Arriving in the capital once again, Guan Yifeng and Li Fu followed Chen Pingjiang as usual.
"I'll consider buying a private jet later,"
Chen Pingjiang secretly decided after being surrounded by enthusiastic crowds once again.
For Chen Pingjiang now, privacy was paramount, something commercial airlines couldn't provide at all.
If he were to travel with other girls in the future, the whole world might know.
Why was Boss Wang and Miss Tian's romance exposed back then?
Wasn't it because sharp-eyed netizens photographed them together on a certain flight?
If Boss Wang had a private jet at the time, he wouldn't have been secretly photographed.
On the other hand, Chen Pingjiang was traveling more and more for business.
Commercial flights were fixed, which was very inconvenient for Chen Pingjiang.
With a private jet, he could come and go as he pleased.
Especially for airports without direct flights, requiring transfers, the role of a private jet became evident.
After leaving the airport and boarding the special car, Chen Pingjiang and his group headed straight for Gaode headquarters.
"During this period, have you received any news from your contacts with the Gaode team in the capital?"
Inside the business van, Chen Pingjiang and Bu Housheng sat one on each side.
"No, they're still very cautious. They haven't disclosed the approximate price to me."
"Their book cash is only 20 million USD, with equivalents of about 10 million USD, an estimated 300 million USD, and various loans totaling 70 million USD. The ideal acquisition would be with a 50% premium, preferably not exceeding 100%."
In other words, Gaode's actual value is around 260 million USD.
A 50% premium would be about 400 million USD, and a 100% premium would be around 520 million USD.
Chen Pingjiang pondered for a moment, then nodded:
"Hmm, that price is about right."
There's no standard for how much premium an acquired company gets; it entirely depends on the company's importance in the acquiring company's future strategy.
Microsoft acquired Blizzard with a 45.3% premium, and Musk acquired Twitter with a 38% premium.
The most outrageous case was a certain company that spent 600 million to acquire a small company with net assets of only 15 million RMB, a premium rate of 40 times, which led to an inquiry letter from the CSRC.
There were too many shady dealings involved.
High-premium acquisitions might hide suspicions of bailing out related parties or manipulating company market value, in addition to risks like performance gambling and goodwill impairment.
"We meet again, Mr. Chen."
When the two parties met again, Cheng Congwu still seemed a bit unhappy.
It was like giving away a child he had painstakingly raised from infancy; anyone would be unhappy.
Although the last conversation with Chen Pingjiang went well, on this day, he still felt melancholy.
At this point, not selling was no longer an option, as it would damage business reputation.
Moreover, all shareholders except him wanted to sell; a single arm couldn't twist a thigh.
Gaode didn't have an A/B share structure, and Cheng Congwu didn't have veto power.
However, he also figured it out: Gaode's name wouldn't change, and he would still be the CEO.
It was simply like receiving a one-time buyout for future earnings.
Hou Jun on the opposite side first expressed his view:
"We'll discuss the specific price slowly later. Before that, let's determine the transaction method. Our group has deliberated, and we hope to transact with a cash + stock approach."
Chen Pingjiang smiled and exchanged a glance with Bu Housheng beside him, then turned back to Hou Jun and shook his head:
"I'm sorry, our side only accepts cash transactions."
Renrenwang was not short of money; in fact, it had so much money that some of it couldn't even be used.
Wouldn't it be foolish to use stock instead of cash?
Moreover, Renrenwang's stock was optimistically viewed for the long term, with significant appreciation potential.
Even if Renrenwang lacked funds, Chen Pingjiang would still take out a loan.
"Why? Can Mr. Chen explain the reason?"
"No reason in particular. Renrenwang is an overseas company; stock exchange is very troublesome, and the US SEC review process is very long. Besides, Renrenwang already has enough shareholders."
This old fellow Hou Jun had considerable influence behind him, but Chen Pingjiang didn't like people with such complex backgrounds getting involved in his company.
Gaode, of course, preferred cash + stock.
