95: Chapter 95 The Largest Shareholder in Jingxi

Liu Qiangdong immediately began to calculate.

A valuation of 500 million USD was 3.3 times higher than the previous financing round (when Capital Today invested, the valuation was 150 million USD).

Against the backdrop of the economic crisis, this premium was indeed very high.

But 40% of the shares... meant that Huaxin would become the largest shareholder of JD.com.

Currently, he personally only held about 45% of the shares; after the financing, he would completely lose controlling interest!

"Mr. Huang, your company is investing so much, I want to know... why us?" Liu Qiangdong looked at Huang Tianya cautiously...

"Your company's domestic layout is mainly in the mobile phone industry, and there aren't many internet enterprises... This large investment... I see that the plan is quite comprehensive; you could completely launch another platform and build your own logistics."

"Because what I value is you as a person. Even the best plan requires a qualified leader to lead it to success."

This very straightforward remark from Huang Tianya instantly made Liu Qiangdong's jaw drop.

"I have read all your interviews, speeches, and some publicly available internal emails. You are not the type of entrepreneur who only wants to make quick money; you truly want to create a high-quality shopping platform."

This combination of moves immediately moved Liu Qiangdong deeply. Although he knew these were just polite niceties, after suffering so many cold shoulders, having someone suddenly tell him... "What I value is not your company, but you as a person."

This was nothing short of a life-changing opportunity. If circumstances allowed, he would even have wanted to kneel down and kowtow to him a few times...

Liu Qiangdong's nose soured. Over these years, he had endured too much skepticism and too much sarcasm. This was the first time someone understood him so well!

"JD.com's model is very asset-heavy, and construction is slow, but once built, the moat will be terrifyingly deep. Logistics, warehousing, supply chain... these are all tangible assets, not the hollow traffic of the internet."

"But..." He still had reservations, "40% of the shares is really too much..."

"Mr. Liu, I already said that I am investing in you as a person, so we will absolutely not interfere with daily operations. We only provide money and will not meddle; we might even give you some perks! But we do have one request..."

"Please, go ahead!" Liu Qiangdong immediately let down his guard. If only he had said so earlier; this was truly a god-tier investor.

"200 million USD, with over 80% of the funds to be used for logistics construction. We will station personnel to supervise. Taking advantage of the economic crisis, can you build the best logistics network in China within three years?"

Liu Qiangdong immediately stood up, his eyes slightly red, and then patted his chest to guarantee: "Yes, I guarantee to you that three years from now, JD.com Logistics will definitely be the fastest, most accurate, and best logistics in China. As for this capital, let alone 80%, 100% is fine."

"Good." Huang Tianya also stood up and shook his hand, "Let's sign the agreement."

After reaching a consensus on the important terms, the subsequent negotiations went much more smoothly, though it still took over three hours.

The final terms signed were: Huaxin Investment would invest 200 million USD for a 40% stake in JD.com, with a post-investment valuation of 500 million USD.

Huaxin would not participate in daily operations but would appoint a director to participate in daily supervision.

JD.com promised: 90% of the investment funds would be used for logistics construction, and a logistics network covering major cities would be built within three years.

Chuan Yin Group phones would be given priority for sale on the JD.com platform, and depending on the company's layout, an exclusive sales period might be granted.

The terms were extremely generous. After signing, Liu Qiangdong held Huang Tianya's hand, his voice slightly choked up: "Mr. Huang, thank you... really, thank you. You have no idea what I've been through during this period... sigh..."

"Don't thank me." Huang Tianya patted his shoulder. "If you want to thank someone, thank our boss. It was he who saw potential in you and asked me to invest. Don't let him down."

Liu Qiangdong was slightly dazed. The person before him was actually just a professional manager, and there was a big boss behind him. That made sense... without someone behind him, how could he possibly maintain such a large operation?

After all, Huaxin Investment held nothing but high-quality assets.

... The news spread quickly!

"Huaxin Investment invests 1.4 billion in JD.com, valuation at 3.5 billion"

"The largest single financing round during the economic crisis"

"Who is Huaxin Investment?"

"JD.com officially establishes JD.com Logistics"

These reports completely set the public opinion ablaze.

"They're crazy. A valuation of 3.5 billion, and JD.com is still losing money. How is it worth that much?"

"Did capital's money fall from the sky?"

"I don't get it, I completely don't understand this operation..."

"There really is a madman who dares to accompany Liu Qiangdong in building his own logistics... Just waiting for them to lose everything."

Even the investment circle was in an uproar. Hongshan's Shen Nanpeng called Liu Qiangdong directly to ask about some details of the cooperation, but Liu Qiangdong was vague and brushed him off.

Seeing this, Shen Nanpeng stopped pretending: "Mr. Liu, how much confidence do you really have in this move of building your own logistics?"

"100%, because logistics is the infrastructure of the next 10 years. If we don't do it now, we won't be able to afford to do it later."

This sentence completely moved Shen Nanpeng. Since someone else had invested, he chose to place a bet as well.

"I wonder if Mr. Liu is still short on funds? We at Hongshan have also decided to place a bet, based on a valuation of 100 million USD."

"Sorry, Mr. Shen... The funds are sufficient for the short term. Hongshan can get on board next time."

After saying this, Liu Qiangdong hung up the phone directly! Satisfying!

This was already the 5th call today. Hongshan, IDG... the capital firms he had previously gone to visit were all calling him back proactively.

The price had also been voluntarily raised from the previous 300 million USD to 500 million USD.

Everyone wanted to get on board, but it was too late. If they wanted to get on board next time, it would have to be in three years.

After silencing his phone, the first thing Liu Qiangdong did was to fully accelerate the logistics construction.

Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, and Wuhan—the five major logistics centers started construction simultaneously, adopting advanced automated sorting equipment and expanding warehouse areas.

He began recruiting delivery personnel on a large scale. A new era of e-commerce had thus begun.

... Guangzhou, Transsion headquarters.

Shen Fei looked at the logistics construction report of the JD.com platform and nodded with satisfaction.

"Mr. Shen, I'm still a bit worried." Huang Tianya spoke the truth. "Is this 200 million USD enough for JD.com to burn for three years?"

"Not enough." Shen Fei shook his head. "But it's also enough. Once JD.com Logistics shows initial results, the next round of financing will be much easier."

"By then, other capital will fight to invest... and we can retire with success, keeping our shares is enough."

Shen Fei took out another investment report: "Taobao is mainly doing a platform-based, asset-light model, but the counterfeit goods issue cannot be solved."

"JD.com's platform has product reviews and guarantees; this is an absolute core competitive advantage."

"In the next few years, with consumption upgrades, users will increasingly value authentic products and the experience. JD.com's path is the right one."

"Then can't we let other capital invest? The risk is still a bit high..."