Author | Hao Meiping Wu zhanguo
Source | Mustang Finance
Founder Group shareholders "infighting" has been upgraded again. On the afternoon of December 10, Zhaorun Investment, a private shareholder of Founder Group, issued another open letter saying that as a shareholder holding 30% of the equity of Founder Group, Zhaorun Investment believes that Peking University Assets unilaterally "took over" Peking University Resources Group, a subsidiary of Founder Group, which will affect Founder Group's resolution of debt crisis and affect stable restructuring.
Previously, as the top two shareholders of Founder Group, Peking University Assets and Zhaorun Investment had litigation disputes over the assets of Fangda Group. Today, the shareholder infighting around the 300 billion Founder Group is gradually incandescent.
Peking University Founder was established in December 1992 with a registered capital of 3.3 billion yuan. Zhaorun Investment was established in 2001 with a registered capital of 10 million yuan, controlled by 6 natural person shareholders such as Li You and Yu Li, and is currently the second largest shareholder of Founder Group after Peking University Assets.
Source: Zhaorun Investment official WeChat public account
The "Big Mac" launched a self-rescue and counterattack
In the open letter, Zhaorun Investment said that Founder Group currently has liabilities of about 300 billion yuan, of which interest-bearing liabilities are about 160 billion yuan.
From 2015 to 2018, the liabilities of Founder Group's Resource Group increased by 55.171 billion yuan, and the inventory and investment real estate increased by 42.524 billion yuan. Zhaorun Investment believes that the huge investment of 42.5 billion yuan in real estate and the huge loss of 20 billion yuan in operation are the root causes of the serious debt crisis that has dragged Founder Group into today's serious debt crisis and is on the verge of bankruptcy.
Therefore, Zhaorun Investment requested Peking University Assets to stop taking over, and this open letter once again made the "infighting" between Peking University Assets and Zhaorun Investment enter a white-hot stage.
In fact, before that, Zhaorun Investment and Peking University Assets had many litigation disputes. In 2004, Zhaorun Investment and others acquired the equity of Peking University Founder through equity transfer, and Peking University Assets sued Zhaorun Investment for this, requesting that the equity transfer be invalidated, that is to say, 100% of the equity of Founder Group should be returned to Peking University Asset Company.
Relevant people revealed to Mustang Finance that this lawsuit does exist, but no specific information has been disclosed.
The debt crisis mentioned by Zhaorun Investment is the debt default problem that broke out in the group not long ago.
On the evening of December 2, Founder Group issued an announcement that the company had defaulted on 2 billion debts, which was also the first debt default of Founder Group.
However, Founder Group's third quarter financial report shows that its total assets are 365.7 billion yuan and total liabilities are 303 billion yuan, while Founder Group has maintained a debt ratio of more than 80% for three consecutive years.
At present, for Founder Group, it is a good opportunity to accelerate "structural reform" or self-help.
Previously, Mustang Finance had learned that CCCC group had wanted to participate in the structural reform of Founder Group, and after CCCC Group, there were several state-owned enterprises queuing up to join Founder Group's "structural reform".
An insider told Mustang Finance that Peking University Assets and state-owned Zhuhai Huafa have conducted restructuring negotiations, Zhuhai Huafa has also done due diligence, and Peking University Assets has obtained an advance payment of 2 billion yuan from Zhuhai Huafa, which is lent to Founder Group.
In addition, the above-mentioned insider said that in August 2019, Peking University Assets and Chia Tai Group also conducted restructuring negotiations, and Chia Tai also made a restructuring plan.
At present, these enterprises only want to participate in the 300 billion Founder Group", another insider told Mustang Finance that Guangzhou State-owned Assets, Zhuhai State-owned Assets, Shenzhen State-owned Assets, etc. have been in contact with Founder Group on "structural reform". However, at present, it is still unknown who will eventually spend this big cake of Founder Group.
Now, just over a week after the debt storm, the "infighting" among founder group shareholders has escalated. The core of the "infighting" is the nearly 100 billion assets corresponding to the 30% equity of Zhaorun Investment.
The battle for hundreds of billions of assets has a long history
Founder Group's infighting has been entangled for years.
As the "largest school enterprise in China", Founder Group has been established for more than 30 years with assets of more than 300 billion yuan, backed by Peking University. In the face of its six listed companies, as well as financial licenses such as Founder Securities, Founder Group has always been a "fragrant bounty".
On December 11, 2017, next to the Zhongguancun Software Park in Haidian District, a "martial art fight" occurred in full view of everyone: "Yu Li, Feng Zhidan and others" on one side; Li Dai, an employee of Founder Group, on the other.
In the absence of helpers, the official seal, business license and other materials in the hands of Founder employee Li Dai were all robbed. Afterwards, Li Dai went to the shangdi police station next to him to report to the police, but it did not help.
Yu Li in the above incident served as a director, executive president and cfo of Founder Group, and the information grabbed by Yu Li and others was the relevant information of Zhaorun Investment.
Zhaorun Investment is a shareholder of Founder Group, holding 30% of the shares, the actual controller is Li You, Yu Li is Li You's college classmate, and entered the Founder Group through Li You's relationship.
Source: Celestial Eye Checker
In 2001, Li You, who left the audit office and spent more than several years in the capital market, met the noble man in his life, Wei Xin, vice chairman of Founder Group.
After that, Li You first joined Founder Technology as president, and then joined Founder Group as CEO. Li You also took this opportunity to pull his classmates in Zhenghang Academy into the Founder Group, and Founder's "Zhenghang Department" gradually formed. When Li You was waiting for Retirement in Founder, in 2015, the "ZhengHang System" that had been operating in Founder Group for more than ten years ushered in a collapse.
