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Recently, the article “Through the Ruins: The Shared Bike Drama Is Not Ended” blasted the circle of friends. The article mentions a detail. In the ofo story, except for Zhu Xiaohu, the managing director of Jinshajiang Ventures, who made money, almost all investors were planted. Somersault.

In this regard, he clarified in the circle of friends, “1. We are not the last to give the signature page (it is useless, SoftBank has decided not to invest after due diligence); 2. We solicited core investment before transferring the shares. The opinions of people and friends, everyone fully understands our fiduciary responsibility.”

Considering that he had participated in and witnessed the tremendous changes in the shared bicycle world, Zhu Xiaohu couldn’t help but sigh, “Three years have passed in a flash, and I am very emotional! When the basic dust settles today, it is worth reflecting: the founding team drove up to speed up. When rushing down the cliff, as an experienced investor, should you continue to clap on the side, or help step on the brakes?”

Bring the time back to the end of 2017. At that time, rumors about the merger of Mobike and ofo were everywhere. Once the two parties really merged as all parties wished, it will rewrite the pattern of the shared bicycle industry and will not end up selling Mobike to Meituan. , Ofo’s bleak end of hard survival. However, the reality is so cruel, there is no if, let alone a repeat.

At that time, the most active person who matched the merger of Mobike and ofo was undoubtedly the ofo A round investor Zhu Xiaohu. In September 2017, he stated that ofo and Mobike currently account for 95% of the entire market, and the amount of investment has been oversaturated. If they want to make a profit, then the merger of the two is reasonable.

Not only that, Zhu Xiaohu also mentioned in many public occasions that the end of 2017 is the best time for the merger of ofo and Mobike, and may even be the only merger opportunity. Three months later, he said something meaningful, so please feel it:

“Any business merger is very complicated, because there are many, many factors in it, including investors, entrepreneurs, shareholders, and users. All voices are in it, and it’s necessary to balance various Voice, there are many, many benefits that are not so easy to balance. This market merges before it reaches the end of the storm. This requires shareholders to have great wisdom and a big pattern. When the war situation has become clearer, it will be a war of attrition. It doesn’t make sense anymore. It’s a great loss to both parties. Do you need to fight again? This is a very good question.”

In my opinion, Zhu Xiaohu’s statement has three levelsMeaning: One is to admit that it is not easy to promote the merger of Mobike and ofo; the other is to shout to Ali and Tencent; and the third is to work hard to promote the merger of Mobike and ofo. Focus on the third point:

Although the merger of Mobike and ofo is extremely difficult, in order to maximize the interests of their respective teams, shareholders, and users, Zhu Xiaohu strongly urges Mobike and ofo to sit down and discuss various mergers that are acceptable and feasible to both parties. The plan, instead of continuing to fight a senseless war of attrition, will only end up in the end, and this is the result that all parties are unwilling to see.

In fact, Zhu Xiaohu’s heartfelt words express the common aspirations of all ofo investors and even Mobike investors, that is, they hope to facilitate the merger of Mobike and Ofo. According to a report from a Chinese entrepreneur, an ofo investor recalled that almost all shareholders supported the merger, and only ofo founder Dai Wei disagreed. The young entrepreneur assessed the possibility of weakening his power in the future, which he could not accept. Some shareholders complained, “He puts his own rights above the rights of all investors.”

In response to the collective appeals and conscientious suggestions of ofo investors, Dai Wei seemed unmoved and decided to go to the black one by one. “Thank you very much for the capital. Capital has helped the rapid development of the company, but the capital must also understand the entrepreneur’s Ideals and determination.” His statement not only made the ofo founding team and investors face the difference in the company’s development strategy, but also made the ofo investors no longer hope for the merger of the two parties, even to the point of giving up.

So, you will see that the frustrated Zhu Xiaohu sold the shares of ofo to Ali and Didi at a valuation of 3 billion US dollars. Ali took most of the quota, including Zhu Xiaohu’s board of directors and a veto, while Didi only got a small amount. And the article “Through the Ruins: The Shared Bicycle Drama Is Not Ended” is restored to another version:

Zhu Xiaohu sold the stock to Ali + Ant at a 20% premium (equivalent to US$3.4 billion) in the latest round of valuation. The latter spent 160 million US dollars. If the deal is concluded, Ali will not only get a seat on the board of directors, but also a veto power. Didi immediately jumped out to block, exercised the right of first refusal, and bought some shares from Zhu Xiaohu for US$18 million. This prevented Ali’s strategy from fully succeeding-because he held less than half of the shares in the A round, he did not get a veto, but Ali won a seat on the board of directors.

No matter which version is closer to the truth, in fact, Zhu Xiaohu’s original intention was not to cash out, but to merge Mobike and ofo.The shareholders of the new company later, but backfired and unable to change the status quo, they had no choice but to withdraw. To be precise, Zhu Xiaohu tried to protect his own interests as much as possible before Ofo completely slid into the abyss, instead of knowing that the ship of Ofo was about to sink, but still tied to the same ship as Dai Wei.

“The founder has his own choice, and investors must respect the founder’s choice. If you continue like this (without merging with Mobike), we can only sell shares to strategic investors. We are financial investors. , The demands of strategic investors are different from ours.” He once explained why he said goodbye to ofo.

“If Mobike and ofo merge at the end of 2017, there is still room for two or three times (growth) in valuation.” Zhu Xiaohu once said with emotion. It now appears that his judgment was very accurate at that time. Mobike and ofo missed the only opportunity to merge, and what they missed was not only each other, but also a bright future. It’s a pity that there is no regret medicine in the world. If you miss it, you miss it. Mobike and ofo have no room to turn, and they will end up losing both, which is embarrassing.

I think that Mobike and ofo missed the only opportunity to merge. It was not only a turning point in their respective destinies. From then on, they took a sharp turn, and their defeat was doomed; it was the beginning of a new round of great changes in shared bicycles, from Meituan and Didi. Begin to step onto the stage, and with the little-known but quietly rising with the support of ants, breaking the wrist, the new chapter of the story is more full of uncertainty.

The subsequent story is well-known. Mobike sells Meituan, staged common scenes in the playbook of the acquired party, such as the founder’s departure, substantial layoffs, and strategic contraction; ofo’s life is not easy, the founding team quit, layoffs and relocation, and the deposit is difficult to withdraw , Payment in arrears with suppliers, etc., has become a lingering nightmare. Nowadays, there is only a piece of chicken feathers left for shared bicycles. From the sweet pastry that was madly sought after by capital, it has gradually become a bargaining chip for a few giants.

Although the story of shared bicycles is not over, as Mobike changed its name to Meituan Bicycles and Ofo ended disastrously, their stories have come to an end. There will be no more Mobike and Ofo in the world. The protagonist of the story has become Didi, Meituan, and Haro’s “New Iron Triangle”, the shabby bike sharing world has limited imagination, so they opened up a new shared bike track, fighting each other fiercely, and the winners and losers have not yet been determined, let the bullets fly first a while.