Chapter 307: Series B Financing, a 22 Billion USD Offer

Before the World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, the China Internet Conference, hosted by the Internet Association, has been organized for ten editions since its inaugural launch in 2002.

Tomorrow is the date for the eleventh China Internet Conference!

Qian Du, Penguin, Sina, Sohu, 360, NetEase, and multiple subsidiaries under Senlian Capital are all on the invitation list, with over 100 leading enterprises included.

For Chen Yansen, attending the conference is not the main point; enhancing industry influence, reaching target clients, and uncovering business opportunities are the keys.

The refined way to put it is connecting commercial resources, gaining insight into industry trends, and shaping corporate image; the plain expression is building a persona, seeking investment, and cultivating connections.

Even figures like Li Yanhong, Ma Liyun, and Ma Wenteng could not escape convention, so naturally Chen Yansen would not refuse either.

Whenever there is benefit, he would actively join in without needing to be invited.

September 10, 2:00 PM.

Inside a Boeing passenger plane flying to Yanjing, Chen Yansen leaned back in a business class seat, flipping through a book titled "Photonic Crystals: Shaping the Flow of Light" to pass the time.

Zhou Shouzhi, Huang Zheng, Liang Bo, Gao Weilin, and Song Yuncheng were seated separately nearby.

Old Gao held an iPad looking at Pinbua's financial statements; Zhou Shouzhi held a book titled "Cases in Commercial Law" reading with great interest; Huang Zheng and Liang Bo chatted about the e-commerce advertising business of Jinri Toutiao.

Song Yuncheng turned sideways, stole a glance at Chen Yansen, pressed her lips together, and then casually flipped through the magazine in her hand.

Except for Zhang Yinjia from Chengzi Payment who did not come, representatives from Chengzi Technology, Pinbua Shangcheng, and Jinri Technology all attended the conference.

In addition, Kuipao, Kuaide Dache, Gao De Maps, Yunsu Express, and Weiyuanzi were also on the invitation list.

Thus, although Senlian Capital owns no listed company, each subsidiary holds a pivotal position in its respective field.

After an unknown duration, Gao Weilin put down his iPad, unconsciously yawned, raised his hand to check the time, and saw there was still one hour until landing.

He secretly observed Zhou Shouzhi, Huang Zheng, Liang Bo, and others, feeling secretly fortunate in his heart that he had been sharp enough back then not to refuse joining due to the rudimentary office environment of Foxitao.

Otherwise, given Senlian Capital's current capital scale, if the best timing had been missed, how could he have ended up as CFO.

"Old Gao, is tonight's drinking arrangement set?"

At this moment, Chen Yansen suddenly spoke, interrupting Gao Weilin's thoughts.

"Boss, I have invited General Manager Yu of Huake, General Manager Gao of Huaxin, General Manager Ma of Penguin, and General Manager Cai of Gao Sheng; the location is set in the hotel's top-floor banquet hall."

Gao Weilin replied hurriedly.

"Old Huang, accompany me tonight." Chen Yansen nodded slightly and instructed Huang Zheng.

"Yes, Boss." Huang Zheng responded.

He immediately understood that these four companies were the sole investors for Pinbua's Series B financing; Penguin would provide additional traffic resources, Huake and Huaxin would serve as official endorsements, and bringing in Gao Sheng was to layout the overseas market.

Although the participating investment institutions were few, each possessed immense strength.

Time passed in an instant; the plane landed at Yanjing Airport at 4:50, and after ten minutes of taxiing, finally stopped.

Chen Yansen handed his suitcase to Song Yuncheng, strode into the fast lane, while Zhou Shouzhi, Huang Zheng, Liang Bo, and Gao Weilin followed closely behind; Song Yuncheng pushed two suitcases, silently trailing behind.

Upon exiting the arrivals gate, they saw the driver and security personnel prepared by Xiao Jun holding an arrival sign, standing not far away.

