Twenty years of cold chain

While Hu Shutong was valuing himself, the investors also began to work on it, hiring professional evaluation agencies to conduct an investment valuation based on Tongxing's business plan and referring to models.

Since it's a valuation, there's no such thing as a precise one. The valuations of medium and large enterprises in the cold chain industry are generally in the hundreds of millions, ranging from a few hundred million to tens of billions. Moreover, there are already large industrial parks in China with valuations in the hundreds of billions.

For startups, valuation is essentially about assessing "potential value," which translates that potential value into the company's intrinsic value. This involves combining the broader market environment with recent valuations of similar companies. Of course, all of this is predicated on the various data and technologies provided by Tongxing's solutions, along with their own research into the delivery market's prospects, market size, and growth forecasts for specific market segments.

Digging deeper, we find that Tongxing Human Resources, represented by Hu Shutong, is also a major consideration. Tongxing's previous achievements were not within the scope of financing, but they are sufficient to serve as a reference.

Another point that everyone can see is that the policy environment for the cold chain is constantly improving, the scale of cold chain infrastructure construction is constantly reaching new heights, and the guidance and emphasis on the western region have reached a new level. The industry as a whole is accelerating its transformation, and for intensive, environmentally friendly cold chain companies with core competitiveness, it is no exaggeration to say that they are now greatly enhanced.

In recent years, the market's attrition rate has been increasing. Low-level outsourcing, severe homogenization of competition, and cold storage safety accidents caused by sudden incidents have made it impossible for many companies to maintain their current situation. As one sector sinks, another rises. For companies with stronger technology and equipment, more advanced management, and more outstanding talent, seizing market opportunities in this new landscape presents a golden opportunity.

Guan Wentao brought in two partner funds: Oak Fund and Cloud Tide Fund.

However, in the first round of negotiations, the valuation gap between the two parties reached a staggering 15 billion yuan. The investors valued Tongxing Delivery at 14 billion yuan, while Hu Shutong valued it at 29 billion yuan. For ordinary people, these are astronomical figures, but for a company, these numbers are nothing. As early as ten years ago, there were many companies in China with valuations ten times higher, and some companies saw their value increase 500 times in ten years, now reaching a terrifying trillion-yuan scale.

This isn't just data on daily operations; it aggregates the entire value of the company. Essentially, this is Tongxing Delivery's "offer" to investors. And the valuation is just the beginning; it will be further reduced during equity distribution.

If the valuation is 14 billion, assuming Tongxing Delivery relinquishes 20% of its equity, this round of financing will raise less than 3 million. This amount would be a huge boost if used to improve the efficiency of the Tongxing Industrial Park, but it's a significant drop for the establishment of a delivery brand. For example, the construction of micro-warehouses in the plan alone represents a substantial investment.

This is far from Hu Shutong's expectations. If it were 3 million yuan, given the current qualifications of Tongxing Phase II and Yuncheng Phase II, it could be obtained through mortgage loans. In that case, there would be no equity dividends or business interference, so why involve the investors?

Everyone was waiting for Guan Wentao to speak, but he listened from the sidelines the whole time, and the first round of consultations ended in disappointment.

The investors were clearly dissatisfied. For a startup brand without a higher-level corporate backing, regardless of whether it was in cold chain logistics or chip manufacturing, and regardless of its future prospects, a valuation gap of 15 billion was simply outrageous. At the same time, people were also weighing Guan Wentao's attitude. This veteran venture capitalist rarely remained so silent. There were essentially two possibilities: was the offer too high, or were they putting too much pressure on him?

Hu Shutong remained calm. Financing is inherently a game, and it's normal for companies to test the waters. If you don't invest, then try investing in a few more companies. He only adhered to one principle: Tongxing had the ability to minimize risks and the skill to make the envisioned prospects as realistic as possible, so that everyone could profit together.

The second and third rounds of negotiations continued, with the other party's intention being to lower the valuation, while Hu Shutong used this process to continuously emphasize why he insisted on a valuation of 29 billion. As the negotiations progressed, the other party used the same old tactics, while Hu Shutong employed a variety of strategies.

Guan Wentao remained silent, because his attitude towards this round of financing was different from any before. He didn't speak now, nor would he speak later; he simply sat there quietly. Regardless of your gazes, as long as I'm here, you'll all be looking this way, and that's enough.

But as things unfolded, Guan Wentao looked at Hu Shutong with a smile in his heart. He thought, "Don't 'increase your troops to besiege the city' anymore. If this offensive continues, I'll regret asking for 29 billion so low."

At the same time, one has to admire this scene, for everything can be reduced to one thing, and that one thing is humanity.

When you see someone rising higher and higher, you can say it's because they've worked hard and persevered, or you can say it's because they've pursued their dreams. In any case, don't simply conclude that "they're just luckier."

……

Late at night, Tongxing.

Liu Zhiying had something to discuss with Yang Chenghai, but she couldn't get through on his cell phone or landline. When she arrived at Yang Chenghai's office, the door was half open, and the scene inside was quite peculiar.

Yang Chenghai was sitting cross-legged on the sofa, wearing a coat. On the coffee table in front of him were some Go stones.

Before Liu Zhiying could speak, Yang Chenghai turned his head and asked, "It's been over half a month, what do you think?"

"I don't really care, I'll just wait and see. He's got real skills."

"So tell me, how much can we actually raise?"

"What idea have you come up with this time?"

After spending a long time together, the biggest impression Yang Chenghai left on Liu Zhiying was that he didn't like to discuss things with others, but whenever he spoke, it was because he had a very mature idea in his mind.

Yang Chenghai suddenly spread his fingers and slowly moved them towards Liu Zhiying's face. "Is this possible?"

"What if there isn't?"

Yang Chenghai quickly gathered up many chess pieces.

"What if we did?"

He continued to collect the remaining chess pieces until only one black piece remained on the coffee table. If Liu Zhiying was not mistaken, there was only this one black piece on the entire coffee table from beginning to end.

"You're just being deliberately mysterious. I see what you mean perfectly clearly. Just say it directly."

But then Yang Chenghai suddenly raised a finger and said, "If it were this, you wouldn't have said that."

Liu Zhiying's eyes narrowed at first, then she chuckled, "That's impossible. Don't guess. He'll be back in a few days. What happens next depends on the situation. You're thinking too far ahead."

"It's not far at all. All roads lead to Rome, but the roads in Rome are crowded. People walking and people falling behind are in sync. If we walk well, someone else will not walk well, and the person who doesn't walk well will definitely blame us for walking too well, and there will be no shortage of dirty tricks and underhanded tactics. Since that's the case, we might as well just eat it sooner."

……

I've loved cold chain logistics for twenty years.