Zhou Hang angrily criticized LeTV behind: Yidao is seeking a takeover

　　Yidao is seeking a takeover, and just the day before Zhou Hang openly challenged LeTV, Zhou Hang and LeTV had already experienced a round of internal confrontation on April 16 - Zhou Hang insisted on introducing new investors, but was rejected by LeTV because the price was too low.

　　Zhou Hang's latest public speech was at the opening ceremony of the third session of Lakeside University on March 27, 2017. He said: "Failure is a fate of entrepreneurship and an inevitable thing." When he said this, he realized that he had failed, but he did not foresee that he would fully express his long-accumulated emotions in less than a month.

　　On the evening of April 17, Zhou Hang, the founder of Yidao Car, issued a personal open letter, disclosing that Yidao has funding problems, and the most direct reason for this problem is that LeTV misappropriated 1.3 billion yuan of Yidao's funds. After that, Yidao and LeTV's mutual confrontation became the focus of the Chinese Internet circle. Why did Zhou Hang openly break with LeTV? What is the fuse? Why choose this time point? Through the fierce confrontation between the two sides, these problems remain unsolved.

　　In response to this, a reporter from "Finance" exclusively learned that Yidao is seeking a takeover, and LeTV will sell some of its old shares, but is unwilling to give up its controlling stake. Just the day before Zhou Hang openly challenged LeTV, Zhou Hang and LeTV had already experienced a round of internal confrontation on April 16 - the investors Zhou Hang strongly advocated were rejected by LeTV.

　　An insider revealed to the "Finance" reporter that LeTV had contacted many institutions, and three negotiations were relatively core: First, Ctrip, according to people close to Yidao, it is currently the third largest shareholder of Yidao, with a 6% stake; Second, a large investment-controlled company that wants to enter the Internet, some industry insiders speculated that it is Fosun, which was the company that Zhou Hang recommended to LeTV on April 16 but was rejected; Third, LeTV mentioned the "strategic partner" in the announcement. In the announcement, LeTV stated that it had come up with its strategic partners to solve the Yidao problem, but did not disclose the specific name of the company. The company is the buyer that LeTV is interested in.

　　The battle between takeovers may be one of the real reasons behind Zhou Hang's anger at LeTV this time.

　　Shortly after the open letter was released, LeTV Holdings and Yidao issued a joint statement saying that LeTV has never misappropriated any funds from Yidao, including user recharges, and has invested nearly 4 billion yuan in funds and a large amount of ecological resources. It also stated that it would hold Zhou Hang's behavior legally responsible. Zhou Hang responded on WeChat Moments: "If pouring dirty water on me can solve the problem of driver withdrawals, coordinate the problem of recharge users not being able to get a taxi, and solve the problem of drivers siegeing Yidao's office, then, you can just pour more."

　　In fact, this is not the first time Zhou Hang wants to introduce a takeover, and the previous one he wants to introduce is Ctrip.

　　As early as 2013, Ctrip had already invested in Yidao. Although it is the third largest shareholder, its shares are not high, around 6%. According to Ctrip's annual report, Ctrip invested in Yidao twice in December 2013 and August 2014, totaling US$53 million. In addition to capital injection, Ctrip also engages in business cooperation with Yidao. In January 2014, at a press conference jointly organized by Ctrip and Yidao, both parties jointly announced that Ctrip will connect to Yidao services in all links.

　　Ctrip intends to enter the travel field, intending to plan the entire tourism travel ecosystem. Liu Zhiyi, a special research director of the Huaxin Research Institute of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, analyzed to the reporter of "Finance": First, as a well-known domestic tourism manufacturer, travel is its core strategic support, and the acquisition of Yidao can help it complete the entire travel deployment; Second, Ctrip attaches great importance to the high-end market and personalized business and travel layout. Yidao is a leader in the private car market and has some layouts abroad, which is in line with Ctrip's positioning of internationalization and high-end market.

　　"For the current tourism industry, an integrated travel and tourism platform is the direction, and the industrial chain needs to be integrated, and there is no chance to work alone." Liu Zhiyi said.

　　Then in June 2015, there were rumors that Ctrip would acquire Yidao with full capital. Yidao responded at the time that Ctrip was already a shareholder of Yidao and would not respond to the full acquisition or controlling stake. Just a few months later, on October 19, 2015, LeTV announced that LeTV Auto officially signed an equity investment agreement for Yidao. LeTV Auto obtained 70% of Yidao's equity and was the controlling shareholder of Yidao. According to external estimates, LeTV's investment amount is around US$700 million.

　　A former senior executive of Yidao Cars told the "Finance" reporter that Yidao's final choice of LeTV was to focus on the latter's ecological layout. For LeTV, it has added a platform to undertake cars; for Yidao, LeTV has brought funds and ecological resources to Yidao. For example, LeTV mobile phones can help Yidao reach users, which in fact extends Yidao's combat effectiveness. But unexpectedly, LeTV was affected by capital chain problems in the second half of 2016. "Eight rockets, one rocket took off, driving the other seven, but at that time, 80% of the fuel of the eight rockets could not take off," he said.

　　On the other hand, LeTV's culture also has problems in the integration of Yidao, which has led to the resignation of a group of old Yidao people. After LeTV Holdings Yidao, Zhou Hang gradually faded out of the public's vision. Until news broke on April 9 that Zhou Hang had joined Shunwei Capital and became an investment partner.

　　If Zhou Hang wants to introduce investors, he should have double dissatisfaction with LeTV's capital chain and values. Some industry insiders believe that they hope to "return with the trend."

　　The above-mentioned person familiar with the matter revealed that the reason why LeTV did not accept it was because Ctrip's bid was too low. In response to this, the head of Ctrip's public relations department responded to the "Finance" reporter and refused to comment.

　　Regarding Zhou Hang's recommended large investment-controlled company that wants to enter the Internet, LeTV rejected it for two reasons. On the one hand, it is the low price, and on the other hand, it is that LeTV believes that its synergy with its ecosystem is weak. The above-mentioned person familiar with the matter believes that Zhou Hang's recent fierce move is to put pressure on LeTV and agree to its investor plan.

　　"Finance" has not yet known about the takeovers that LeTV wants to promote the most, but according to statistics from the "Finance" reporter, LeTV Auto's strategic partners in China include Bosch Group, BAIC, BYD and Dongfeng.

　　At the end of April and early May, the transition period of the new online car-hailing policy in many places expired. After the second hammer of the policy fell, the government-level law enforcement and the prospects of the online car-hailing industry were not very clear. In addition, under the existing industry structure, platforms with their own traffic entrances are still entering. Hope to share the online ride-hailing market. Meituan Taxi was launched in February 2017, and the trial operation of taxi business in Nanjing is an example.

　　With the uncertain industry prospects, Yidao itself is already in crisis. "Finance" previously reported that Yidao Car needs to burn 100 million to 200 million yuan per month to compete with Didi, and there is no way to see the day when the money burns end.

　　"Yidao's model of charging one hundred and rebate one hundred and two is very dangerous. This means a big capital hole." Hong Bo, a senior Internet commentator, told the "Finance" reporter. A person close to Yidao told Finance that according to Yidao’s daily orders of 1 million yuan and each order is subsidized at peak times, it will cost 210 million yuan a month, not including other operating and labor costs.

　　At this time, taking over Yidao will face huge challenges no matter which company it is ultimately. (Source: NetEase News)

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