"Hello Boss, I am Liu Yi, Assistant to Mr. Xiao. Please follow me; the car is parked in the B2 parking area of Terminal 2."

Liu Yi, around thirty years old and dressed in a suit and leather shoes, hurriedly stepped forward upon spotting Chen Yansen.

"Mm."

Chen Yansen responded with a single sound, replying indifferently.

The group, surrounded by bodyguards, made their way to the B2 parking area; Liu Yi led them to a Maybach 62S and opened the left rear door for Chen Yansen.

Chen Yansen got in directly; Song Yuncheng sat on the rear right; Old Gao conscientiously took the front passenger seat.

Zhou Shouzhi, Huang Zheng, and Liang Bo boarded a Mercedes-AMG CLS63, while the remaining security personnel climbed into a seven-seater business van.

Three luxury cars, front and back, drove out of the airport together, speeding along the Jingping Expressway.

The twilight scene outside the car window resembled a tranquil oil painting, with slanting rays and mottled light and shadow.

"Boss, Meituan headquarters is in that building."

Passing the North Fifth Ring Road, Old Gao pointed at a distant building and said with a smile.

"This is a worthy opponent."

Chen Yansen turned his head to take a look and evaluated calmly.

Currently, Kuipao Waimai has entered the South China market and established branch offices in provincial capitals in the Northeast region; it is now busy selecting sites and setting up stations, while the ground promotion, operations, and HR departments are orderly advancing local food delivery services.

Before Meituan Waimai's people even arrived, Kuipao had already established a firm foothold.

Wang Xin wanted to replicate the tactics of the Thousand Group War, but Pei Yi naturally would not give him the chance.

Half an hour later, the car stopped at the entrance of the Yanjing Marriott Hotel; the hotel is adjacent to the International Conference Center, only a few minutes by car.

Upon entering the first-floor lobby, Cheng Weixing, Pei Yi, Liao Wei, Xiao Jun, and Zhang Yiming in the lounge area all stood up in unison.

The five hurried forward and greeted with smiles: "Hello Boss!"

Chen Yansen nodded slightly, swept his gaze over the crowd, then turned to Liao Wei and instructed: "It is rare for everyone to gather so completely; book a private room for tomorrow night to chat slowly."

"No problem, I will arrange it." Liao Wei chuckled.

"You all continue."

Chen Yansen waved his hand, signaling the group not to worry about him, and walked toward the front desk with Gao Weilin and Song Yuncheng.

Zhou Shouzhi, Huang Zheng, and Liang Bo stayed behind, sitting in a circle with Xiao Jun, Liao Wei, and others, slowly discussing business cooperation.

Under Chen Yansen's influence, the fates of several people underwent tremendous changes.

For instance, Liao Wei; his Yunsu Express, in a previous life, would likely not have survived until the golden age of e-commerce and would have been eliminated by the "Three Tongs and One Da."

Now, with Chen Yansen's support, it successively acquired Quanfeng, Yunda, Zhongtong, Shentong, and Yuantong Express; its daily transaction volume reaches 10 million parcels, and after establishing the Yunsu Express Alliance and launching electronic waybills, it undoubtedly became the hegemon of the private express delivery industry.

Once Yunsu's cargo planes are converted and air freight services go online, it will mark the beginning of Yunsu Express's expansion into the high-end express delivery market.

Additionally, Zhou Shouzhi was supposed to serve as a co-founder for the Greater China region at DST and join Xiaomi Technology two years later; now, however, he is the CFO of Chengzi Technology.

After completing the check-in procedures, Chen Yansen took the elevator to the 26th floor, followed the room number, swiped the card to unlock, and pushed open the door.

Standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, one could overlook the entire Olympic Park; a lush green expanse lay before the eyes, and the venue for tomorrow's meeting is at the intersection of Beichen East Road and North Central Ring Road.

Thinking of the drinking gathering tonight, Chen Yansen casually took off his suit jacket and began unbuttoning his shirt from top to bottom.

"Ding-ling-ling—!"

