Chapter 780 Demons and Ghosts Come to Meet (Two in One)

The overall market in the East, the fierce competitive environment, the uncertain future of new businesses, and the successive reduction of stock holdings in the hands of chairman and senior executives are the logic of Lehman Brothers shorting Yike's stock price.

Since the short-selling report comes from a well-known Wall Street investment bank, it naturally has a seemingly smooth logic.

Among them, Lehman pointed out that Su Wei, Yu Hong, and Zhou Xin, senior managers closely related to Yike Chairman Fang Zhuo, all sold all their shares after the lock-up period.

Many people have unclear judgments on business logic after reading Lehman's report, but when they look at the stock reduction, they immediately feel that this kind of executive action is in line with imagination. If your top management is still optimistic about the company's future development, why not How about continuing to hold it?

The short-selling report is public, the news is spreading, and the influence is expanding.

After a night, Fang Zhuo, who went to work normally, originally wanted to deal with company affairs first, but a steady stream of phone calls disrupted everything.

In addition to Brother Zheng, Lanhua, Lao Xiong, Brother Wang and others who called last night to express concern and offer help, the head of ICBC, the head of Bank of China, Lin'an leaders, retired old man Ni Runfeng and others also contacted today Similar statements.

Everyone generally feels that this is a matter that can be solved with funds. If Mr. Fang is really short of money, too much may not work. If you chip in, you can always squeeze out a share.

Forget it for others.

Fang Zhuo specifically asked Ni Runfeng: "Excuse me, Lao Ni, you are retired and can't even move public funds. How can you get money to help?"

Ni Runfeng replied extremely seriously: "After so many years, I have saved one or two million in pension funds. I am sure you have no shortage of friends. What if the final gap is only two million?"

He added: "My son is in Yike. Although I don't think the problem can't be solved with Mr. Fang's skills, I still have to express my position. When I see my son in the company in the future, Mr. Fang must not immediately think of-oh, Xiao Ni’s father also followed the trend.”

There are easy subjects and difficult ones, and the etiquette is followed in all directions.

Fang Zhuo couldn't help but laugh. Well, Lao Ni's share...

He still expressed the same gratitude as in other calls, and also explained a little about the personal grudge, and finally said: "Old Ni, keep this money, and if I encounter trouble in the future, we can spend it together. "

Ni Runfeng came and said, "It's a deal."

After Fang Zhuo put down his cell phone, he felt that there were indeed many friends who were willing to help. Lao Ni said it more straightforwardly. His son Xiao Ni was still in Yike, so of course he couldn't just watch something happen to Yike.

As for other friends, whether they have joint investment or industrial connections, it is okay to think that nothing will happen to Yike, or to judge that the business map is still stable. Since they are willing to lend a helping hand, there is no need to look into the psychology and stay together. I am deeply grateful.

The most important thing is, how to deal with this matter?

Cold treatment? Heat treatment?

Of course, Fang Zhuo himself felt funny about Lehman's short selling, but his reasons were difficult to make public. Even when he talked to Xiao Su about it last night, the latter was skeptical about the relationship between Lehman Brothers and the subprime market.

Su Wei's feeling is that Lehman Brothers may be affected by the subprime mortgage market, but to what extent can it be affected?

The name of the Wall Street investment banking giant is indeed resounding.

This kind of time-honored brand's move has not only made Fang Zhuo's friends aware of it, but today's phone calls are more filled with interview applications from media reporters.

Fang Zhuo declined all media outlets that could call his number. He also asked a familiar editor-in-chief, who gave him an answer that made him feel like he was in an information cocoon.

What is Lehman shorting Yike?

This is the first case of short selling of Chinese concept stocks in U.S. stocks!

Record breaking!

Who broke this record?

It’s Fang Zhuo who has been on the Forbes Mainland Rich List for three consecutive years!

And, somewhat darkly humorous, the last time the media talked about "short selling" was Mr. Fang's move against Gome in the Hong Kong stock market.

Media reporters have a tacit understanding not to use Hong Kong stocks as a precedent, but only to frame U.S. stocks. Some people have immediately reprinted Lehman Brothers’ short-selling report and typed the words “the first Chinese concept stock to be shorted.”

As a very popular person involved, Mr. Fang’s response was highly sought after by all media.