Through a stock swap, they could directly enter the top-ranked internet company in China, and even as a tiny shareholder, the value would be extraordinary.
Subsequently, everyone only needed to have confidence in Renrenwang's stock price, enjoying both the equity premium and the dividends from appreciation.
"Giving cash with one hand and shares with the other makes it easy for everyone, doesn't it? There's no need to make it so complicated. If you use Renrenwang stock as consideration, it's very likely to involve additional taxes. An all-cash method aligns with market practice."
Hou Jun gave a helpless wry smile:
"I was just trying my luck. Since Mr. Chen is unwilling, then let's forget it."
After thinking for a moment, Chen Pingjiang made a gesture:
"Our first offer is 400 million USD."
Before Cheng Congwu could speak, Xiao Jun frowned:
"Isn't that a bit low, Mr. Chen? Once successfully listed, Gaode's market value will be far more than 400 million."
"Mr. Xiao mentioned market value. With a market value of 400 million, you'd not only have to wait half a year to cash out, but also each cash-out amount would be limited. Wouldn't it be better to get the money sooner and retire early to travel the world? I, for one, believe my offer is quite sincere. If everyone uses the market approach, the conclusions should be similar."
"The market approach is one thing, but specific cases require specific analysis. Gaode holds the number one market share in both the map and navigation sectors, and it's about to go public. Most critically, our Class A surveying and mapping qualifications are hard to obtain."
Both sides entered a tug-of-war.
The negotiation method was basically like haggling over groceries.
Chen Pingjiang said:
"Although Gaode is doing well now, I don't believe Baidu and Tencent won't exert their strength. Once these major companies enter the fray, can Gaode still maintain its number one market share?"
"Mr. Chen, I'll be frank with you: 600 million USD. This is the result of everyone's unanimous discussion, and we believe this figure is quite appropriate."
"Cheng Cong, 450 million. That's my bottom line!"
"550 million. This is our most sincere offer."
"530 million. My bottom line can be a little higher, but I can't accept anything more."
At this moment, the three of them, led by Cheng Congwu, exchanged glances, and finally nodded:
"Deal."
Seeing this, everyone present visibly relaxed.
This price was slightly higher than Chen Pingjiang and his team had estimated, but it was acceptable.
Renrenwang had money, but that didn't mean it was a pushover.
Chen Pingjiang stood up with a smile and shook hands with everyone on the opposite side, one by one:
"Congratulations, Mr. Xiao's retirement wish has been fulfilled."
Xiao Jun said with a grin:
"Thanks to Mr. Chen."
Xiao Jun was not young; it could be said that among the three founders, he was the most eager to sell.
The agreement was jointly drafted by lawyers from both sides and became effective as soon as everyone signed their names.
The next day, Renrenwang issued an announcement to the public, declaring the merger and acquisition.
As a listed company, this step was indispensable.
This also caused Renrenwang's stock price to immediately rise when the US stock market opened that evening.
After the news broke, Baidu was the most displeased.
Even someone as mild-mannered as Li Yanhong was so angry he wanted to smash a cup.
If Gaode was just Gaode, Baidu would have been confident in crushing it, but when a behemoth stood behind Gaode, Baidu withered.
Honestly, Baidu's business acumen sometimes made even Chen Pingjiang feel inferior.
Take autonomous driving, for example.
When Baidu was developing it, almost no one had heard of new energy vehicles.
Later, new energy vehicles rose, but no car manufacturer used their technology.
Li Yanhong repeatedly claimed that Baidu had reached L4 level, but no one was buying it.
It made Chen Pingjiang want to personally get involved and go to Baidu to see: where did all the time and money you spent go?
Baidu entered almost every trending sector, but none of them took off for them.
Payments, food delivery, smart speakers, AI—nothing got off the ground.
If Baidu weren't truly rich, who knows how many times it would have gone under.
It once spent 1.9 billion USD to acquire 91 Assistant, only for it to quietly go offline.
It had just bought YY for 3.6 billion USD, only for it to immediately become a hot potato, shorted and plunging by nearly 30%.