A hurried ringtone for an incoming call sounded!

Chen Yansen waved his hand, and the mobile phone on the table flew automatically into his grasp; after checking the caller ID, he pressed the answer button.

"Come out for drinks tonight; I've reserved a spot at Vics Club and also invited Ding Lei, Lei Yi, and He Xiaopeng," Zhang Chaoyang said over the phone.

"I'm afraid that won't work; I have a drinking gathering I can't get away from." Chen Yansen chuckled helplessly and politely declined. Who said Zhang Chaoyang had depression?

That's absolute nonsense!

Among the entrepreneurs in Yanjing, it would be hard to find a boss living a more comfortable life than him.

Usually climbing mountains, swimming, singing karaoke, drinking, filming movies, and chasing women; recently, he even appeared on several variety shows.

"A drinking gathering? No problem! The meeting time we arranged is ten o'clock tonight." Zhang Chaoyang said, not minding it at all.

Since the words had reached this point, Chen Yansen found it hard to decline further, so he simply agreed.

After hanging up the phone, he picked up a bath towel and walked toward the bathroom.

……

……

Seven o'clock in the evening, at the entrance of a small banquet hall on the top floor.

Chen Yansen stood tall and handsome outside the door, with Gao Weilin, Zhou Shouzhi, and Huang Zheng accompanying him on either side.

"I didn't expect Yuri to invest in Sister Chengzi Technology and Kuaidi Dache, and actually end up bringing his own right-hand men into it as well."

Cai Yongjin, the General Manager of Goldman Sachs Asia, shook Chen Yansen's right hand and looked at Zhou Shouzhi, joking.

After all, when they last met, Zhou Shouzhi was still the Head of the Greater China Region at DST Capital.

"If Mr. Cai has any reliable talent to recommend, I would be willing to accept them all."

Chen Yansen smiled faintly and said jokingly as well.

"Then how about me, Mr. Chen?" Cai Yongjin wiped the smile from his face and asked with serious demeanor.

"The temple of Senlian is too small to accommodate a great Buddha like you." Chen Yansen replied with a smile.

What kind of person is Cai Yongjin?

He joined the World Bank headquarters twenty years ago, then moved to the financing department of Morgan Stanley; although the title of Managing Director of Goldman Sachs Asia is glamorous, it is far from reaching the limit of his career.

The other party was merely making a joke, so naturally Chen Yansen would not take it seriously.

"This temple of Senlian is not small at all! The Internet Association has invited eight wholly-owned subsidiaries of Senlian Capital to attend the meeting in one go; Mr. Chen, tomorrow your people will be able to sit in a whole row."

Cai Yongjin continued to tease.

In his view, perhaps only Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook had the qualification to compete with Chen Yansen's business talent.

"Please take your seat, Mr. Cai." Chen Yansen said no more and spoke to Huang Zheng.

"Mr. Cai, please come inside." Huang Zheng led Cai Yongjin into the banquet hall together.

After the people had walked far away, Zhou Shouzhi spoke in a low voice: "Cai Yongjin submitted his resignation to the Goldman Sachs headquarters; the Pinbai investment deal is estimated to be his last project at Goldman Sachs."

"What benefits did the Liu family give him?" Several pieces of gossip flashed through Chen Yansen's mind, and he instantly guessed the truth behind Cai Yongjin's resignation with about seventy or eighty percent accuracy.

"Boss, how did you know it was the Liu family?" Zhou Shouzhi asked in disbelief.

To know, this inside information had just spread through the financial circles in Europe and America.

"Zhu Nanli of Junlian Capital wanted to push Liu Yiqing into the position of CEO of Didi Dache, but Li Yanhong did not agree. The Young Lady of the Liu family has worked at Goldman Sachs for over ten years; if she wants to advance further, Cai Yongjin is her biggest obstacle. In terms of ability, connections, and relationships, Liu Yiqing falls far short of Cai Yongjin, so it can only be that Cai Yongjin voluntarily stepped aside."

