Wu said that the blockchain learned exclusively from a number of people familiar with the matter that on the evening of December 16th, Zhan Ketuan and Wu Jihan formally reached an agreement. The result of the agreement was temporarily for Zhan Ketuan to mortgage shares, lending 600 million US dollars from Bitmain to acquire Wu Jihan Aspect shares. As a result, Zhan Ketuan officially returned, and the central coordinator was rumored to be Sequoia Capital Shen Nanpeng and others.
Wu said the blockchain was informed that after BTC.com, Bit Deer and overseas mines were split at a valuation of US$90 million, they belonged to the Wu Jihan team, and Bitmain’s other businesses (mining machines, AI, ant pools, domestic mines) Etc.) Belong to Zhan Ke group. A general meeting of shareholders will be held on December 28, but the possibility of another change is not ruled out.
Wu said that the blockchain was also informed that according to the agreement, Zhan Ketuan promised to complete a qualified listing of U.S. stocks before December 31, 2022. The minimum valuation of qualified listing is 5.5 billion U.S. dollars and the listing financing is not less than 500 million U.S. dollars. If it cannot be completed, it may need to invest People buy back and pay interest.
Previously, Wu said that the blockchain has reported six possibilities for negotiations between the two parties:
1. Wu Zhan exits and the management team acquires the shares of both parties
2. Both parties will reduce disputes and go public
3. The company repurchases Zhan or Wu shares
4. External investors support Zhan’s acquisition of Wu shares
5. External investors support Wu’s acquisition of Zhan shares
6. The company is split into AI and blockchain
At present, the agreement reached by the two parties is the third type, that is, the company uses cash to acquire most of the shares of Wu Jihan’s team, but the valuation is less than 4 billion US dollars. Whether it will eventually change, or even reverse again, is currently unknown, but many people familiar with the matter told Wu that the blockchain pointed out that the probability of another change is small. Both parties have promised to properly arrange employees and smooth transition. Part of the business has begun. Start the handover.
Prior to this, there were several rumors about negotiations between the two parties. In early November, it was rumored that the two parties reached an agreement on “Zhan’s return and Wu’s withdrawal.” However, due to the sharp rise in the price of the currency, the valuation increased and the negotiation was deadlocked. Then it came out again that Zhan agreed to Wu Jihan’s acquisition of his shares; A version. It is said that Zhan once stated that he would independently manufacture Bitcoin mining machines. Wu Jihan chose to compromise in order to avoid a “second Yang Zuoxing”.
Related Bitmain investors revealed to Wu said that after the agreement was reached on December 16, Wu Jihan also issued an invitation letter to the shareholders meeting. The letter stated that the company’s short-term debt solvency has greatly improved (in 2019, due to Insufficient solvency and on the verge of bankruptcy), the S19 series has returned to the same industry competitiveness as the S9, but internal disputes are more deadly than external challenges. In recent March, he and Zhan tried to solve the problem, and they were close to reaching a shareholder approval. Agreement. This agreement can help the company go public as soon as possible and allow investors to get returns. It is reported that the general meeting of shareholders will be held in Beijing on December 28.
The timeline of the change of control of Beijing Bitmain Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Beijing Bitmain) is:
At the end of 2018, Wu Jihan ceased to be the CEO of Beijing Bitmain and half-quit the company’s operations. On October 28, 2019, Beijing Bitmain changed its legal person from Zhan Ketuan to Wu Jihan. The reason is that Wu Jihan changed the Beijing legal person by controlling the Hong Kong Bit of Beijing Bit.
On January 2, 2020, the legal person of Beijing Bitmain changed from Wu Jihan to Liu Luyao. The reason is that Zhan Ketuan changed the legal person through administrative reconsideration, so Wu Jihan temporarily changed it to stop it.
On May 8, 2020, Beijing Bitmain changed its legal person from Liu Luyao to Zhan Ketuan. The reason is that the administrative reconsideration of the Zhan Ke group was successful. Because of the operational flaws in the previous change procedures, the Haidian District Justice Bureau requested the Industrial and Commercial Bureau to change back to the state before October 28.
On September 14, 2020, the legal person of Beijing Bitmain changed from Zhan Ketuan to Wu Jihan again.
On December 17, 2020, the two parties reached an agreement that the Zhan Ke group returned to Wu Jihan and withdrew.
After many reversals, the outside world has some speculations about the future trend.
1. What is the reason for Wu Jihan’s withdrawal? Taking back the Beijing Bit legal person to gain the upper hand, Bitcoin skyrocketed and the company’s revenue soared. His withdrawal made some people feel astonished. The following is Wu said that the blockchain integrates various information inferences, and it is impossible to confirm which is closer to the truth.
The first guess is that he wants to be a “ranger” and investor rather than operating a company. He has also expressed this view in many speeches. His idol is Buffett.
The second guess is that he and the negotiating team don’t want the company to continue to fight each other, and going public will benefit everyone.
The third guess is that he is not optimistic about the prospects of mining. In addition to the pressure of Bitcoin halving, the fab has taken too much profit, the advanced process has little room for improvement and the competition is fierce. The last guess is that Zhan had the majority of voting rights (and was later cancelled), and Wu Jihan was not sure of winning in Cayman.
2. What will Wu Jihan do? It may be returning to Matrixport, or forming its own VC, or developing new projects. Some team leaders under Wu Jihan may choose to start a business and get his investment. It is expected that there will be a competition clause in the agreement between the two parties, and Wu Jihan should not be able and will not be a Bitcoin mining machine.
3. What will happen to Bitmain?
First, Zhan’s return has increased the uncertainty of Bitmain. Since 2018, Zhan’s decision-making is sensitive and hands-on, and Wu Jihan runs the company relatively rationally and delegates power.
Second, Zhan will be more aggressive on chip tapeout, and will successively launch higher-performance Bitcoin/Ethereum/Wright/small currency ASIC mining machines, but the uncertainty of quality and stability increases.
Third, as Wu Jihan takes away most of the company’s cash, Zhan and his sales will be very urgent to manufacture new mining machines and sell futures. Fourth, due to investor pressure, U.S. stock listings will soon be put on the agenda, and there is hope for employees to realize options.
Looking back, in its 17-year heyday, Bitmain missed the acquisition of mainstream exchanges and entered the financial sector; Zhongce missed the layout of the upstream and downstream mining industry, establishing ecology and even monopoly; instead, it chose the next strategy, and the investment of the two was very small and the return was huge. “Dream”, everything seems to have been planted early today.
In the finale, some people are ecstatic, some are lost, some are calm, and some are profitable, but the story of Bitmain, its founders, and employees will continue.
