit requirement is not met in any year within three years, the company will have to repurchase the shares at any time.

There is a detail here. After preliminary due diligence, China Media simply felt that the current bubble in the entertainment industry was gradually rising and Jiaxing's valuation was too high, so it was appropriate to discuss the terms of the valuation bet agreement to lower it.

Shangshi Pictures itself signed a net profit performance betting agreement with its parent company Oriental Pearl with a valuation of nearly 17 billion yuan.

It doesn't mind Jiaxing's high valuation, the higher the better, but on the other hand, the terms of the bet agreement are not negotiable.

From Li Juan's perspective, she would rather choose Shangshi and sign a harsh gambling agreement, because the valuation given by Chinese Culture is definitely not acceptable to everyone.

This is a top venture capital institution in the field of entertainment and media. The operating performance of Jiaxing, which has been achieved through capital operation, is like a child with sugar residue on the corner of his mouth telling his father that he didn't eat sugar.

"Mi Mi, what do you think?"

The major shareholder and the person in charge of the company's capital operations had different opinions, so Zeng Jia turned to the company's ace salesperson to break the deadlock.

Yang Mi leaned forward with one hand supporting her head, looking at the street lights that were rapidly receding outside the car window. She pursed her lips and made no sound for a while.

Her husband, Hawick Lau, is also a first-tier male star. Together with Dilraba Dilmurat, who became popular this year, and many potential newcomers, the company can be considered a second-tier media company as a whole.

However, in the eyes of the investors, she is the only one who is valuable, and everything else is just extra.

What ideas could she have? Working like a slave for the next three years to make money for this 15 billion valuation is the only answer Zeng Jia and Li Juan want to hear now.

"What's the point of having ideas? If we can't make 3.8 million in three years, we will have to pay back whatever we get."

Yang Mi had a cold expression. Even though she was the person who drank the most at the table just now, she was not the largest shareholder of Jiaxing.

Zeng Jia and Li Juan both fell silent, and took the money to buy back the crematorium for a while.

A net profit of 3.8 million in three years is an extremely harsh condition. No popular star in the circle today can guarantee or earn this amount on his own.

"Otherwise, I will contact other investors." Li Juan tried to make amends.

Yang Mi was too lazy to respond and closed her eyes. She was confused and her mind was flashing with thoughts of the company's equity distribution and Chinese culture. What had been going well in the discussion came to an abrupt end.

My thoughts turned to the Hengdian crew. I took a special leave today to come to Nanchang to meet Zhang Xian. I will go back tomorrow to apologize to the director and treat the crew to milk tea.

It is really difficult to get on the capital table, but Pei Fei doesn't think so. The studio has successively led the investment in "Lost in Thailand" and participated in the investment in "Fleet of Time", which are popular and profitable movies. It is said that it also holds shares in Xiaoma Pentium.

He brings money into the crew and can shoot whatever film he wants. If he doesn't want to shoot anything, he will disappear immediately and there will be no exposure for several months.

Originally, she was going to pick up the resources left over by herself and Tang Yan, but now it was the turn of the newcomers in her studio to compete with her for resources.

Yang Mi was drunk and drowsy, and she couldn't tell whether she felt aggrieved or envious.

(End of this chapter)