Chen Yansen analyzed with clear logic.

Zhou Shouzhi swallowed hard and nodded heavily.

He finally understood the gap between a genius and a monster; relying solely on a few pieces of information that were hard to distinguish as true or false, Chen Yansen could deduce the real reason Cai Yongjin left Goldman Sachs; the other party's analytical ability was so strong it made him feel fear.

"That's right, indeed so. Cai Yongjin will take up the position of CEO at the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group next month. He is giving the Managing Director position to Liu Yiqing, saying it is a favor done with the flow of the water, but the Liu family must have exerted influence behind the scenes."

Zhou Shouzhi explained slowly.

If the Liu family had not yielded some benefits, Cai Yongjin would most likely have recommended a trusted subordinate rather than Liu Yiqing.

For Chen Yansen, this was good news.

After Liu Yiqing advanced further at Goldman Sachs, she would very likely lose interest in Didi Dache.

It is possible that Junlian Capital will withdraw from the next round of financing for Didi Dache.

Actually, even if Liu Yiqing did not secure the position of Managing Director of Goldman Sachs Asia, Junlian Capital did not intend to follow up with further investment in Didi Dache.

The ride-hailing track consumes too much money!

Three or four hundred million in marketing expenses every month; who can withstand that!

Not long after, Yu Heng, General Manager of the Investment Department of Huake Capital, and Gao Huiyi of Huaxin Investment arrived successively; after brief greetings, Zhou Shouzhi led the two to their seats.

Ma Wenteng of Penguin and Liu Zhiping arrived late; upon meeting, they smiled and apologized, saying, "Mr. Chen, sorry, there was traffic on the road."

"Mr. Ma, Mr. Liu, please come inside."

Chen Yansen smiled and led the two into the banquet hall.

The time was set for seven thirty; it was only seven twenty, so there was no question of being late.

Inside sat representatives from five parties; besides Chen Yansen, Huang Zheng, Zhou Shouzhi, and Gao Weilin, the rest were the prospective investment institutions for Pinbai.

Pinbai was founded on September 14, 2011; development work started on October 1; it officially launched on November 18; counting it all up, it took only one year to rise to the second place among e-commerce platforms.

The speed of development far exceeded the imagination of the investment world.

Ma Wenteng wore a smile; one year ago, he used only 300 million US dollars to acquire 15% equity in Pinbai; this investment made him earn wildly.

The shareholders who questioned him at the board meeting last year now kept their mouths shut, not daring to say a single word of nonsense.

"Mr. Chen, regarding the valuation of Pinbai, Mr. Gao and I discussed it in advance over the phone; Huake has no objection to the quote of 22 billion US dollars."

Yu Heng of Huake spoke first.

In fact, starting from mid-August, Gao Weilin had been in frequent communication with Huake, Huaxin, and Penguin, and only after reaching a consensus did he choose to meet in Yanjing to sign the investment intent contract.

Only Gao Sheng's Cai Yongjin learned of Pinbi's valuation floor just a week ago.

Last year, Mama Ali completed a private equity transaction with a valuation of 32 billion US dollars, and Mama Ali's full-year GMV in 2011 exceeded 600 billion Hua yuan. Pinbi's full-year output in 2012 is estimated at around 300 billion. Using the comparable company analysis method, setting Pinbi's valuation at 16 billion US dollars is more reasonable.

But Ma Liyun's private equity transaction was meant to raise equity funds for Mama Ali, so the premium embedded in the valuation was extremely low. Combined with the fact that Pinbi was in a period of rapid growth, the final offer only rose from 16 billion to 22 billion US dollars.

Of course, if the price-to-sales valuation method is used, Pinbi's valuation can also reach around 20 billion US dollars.

"Gao Sheng has no objections either," Cai Yongjin immediately stated his position.

The price had long been negotiated; there was no need to haggle over every penny and thereby lose the best investment opportunity.

(End of this chapter)