I can become stronger by paying salaries. I have one billion employees!

Chapter 312 Series B Funding: A $220 Billion Offer! The Night Before the Internet Conference!
Prior to the World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, the China Internet Conference, hosted by the Internet Society of China, had been held ten times since its inception in 2002.

Tomorrow marks the start of the 11th China Internet Conference!
Baidu, Tencent, Sina, Sohu, 360, NetEase, and several subsidiaries of Senlian Capital were among the invited companies, with more than 100 leading enterprises participating.

For Chen Yansen, attending the conference was not the main point; the key was to enhance industry influence, reach target customers, and explore business opportunities.

The elegant way to put it is to connect with business resources, understand industry trends, and shape a corporate image; the colloquial way is to establish a persona, seek investment, and cultivate relationships.

Even figures like Li Yanhong, Ma Liyun, and Ma Wenteng couldn't resist the trend, so Chen Yansen naturally wouldn't refuse either.

He'll actively seek out anything that offers him a benefit, without being asked.

9 PM on November 10th.

On a Boon passenger plane bound for Yanjing, Chen Yansen leaned back in his 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 sat scattered to one side.

Lao Gao was looking at Pinbei's financial statements on his iPad, Zhou Shouzhi was engrossed in reading a book called "Case Studies in Commercial Law," and Huang Zheng and Liang Bo were discussing Toutiao's e-commerce advertising business.

Song Yuncheng turned to the side, secretly glanced at Chen Yansen, pursed her lips, and then casually flipped through the magazine in her hand.

Apart from Zhang Yinjia of Orange Pay, who was absent, Orange Technology, Pinbei Mall, and Today Technology all sent representatives to the meeting.

In addition, Kuaidi Dache, Gaode Map, Yunsu Express and ByteDance were also among those invited.

It is evident that although Senlian Capital does not have any listed companies, each of its subsidiaries holds a pivotal position in its respective field.

After an unknown amount of time, Gao Weilin put down his iPad, subconsciously yawned, and looked at the time; there was still an hour before landing.

He secretly sized up Zhou Shouzhi, Huang Zheng, Liang Bo, and the others, secretly rejoicing that he had been wise enough not to refuse to join FoxTao because of its shabby office environment.

Otherwise, given Senlian Capital's current capital size, if they missed the best opportunity, he wouldn't be the CFO.

"Old Gao, are the drinking arrangements for tonight all set?"

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

"Boss, I've invited Mr. Yu from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Mr. Gao from Huaxin Securities, Mr. Ma from Tencent, and Mr. Cai from Goldman Sachs. The venue is the banquet hall on the top floor of the hotel."

Gao Weilin quickly replied.

"Old Huang, stay with me tonight." Chen Yansen nodded slightly and then instructed Huang Zheng.

“Yes, boss,” Huang Zheng replied.

He immediately realized that these four companies were all the investors in Pinbei's Series B financing. Tencent provided additional traffic resources, Huake and Huaxin acted as official endorsements, and Goldman Sachs was brought in to expand into overseas markets.

Although there are few participating investment institutions, they are all very powerful.

Time flies, and the plane landed at Yanjing Airport at 4:50. After a ten-minute taxiing, it finally came to a stop.

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

As soon as I stepped out of the arrival gate, I saw the driver and security personnel that Xiao Jun had prepared standing not far away, holding up a sign to welcome me.

"Hello boss, I am Liu Yi, Mr. Xiao's assistant. Please follow me. The car is parked in parking area B2 of Terminal 2."

Liu Yi, around thirty years old and dressed in a suit, hurried over to greet Chen Yansen after spotting him.

"Ah."

Chen Yansen responded with a light "yes".

Surrounded by bodyguards, the group arrived at the B2 parking area. Liu Yi led them to a Maybach 62S and opened the left rear door for Chen Yansen.

Chen Yansen went straight in, Song Yuncheng sat in the back right seat, and Lao Gao quite consciously sat in the passenger seat.

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

Three luxury cars drove out of the airport together and sped along the Jingping Expressway.

The twilight scene outside the car window was like a tranquil oil painting, with the setting sun casting gentle rays and dappled light and shadow.

"Boss, Meituan's headquarters is in that building."

As they passed the North Fifth Ring Road, Lao Gao pointed to a building in the distance and said with a smile.

"This is a worthy opponent."

Chen Yansen turned his head and glanced at it, then calmly commented.

Currently, Kuaipao Delivery has entered the South China market and established branches in provincial capitals in Northeast China. At present, it is busy selecting sites and setting up stations, and the ground promotion, operation and human resources departments are also promoting the local delivery business in an orderly manner.

Before Meituan Waimai's delivery team even arrived, Kuaipao had already established a firm foothold.

