After his divorce, Wang Wei welcomed the dawn of his company's listing. Last August, Tudou completed its fifth round of pre-IPO financing worth 50 million US dollars, and then submitted its application for listing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on November 9.
Yang Lei refused to disclose the details of the cash compensation agreement. She said that accepting cash compensation was due to her desire to quickly obtain her due property, and she did not want to delay Tudou's IPO further.
The court accepted the litigation request and froze the shares held by Wang Wei.
The time cost entanglement of divorce
Appendix_Tudou Divorce Gate Incident
This was interpreted by public opinion as Wang Wei "redeeming himself" to eliminate the unstable factors of Tudou's listing. However, the cost was very expensive, far exceeding the range of 10 to 20 million RMB guessed by industry insiders.
Tudou is waiting while adjusting its strategic direction. At last Friday's staff meeting, Wang Wei proposed that although Tudou would not reduce its investment in long video copyrights, it would establish a competitive barrier in the traditional advantage areas of self-produced content and user-generated content (UGC).
Ying Jianren and Yang Lei's divorce dispute has strongly attracted attention. This two-year divorce entanglement even led to Tudou being blocked from going public, missing a good opportunity; the investment community even added an assessment of the entrepreneur's family situation in the due diligence investigation because of this.
"He (Wang Wei) is a literary youth, and so am I," Yang Lei said. Perhaps this is the most concise footnote to this divorce dispute.
In April 2011, Tudou resubmitted its IPO application.
In October 2010, Yang Lei filed a lawsuit for property division after divorce, demanding
In early this month, this unprecedented dispute in the industry finally came to an end, with cash compensation becoming the final solution. According to informed sources, after a long stalemate between the two sides, Yang Lei suddenly increased her demand to 7 million US dollars in compensation, which Wang Wei immediately accepted.
The day after Tudou disclosed its IPO application information, the Xuhui District People's Court of Shanghai froze the shares of three companies owned by Wang Wei, affecting Tudou's IPO process because this content was not included in the previous application.
Regardless of whether Yang Lei deliberately obstructed, it has actually made Tudou pay a considerable price. The current timing for listing is no longer ideal compared to the first half of the year. Since June, concerns about internet valuations, scandals of Chinese concept stock frauds, and the control rights dispute over Alipay VIE have叠加 multiple factors, making investors more risk-aware towards Chinese concept stocks. The European debt crisis and the tightening of liquidity in the United States also make market valuation cautious.
However, Tudou still does not have a clear timetable for its IPO. Tudou is preparing for both scenarios: if the capital market environment remains stable in the near future, it can list in July. If it needs to wait longer, since August is the concentrated vacation period for American institutional investor fund managers, the IPO may need to be postponed further.
Chinaventure Chief Analyst Li Weidong believes that Tudou may have missed the optimal valuation window due to related disputes. Due to similar businesses, Youku and Tudou's valuations will also influence each other.
Lawyer You Yunting from Dabang Law Firm believes that technically, Wang Wei could continue the lawsuit and has a high chance of winning. He pointed out that the equity owned by Wang Wei was obtained before marriage, and according to the judicial interpretation of the Shanghai Higher People's Court, it should be considered pre-marital property and does not need to be divided, "It is obvious that Wang Wei considered the issue of the IPO window period and could not afford to delay any longer."
In November 2010, Tudou first submitted its IPO application, at the same time Yang Lei
In June 2011, both parties reached a cash compensation mediation agreement
According to him, Wang Wei needed to borrow money from his friends and partners to make the advance payment. Wang Wei had already delivered the first installment of 3 million RMB on that day.
Both parties have different statements, but time cannot wait. After a two-year delay, they reached an agreement in April this year to finally resolve the dispute through cash compensation.
Xu Jieyun
From claiming equity to accepting cash compensation, Yang Lei explained to the First Financial Daily, "This is my due part." She said that such a choice was understanding that Wang Wei regards Tudou as his child, knowing how important controlling the equity is to him. She also said, "I don't want to hurt him anymore (delay Tudou's IPO process), and Tudou's IPO also relates to my obtaining compensation."
Wang Wei remained silent on this as well, and he still has many issues to face. Tudou finally removed the instability factor of going public after reapplying for IPO, returning to the original point of last November, but the current capital market atmosphere is not as ideal as before. He and the employees of Tudou still need to wait for the right opportunity.
At that time, according to the court judgment, Wang Wei paid Yang Lei 100,000 RMB first. It is said that Wang Wei did not have much assets at that time, "Apart from the house his parents paid off the down payment for him years ago, his personal cash assets were at most less than 200,000." A friend of Wang Wei said. At that time, Tudou was still in the loss-making development phase, and Yang Lei had no objections.
"After the divorce, Ying Jianren, I waited for nearly 8 months, and he did not give any explanation," Yang Lei said. On the other hand, Wang Wei did not receive any specific demands from Yang Lei either.
Actually, during the last submission of the application, there were other factors that hindered Tudou's listing. Firstly, Tudou and Youku used different accounting standards, but since Youku went public first, Tudou was required to modify them to be consistent with Youku; secondly, some former executives of Tudou made comments about the IPO during the quiet period, and Tudou was also required to explain to the SEC.
Just when they were about to become the first independent video website listed in the U.S., they encountered an unexpected interception at the last moment.
"The hardships we are facing now will become beautiful memories in the future," Wang Wei said to the employees, "All our strategies now are offensive. We are a group of pirates in the Caribbean, and the entire market is full of pirates. Fast is better than slow, and we do it to win."
A person close to Tudou believed that the current market conditions in the U.S. would not fundamentally affect Tudou's listing in the U.S., "The 'Chinese concept stock fraud crisis' basically only appears in companies that go public through reverse acquisitions. Capable companies will still be welcomed by capital. When Youku went public last year, the market was not particularly hot either."
Halfway through, the interceptor was Yang Lei, who filed a marital property lawsuit with the court, not seeking monetary compensation, but requesting the division of equity first. She applied for the preservation of "38% of the equity under Wang Wei's name," including Shanghai Quandou Network Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Shanghai Quandou"), which owns the administrative license required for business operations. Shanghai Quandou is crucial for Tudou's IPO. Wang Wei holds 95% of the controlling equity, of which 76% involves marital joint property issues.
Wang Wei has always been silent about his private affairs. During the two-year litigation period surrounding the divorce and subsequent property division, he only appeared in court twice.
It seems that Wang Wei's patience has almost run out. Informed sources revealed that after April, Yang Lei did not report a price until June 10, when she suddenly proposed a compensation requirement of 7 million US dollars in court, which Wang Wei immediately agreed to.
"Our current tribulations will become beautiful memories in the future," Wang Wei told the employees, "All our strategies now are aimed at offense. We are a group of pirates in the Caribbean, and the entire market is full of pirates. Speed is better than slowness, and we act to win."
An insider close to Tudou believed that the current market conditions in the U.S. would not fundamentally affect Tudou's listing in the U.S., "The 'Chinese concept stock fraud crisis' basically only appears in companies that go public through reverse acquisitions. Capable companies will still be welcomed by capital. When Youku went public last year, the market was not particularly hot either."
The shares of three companies in Tudou's structure
Related thematic articles:
Ying Jianren Wu Jianzhong Mom took you to the hospital for the seventh prenatal check-up
Ying Jianren Wu Jianzhong A
Tongfeng Zhongtai Standard Introduction Interface