Is it difficult to acquire the influencer economy? Anel terminated its acquisition of a 20% stake in Red Vision

Per reporter: Guo Rongcun Per intern reporter: Liu Zhongning Per editor: Chen Junjie

On the evening of January 19, Anel (002875, SZ) issued an announcement that it would terminate the foreign investment agreement of its wholly-owned subsidiary. The listed company said that the termination of the investment agreement will not have a significant adverse impact on the company's production and operation and future development, and there will be no harm to the interests of the company and all shareholders.

It is understood that Anel originally planned to transfer 20% of the equity of Shenzhen Red Vision Cultural Communication Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Red Vision") for 80 million yuan. Red Vision mainly provides Douyin and Kuaishou platform operation services and content business services.

The reporter noted that before this, several listed companies had not succeeded in their acquisition plans of the same type.

The acquisition was unsuccessful

On January 12, 2022, the board of directors of Anel passed a resolution agreeing that Shenzhen Annale R&D and Design Co., Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, would acquire 20% of the equity of Red Vision held by Changsha Kangzhuo Garment Partnership (Limited Partnership) for 80 million yuan in cash.

It is understood that Red Vision was established in 2013, and its core business and main profit sources are agency operation services, including "IP generation operation" and "brand generation operation". At present, the main customers of Red Vision are Li Ning, Camel, UR and Danskin, etc., and the service content is mainly live streaming, traffic delivery, customer service, store operation, etc.

Anair said that this foreign investment is not only conducive to cultivating the company's new profit growth points, but also conducive to giving full play to the advantages of all parties through cooperation with Red Vision, integrating the superior resources of all parties, and using the experience and resources of Red Vision to help the company conduct live sales on platforms such as Douyin and Kuaishou to enhance the company's profitability.

"Daily Economic News" noted that from January to November 2021, Red Vision's operating income was 76.7872 million yuan and net profit was 9.5612 million yuan (all unaudited). As of November 31, 2021, the company's total net assets were 19.0289 million yuan, which was about 3.8058 million yuan after converting 20% equity, which was a large gap with The purchase price of Anel. However, anel then issued a risk warning announcement, saying that "the company's wholly-owned subsidiary intends to acquire 20% of the equity of Red Vision for 80 million yuan, with a higher valuation." If there is a large change in the future operation of Red Vision beyond expectations, it may lead to a decline in its valuation. ”

On the evening of the 19th, Anel issued an announcement to terminate the acquisition, on the grounds that "in view of the changes in the current external environment, this investment involves changing the main terms, in order to effectively protect the interests of the company and all shareholders, after careful study, the parties to the transaction negotiated to terminate this investment agreement".

Is it difficult to acquire the influencer economy?

In fact, like Red Vision, many of the same type of acquisitions have not been successful.

On the evening of December 3, 2020, Shangwei Co., Ltd. (603333, SH) terminated its purchase of the equity of Chengdu Starry Sky Wild Hope Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Star Wild Hope"). It is understood that Starry Sky Wild Hope is the main body of the famous anchor Luo Yonghao's live e-commerce business operation. Sunway announced its intention to acquire 40.27% of the equity of Starry Sky Wild hope with its own and self-raised funds of 589 million yuan, and according to this price, the overall valuation of Star Wild Hope is close to 1.5 billion yuan. However, according to the financial data disclosed in the announcement, as of September 30, the net assets of Starry Sky Wild Hope were only 51.9248 million yuan.

Coincidentally, on December 30, 2020, Yuanlong Yatu (002878, SZ) also terminated the acquisition of 60% of the equity of Beijing Youhuaguo Culture Media Co., Ltd. Previously, the listed company announced that the equity transfer consideration was 270 million yuan. As of September 30, 2020, the total assets of the target company were 65.4324 million yuan. According to the third-party valuation report, the total equity value of the shareholders of Youhuaguo Media was 454 million yuan.

Why is it difficult for listed companies to achieve their online influencer company acquisition plans?

The "Daily Economic News" reporter noted that the three acquisitions all mentioned the "external environment". From the announcement of Shangwei shares, it was learned that "the national regulatory authorities recently issued relevant new regulations to regulate the live marketing industry from various aspects such as legal filing, marketing directory, and protection of minors." If the new regulations are officially implemented, they will have a greater impact on the development of the live broadcasting industry."

Analyst Wang Qinfu believes that "the sustainability of the internet celebrity economy is difficult to guarantee, which makes the regulator's cautious attitude towards relevant mergers and acquisitions reduce the approval rate of the review.". Independent investor Liao Weimin told reporters that the Internet celebrity economy is vulnerable to policy impacts, and the recent frequent explosion of Internet celebrity anchors has exacerbated the negative impact of the Internet celebrity economy.

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