Wang Xin wanted to repeat the tactics used in the Thousand Group Battle, but Pei Yi certainly wouldn't give him the chance.

Half an hour later, the car stopped in front of the Marco Polo Hotel in Yanjing. The hotel is next to the International Conference Center, and the drive only takes a few minutes.

As soon as they entered the lobby on the first floor, Cheng Weixing, Pei Yi, Liao Wei, Xiao Jun, and Zhang Yiming, who were in the rest area, all stood up at the same time.

The five men quickly stepped forward, greeting the boss with smiles.

Chen Yansen nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over everyone before turning to Liao Wei and instructing, "It's rare for everyone to gather so well. Let's book a private room for tomorrow night so we can chat at our leisure."

"No problem, I'll arrange it," Liao Wei chuckled.

"You guys continue."

Chen Yansen waved his hand, indicating that the others didn't need to worry about him, and led Gao Weilin and Song Yuncheng toward the front desk.

Zhou Shouzhi, Huang Zheng, and Liang Bo stayed behind and sat down with Xiao Jun, Liao Wei, and a few others to chat about business cooperation.

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

Take Liao Wei's Yunsu Express, for example. It's highly likely that it didn't survive the golden age of e-commerce in its previous life and was eliminated by the "Three Tongs and One Da" (STO Express, YTO Express, ZTO Express, and Yunda Express).

Now, with Chen Yansen's support, it has successively acquired Quanfeng, Yunda, Zhongtong, Shentong and Yuantong Express, with a daily business volume of up to 1000 million parcels. After establishing the Yunsu Express Alliance and launching electronic waybills, it has undoubtedly become the hegemon of the private express delivery industry.

Once Yunsu's cargo planes are converted and its air freight service is launched, it will mark the beginning of Yunsu Express's foray into the high-end express delivery market.

In addition, Zhou Shouzhi was supposed to be the co-founder of DST Greater China, and then join Xiaomi Technology two years later, but now he is the CFO of Orange Technology.

After checking in, Chen Yansen took the elevator to the 26th floor, swiped his card to unlock the door, and pushed it open.

Standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, you can overlook the entire Olympic Park, which is lush and green. The venue for tomorrow's meeting is at the intersection of Beichen East Road and North Central Ring Road.

Thinking about the drinking party that evening, Chen Yansen casually took off his suit jacket and started unbuttoning his shirt from top to bottom.

“Beep bell—!”

A rapid ringing of the phone rang!
Chen Yansen reached out and the phone on the table flew into his hand automatically. After seeing the caller ID, he pressed the answer button.

"I'm going out for drinks tonight. I made a reservation at VICS CLUB and invited Ding Lei, Lei Yijun, and He Xiaopeng as well," Zhang Chaoyang said on the phone.

"I'm afraid that won't work; I have a drinking engagement I can't get away from," Chen Yansen said with a wry smile, politely declining. Who said Zhang Chaoyang has depression?

This is nonsense!
Among the entrepreneurs in Yanjing, it would be hard to find a boss who lives a more comfortable life than him.

He usually goes hiking, swimming, karaoke, drinking, acting, and dating. He's also recently appeared on several variety shows.

"A drinking party? No problem! We've arranged to meet at 10 p.m.," Zhang Chaoyang said nonchalantly.

Since things had come to this point, Chen Yansen couldn't refuse any longer and simply agreed.

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

……

……

At 7 p.m., 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 by his side.

"I never expected that Yuri's investment in Orange Technology and Kuaidi Dache would actually drag his own right-hand men into the mess."

Cai Yongjin, general manager of Goldman Sachs Asia, shook Chen Yansen's right hand and looked at Zhou Shouzhi jokingly.

After all, the last time they met, Zhou Shouzhi was the head of DST Capital's Greater China region.

"If Mr. Cai has any reliable talent recommendations, I am willing to accept them all."

Chen Yansen smiled faintly and said in a joking tone.

"So, what does President Chen think of me?" Cai Yongjin asked seriously, his smile fading.

"Senlian's temple is too small to accommodate a Buddha like you," Chen Yansen replied with a smile.

Who is Cai Yongjin?

He joined the World Bank headquarters twenty years ago and later went to the finance department of Morgan Stanley. Although the title of Managing Director of Goldman Sachs Asia was prestigious, it was far from the limit of his career.

The other party was just joking, so Chen Yansen naturally didn't take it seriously.

"Senlian is no small company! The Internet Society invited eight of Senlian Capital's holding subsidiaries to the meeting. Mr. Chen, your people will be able to sit in a row tomorrow."

Cai Yongjin continued to joke.

In his view, perhaps only Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook is qualified to rival Chen Yansen's business talent.

"Please take a seat, Mr. Cai," Chen Yansen said to Huang Zheng without saying anything more.

"Mr. Cai, please come in and have a seat." Huang Zheng led Cai Yongjin into the banquet hall.