It acquired the self-media "Li Jiaoshou" for 100 million, and a year later, both parties announced their "breakup."
It acquired Nuomi for hundreds of millions of USD, pouring in 20 billion, but failed in the local life services sector.
It acquired PPS for 370 million USD, and its integration into iQiyi still showed no results.
Acquiring "Super Patrol" and "What to Watch Tonight" had no effect.
It then spent 15 million USD to acquire "Magic Photo Elf," which briefly became popular before disappearing.
The internet's designated buyer of failing businesses, a truly conscientious enterprise in China.
Ali and Tencent acquired the successful ones, while Baidu acquired the failing ones.
That investors hadn't rebelled and ousted Li Yanhong was enough to make Chen Pingjiang marvel.
"This acquisition of ours is not targeting any third-party company. Gaode Maps will be integrated into Renrenwang's vast ecosystem, becoming a part of it. As long as humans live and produce, geographical information will naturally be unavoidable, such as for travel, ordering food, shopping, tourism, social interaction, etc. This naturally requires location services, and the visualization and analysis of massive geographical big data."
Chen Pingjiang stated frankly during an interview:
"All major internet companies, in our perception, will involve maps in aspects of daily life like clothing, food, housing, and transportation. I personally welcome all enterprises to cooperate with Gaode, and we will open our API interface within the year."
Some were happy, some were sad, and others were greatly inspired.
Chen Pingjiang had proven his foresight through countless practical experiences, which led to a surge in map-related concept stocks.
However, to everyone's surprise, just three days later, Renrenwang made another strategic investment of up to 100 million USD in Jingdong.
This time, Old Ma couldn't sit still either.
What made Renrenwang, or rather Chen Pingjiang, most formidable was its enormous traffic.
Whether it was Renrenwang, Weibo, Zhihu, or WeChat, they were all social software.
Anything social inherently generated traffic, and even Orange Phone could be considered a traffic portal.
Only Chen Pingjiang didn't worry at all about where traffic came from; companies like Ali were constantly fretting over traffic.
Renrenwang lived by selling traffic, while Ali acquired companies everywhere for traffic.
Gaode, Focus Media, and UC were all following the same path.
"Chen Pingjiang's methods are truly wild, so wild that I can't quite grasp them. He's simultaneously offended Baidu, Ali, and Tencent."
"Chen Pingjiang isn't intimidated by them. There are only so many sectors, and all the big players are fighting it out in them."
......
"Sit, sit, make yourselves at home. It's just the three of us today,"
Chen Pingjiang said with a smile, greeting Cheng Congwu and Dongzi.
He had specifically called the two of them over today to get together and strengthen their bond.
Gaode and Jingdong had already been branded with the Renren Group label, embarking on Renrenwang's war chariot, and would follow Chen Pingjiang into battle everywhere in the future.
"Old Cheng, don't be so burdened. Relax a little,"
Chen Pingjiang said, personally pouring wine for Cheng Congwu, which made Cheng Congwu feel somewhat overwhelmed.
"As for me, I'm very grateful that you can stay and continue to lead Gaode forward. Gaode is very important in our future structure, and you bear a considerable responsibility. However, the ecosystem is one thing, and Gaode remains independent. I don't need Gaode to lose its market share by serving the ecosystem. On the contrary, the group will use all its resources to help Gaode defeat Baidu and Klaid."
Chen Pingjiang continued:
"There's no need to worry about traffic at all. As long as Gaode connects to Orange Phone and WeChat, it will control massive traffic portals."
"The same goes for Jingdong. Renren, Weibo, and WeChat will bring you traffic, and you help me promote payments. Everyone gets what they need and progresses together."
"Furthermore, Jingdong's logistics also can't do without maps. Gaode and Jingdong can perfectly collaborate."
Cheng Congwu and Dongzi were both quite emotional.
In the past, they fought alone and were bullied, but now that they had found a big brother, their glorious days had finally arrived.
(End of Chapter)