Even Sina's deputy editor in Shanghai shyly called and asked if he wanted to clarify the matter.

Fang Zhuo was quite unexpected about this situation.

But when you hear words such as "first", "short seller" and "richest man", you can somewhat understand the concern in today's public opinion environment.

However, friends, not every short-selling can be effective. You should not get excited when you hear this word, or think that something is wrong when you see reports from foreign giants.

Fang Zhuo thought so in his mind, considering observing the fluctuations of the stock price and giving some appropriate positive responses.

On August 6th, there were constant calls from morning to night.

At night, those who should have been asked were asked, those who should be refused were rejected, and the phone calls gradually became less frequent.

However, when Fang Zhuo arrived home, a relevant Hong Kong media report was forwarded to the email for review. The media there clearly compared "Yike was shorted by Lehman" with "the 2001 Enron fraud case" .

Enron was once one of the world's largest energy, goods and services companies and ranked seventh among Fortune magazine's "American Fortune 500". At the end of 2001, it suddenly filed for bankruptcy, becoming the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history. case.

Even the prestigious accounting firm Arthur Andersen was involved and was forced to close down.

Hong Kong media cited the "Enron incident" and asked several questions about Lehman Brothers' short-selling report.

——Does Yike have related-party transactions? Is there financial fraud? Is there insider trading?

Tabloids are more unscrupulous and will not have much influence, but one or two major newspapers published Lehman Brothers' short-selling report, and the financial channel on TV quickly discussed it, which gradually increased the doubts.

I don't know whether it was influenced by public opinion or Lehman, but in two days, Yike's stock price fell by more than 8%.

Fang Zhuo thought that this drop was okay, but the company still gave a formal response during the market break, refuting the reasons in Lehman Brothers' short-selling report-Yike has been committed to promoting the development of the Chinese market, leading the transformation of the music industry in the Internet era, and actively expanding the company's new business profit points...

As for the doubts from the Hong Kong media, Yike Company ignored them.

At the same time, in order to show confidence, as the chairman, Fang Zhuo also routinely ended the reduction plan that had not been fully completed.

After the US stock market closed, Yike's stock price rebounded by 4%, which seemed to be a normal fluctuation.

But... Wang Yan of Sina called Fang Zhuo with resentment: "Lehman Brothers was obviously shorting Yike, why did Sina's stock price fall by 10%?"

This really puzzled Fang Zhuo.

Sina is just an honest child, honestly making some outdated portals, studying the profitability of blogs, and operating some foreign games, how could it be accidentally hurt?

Moreover, when Yike's stock price began to rebound, Sina was still in that unlucky state.

Fang Zhuo could only guess: "I saw that Sohu and NetEase also fell by one or two percent. This is not Sina's fault. It may be that the US stock market suddenly felt that the overall signal of Chinese stocks was not good."

Wang Yan felt aggrieved. This was certainly not Sina's fault!

Good things can't catch up with good things, and I will be the first to do bad things!

Following the announcement of Yike, Fang Zhuo did not plan to respond personally, and wanted to let the matter go cold. You short Lehman, you short, you short, you make money by shorting, it's your ability, I Yike will quietly save mobile phones and do business, is that okay?

Two days later, Lehman's answer was - no.

On August 11, Lehman Brothers issued a supplementary report.

To Fang Zhuo's surprise, the content of this report seemed more detailed, and there were many specific operating conditions of Yike's stores in China, with the purpose of pointing out and accusing Yike of making empty promises about the prospects of the Eastern market.

Yike does have its own stores, which served as a regional storage point a long time ago. Later, with the decline of the market, they gradually became superficial and began to take on more after-sales and brand promotion work.

The most surprising thing about Fang Zhuo was that Lehman's examples of different store operations seemed very attentive, even a little too attentive.

A Wall Street giant sent employees from thousands of miles away to conduct field research?

This doesn't seem to be an answer that fits the situation at the moment. Instead, it is very likely that outsourcing or cooperation with mainland investigation companies or even hedge funds was carried out.

Fang Zhuo was a little unhappy considering this direction.

Lehman was crazy, and the media was happy to see him. This is understandable, but how could there be mainland companies following suit?

I, Yi Ke, have been in the world, so I should have many friends.

Soon, when Fang Zhuo asked someone to find out which mainland friend wanted to be embarrassed together, another old friend stood up first and also said that he was not optimistic about Yi Ke's prospects from a financial perspective and wanted to short Yi Ke.