After everyone had gone, Zhou Shouzhi said in a low voice, "Cai Yongjin has submitted his resignation to Goldman Sachs headquarters. The Pinbei investment project is probably his last project at Goldman Sachs."

"What benefits did the Liu family give him?" Several pieces of information flashed through Chen Yansen's mind, and he instantly guessed the truth behind Cai Yongjin's departure.

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

It's worth noting that this insider information had only just begun circulating in financial circles in Europe and America.

“Zhu Nanli of Legend Capital wanted to push Liu Yiqing to the position of CEO of Didi Chuxing, but Li Yanhong did not agree. The eldest daughter of the Liu family has worked at Goldman Sachs for more than ten years. If she wants to advance further, Cai Yongjin is her biggest obstacle. In terms of ability, connections and relationships, Liu Yiqing is far inferior to Cai Yongjin. Therefore, Cai Yongjin can only give up his position.”

Chen Yansen analyzed the situation with clear logic.

Zhou Shouzhi swallowed hard and nodded emphatically.

He understood the difference between genius and prodigy. Based on just a few pieces of information that were hard to distinguish between true and false, Chen Yansen was able to deduce the real reason why Cai Yongjin left Goldman Sachs. The other party's analytical ability was so strong that it made him feel afraid.

“That’s right, that’s exactly right. Cai Yongjin is going to become the CEO of the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank Group next month. He gave up the position of Managing Director to Liu Yiqing, saying it was just to do her a favor, but the Liu family definitely put in a lot of effort behind the scenes.”

Zhou Shouzhi explained slowly.

If the Liu family hadn't relinquished some of their interests, Cai Yongjin would most likely have recommended his confidant instead of Liu Yiqing.

This is good news for Chen Yansen.

After Liu Yiqing's further advancement at Goldman Sachs, she is highly likely to lose interest in Didi Chuxing.

Legend Capital might exit during Didi Chuxing's next round of financing.

In fact, even if Liu Yiqing hadn't become the Managing Director of Goldman Sachs Asia, Legend Capital wouldn't have planned to invest further in Didi Chuxing.

The ride-hailing industry is too expensive!
With marketing expenses of 300 to 400 million a month, who can afford it!

Not long after, Yu Heng, general manager of the investment department of Huake Capital, and Gao Huiyi of Huaxin Investment arrived one after another. After a brief greeting, Zhou Shouzhi led the two to sit down.

Penguin's Ma Wenteng and Liu Zhiping arrived late, and upon meeting, they smiled and apologized, saying, "President Chen, I'm sorry, we were stuck in traffic on the way."

"Mr. Ma, Ms. Liu, please come in."

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

The time was set for 7:30, and it's only 7:20, so there's no question of being late.

The room was filled with representatives from five parties. Apart from Chen Yansen, Huang Zheng, Zhou Shouzhi, and Gao Weilin, the rest were potential investors in Pinbei.

Pinbei was founded on September 14, 2011, started its research and development work on October 1, and officially launched on November 18. In just one year, it became the second largest e-commerce platform.

Its rapid development has far exceeded the expectations of the investment community.

With a smile on his face, Ma Wenteng recalled that a year ago, he acquired a 15% stake in Pinbei for only 3 million US dollars, an investment that made him incredibly wealthy.

The shareholders who questioned him at the board meeting last year are now silent, not daring to utter a single nonsense.

"Mr. Chen, Mr. Gao and I discussed the valuation of Pinbei on the phone beforehand, and Huake has no objection to the offer of 220 billion US dollars."

Yu Heng from Huazhong University of Science and Technology was the first to speak.

In fact, Gao Weilin had been in frequent communication with Huake, Huaxin and Tencent since mid-August. Only after reaching an agreement did they choose to meet in Yanjing and sign an investment intention contract.

Only Cai Yongjin of Goldman Sachs learned about Pinbei's valuation floor a week ago.

Last year, Ali completed a private equity transaction with a valuation of US$320 billion. Ali's total GMV in 2011 exceeded RMB 6000 billion, and Pinduoduo's total output in 2012 was estimated at around RMB 3000 billion. Using peer comparison, a valuation of US$160 billion for Pinduoduo would be reasonable.

However, Ma Liyun's private equity transaction was to raise funds for Ali's equity, and the valuation contained a very low premium. In addition, Pinduoduo was in a period of rapid growth, so the final offer price rose from 160 billion to 220 billion US dollars.

Of course, if the price-to-sales ratio valuation method is used, Pinduoduo's valuation can also reach around 200 billion US dollars.

“Goldman Sachs has no objections either,” Cai Yongjin immediately stated.

The price has already been agreed upon, so there's no need to haggle over every penny and miss out on the best investment opportunity.

(End of this chapter)