If it were anyone, anyone, such a blatant statement would make Fang Zhuo unhappy, but it happened that Da Huang, who was shorted for the first time in Hong Kong stocks, made such a statement, which really made him...

He laughed three times on the spot when he heard the news.

There is no reason in the world that "I can only short you, but you can't short me"!

Mr. Huang was first restricted in liquidity and settlement cycle, then locked in cash by short selling, and finally had no choice but to accept the opportunity of Chaoshang to buy shares. Now it is normal to give a belated response to the hot word "shorting".

Fang Zhuo gave great understanding to Mr. Huang's actions.

As for the fact that Gome, which is about to die, suddenly jumped up to attack me, understanding is understanding, and it is better to solve it as much as possible.

Fang Zhuo marked Mr. Huang and patiently wanted to see if any friends would jump out at this time.

What he didn't expect was that the competition in the e-commerce field appeared some small movements, whether by coincidence or at such a time.

At the beginning of this year, Dangdang announced that it would increase logistics and warehousing construction, actively expand all categories of business, and strive to participate in the development of the domestic B2C track.

In fact, Dangdang is indeed doing so, showing its determination to develop firmly.

Yiguo has a warehousing center in Beijing, located in Tongzhou, and this area is the logistics and warehousing sector planned by Beijing.

In May, considering the rapid development, Yiguo planned to buy another piece of land for expansion and construction. The negotiation was almost done, but unexpectedly, the latest news was that Dangdang jumped out to use this piece of land for warehousing and logistics.

Dangdang wants to increase investment, yes.

Dangdang wants to expand its warehousing, yes.

Dangdang has connections and connections that can help, yes.

But Qingzi took advantage of this time to come out. It’s not Fang Zhuo who is suspicious, but Su Wei feels that she is being kicked when she is down.

Dahuang can always come out and add insult to injury. What is the relationship between you Qingzi and our Yike side?

You absolutely can't!

Yike Investment holds shares in Dangdang. Last year, Fang Zhuo made a bet with Li Guoqing in front of many big bosses. Calculated, the time is still a little short, but according to the current development speed, Li Guoqing cannot win.

Fang Zhuo didn't even need to tag Qingzi. After listening to the report from Xiao Su, he planned to find a suitable day and bring someone from Yike Investment to collect the debt in person.

However, the continuous changes in the country caused Fang Zhuo to change his mind on how to deal with the Lehman matter.

Cold treatment did not cool things down. Instead, many fields began to rise and fall, so heat treatment was the only option.

In response to Lehman's second supplement to the short-selling report, Yike Company no longer announced a response this time. Instead, it began to notify the media to hold a press conference to respond head-on to the questions from Wall Street giants one by one.

Also, Fang Zhuo felt that since Lehman came to his door like this, it just gave him a reason to source funds.

How do you get the money for your frequent dips in companies?

Earned during the financial crisis!

How do you make money during a financial crisis?

Shorting Lehman!

Why did you short Lehman?

It was Lehman who shorted me first!

So, it’s not me who makes money, it’s Lehman and his brothers who make money!

Fang Zhuo feels that Lehman Brothers’ short-selling report is not difficult to respond to, and he also intends to let everyone see that the matter of “short-selling” is not so mysterious. If you can short me, I can also short you. Just because you have a bigger name, you can’t just Your short selling is all right?

The press conference was scheduled for August 15th, and the media who received the notice had ample time to fly to Shanghai.

The media that did not receive the news started looking for connections, trying to get first-hand information as soon as possible. This is the most concerned event in the domestic business and financial circles in recent times.

On August 14, on the eve of the press conference, in addition to some media reprints, reports, and analyses, the specific news placed on Fang Zhuo's desk was that QQ alumni finally couldn't help but use Penguin Traffic in the competition with the school network. This big killer.

That is to say, seeing that Xiaonei.com has gradually built a solid campus social ecology by using its first-mover advantage and comparable financial resources, QQ alumni gave up the practice of mandatory real-name system and began to introduce huge traffic from strangers, aiming to quickly catch up with the number of users. Super competitor.

Fang Zhuo made a mark, thinking that Penguin had made a mistake in its strategy and that the timing of the change in competition was not very friendly.