Due to the report, on January 4, 2015, Wei Xin, Li You, and Yu Li, executives of Founder Group Company, assisted in the investigation at the request of relevant departments. On November 25, 2016, Li You was sentenced to four years and six months in prison and fined 750 million yuan for insider trading. Yu Li was fined 150,000 yuan.
Li You is imprisoned. Soon after, he was released on medical parole in the name of liver cancer.
After Li You and others were sentenced, the students of the "Zhenghang Department" also successively left the Founder Group. However, Li Youshi's zhaorun investment accounted for 30% of the shareholder Founder Group, and since then, the core of founder group's so-called "infighting" is the nearly 100 billion assets corresponding to this part of the equity. That's why there was a scene of snatching the official seal later.
In the first half of 2017, after inspecting Peking University, the 13th Inspection Group of the Central Committee pointed out in the feedback inspection opinions that Peking University's "school-run enterprises are suspected of losing huge amounts of state-owned assets, and founder group and other school-run enterprises have been plundered by individual former executives through various means to embezzle huge amounts of state-owned assets."
In 2018, Founder Group twice sued Yu Li and Zhaorun Investment to get back the license, and lost both in the first and second instances. After Yu Li and others obtained the relevant industrial and commercial documents of Zhaorun Investment, they countersued Founder Group and demanded the exercise of their legal rights as shareholders.
In 2019, Zhaorun Investment's whistleblowing website was launched, and various reporting materials were listed on the home page, intending to realize the corresponding rights of 30% of the shares.
Source: Screenshot of the official website of Zhaorun Investment Report
In June of the same year, Peking University Assets began to sue Zhaorun Investment. According to the Economic Observer, Peking University Assets filed a lawsuit with the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court, requesting that Wei Xin, Li You, and Yu Li be ordered to invalidate the Equity Transfer Agreement signed in 2004 in the name of Zhaorun Investment and other three companies.
Today, the "shareholder war" held by the situation is not only not endgamer, but also ushers in an escalation. Behind the "infighting" of shareholders, the debt crisis of Founder Group has been on the string.
A $2 billion debt default is just the beginning
Previously, Founder Group's debt default of 2 billion yuan was the first time that Founder Group had defaulted. However, Founder Group's 3rd quarter report shows that Founder Group has monetary funds of 45.4 billion yuan. Why can't 45.4 billion in cash pay off 2 billion in debt?
Informed sources told Mustang Finance that this part of the cash flow is real, but it mainly includes 3 parts, part of which is the cash flow of its listed companies, and some of which is the regulatory funds, that is, the financing deposit, and the real estate pre-sale regulatory funds also account for a part.
However, the $2 billion debt default is just the tip of the iceberg of Founder's debt problem. Founder Group's 3rd quarter financial report shows that its total assets are 365.7 billion yuan and total liabilities are 303 billion yuan, while Founder Group has maintained a debt ratio of more than 80% for three consecutive years.
On December 3, Founder Group held a creditor conference call on bond defaults, at which Founder Group said: Of the 300 billion yuan of liabilities, interest-bearing liabilities of more than 190 billion yuan are bank loans, bond financing, and debt assets; the remaining 110 billion yuan are Founder Securities debt. These debts are maturing around 2020-2022.
The non-current liabilities due in the next year are 17.14 billion yuan and short-term borrowings are 36.58 billion yuan, which also means that Founder Group has greater repayment pressure.
Debt was at its peak, and performance began to lose money. According to the consolidated statements of the first three quarters, founder group's net profit attributable to shareholders lost 3.193 billion yuan, compared with a loss of 62 million yuan in the same period last year.
In addition, the performance of listed companies under Founder Group is not optimistic. Up to now, Founder Group has 6 listed companies, namely four companies listed in the domestic A-share market, Founder Technology (600601.sh), Peking University Pharmaceutical (000788.sz), China Hi-Tech (600730.sh), Founder Securities (601901.sh), as well as Founder Holdings (00418.hk) and Peking University Resources (00618.hk) listed in Hong Kong.
The 3rd quarterly report showed that the four companies listed on the A-share market, Founder Technology and China Hi-Tech, lost 375 million yuan and 1.79 million yuan respectively. The net profit of Founder Securities and Peking University Pharmaceutical was 1.075 billion yuan and 43.37 million yuan, respectively.
The most optimistic Founder Securities, revenue is not optimistic, the first three quarters of the realization of revenue of 4.703 billion yuan, down 24.59% year-on-year; net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies of 1.331 billion yuan, down 50.07% year-on-year.
However, in the previous creditor conference call, Sheng Yuhai, chairman of Founder Group, said: "Since Peking University re-took over Founder in 2015, Founder itself has operated well and has stable profits. Finance, real estate, medical and high-end manufacturing are no problem, the problem is mainly in the headquarters of Founder Group, and the historical burden has a large receivable from the misappropriation of the original executives, and generates a lot of interest. Founder Group began to experience financial pressure in late September, causing a series of subsequent chain reactions. ”
With the debt thunderstorm of Founder Group, the follow-up is likely to stage a "serial explosion". Affected by the debt default, founder Group, whose reputation has been damaged, urgently needs new investors to join and endorse its subsequent operating financing.
However, as of the end of September 2019, founder group's total liabilities have reached 303 billion yuan, and debt defaults have occurred. Under the critical background of the introduction of capital, the escalating "infighting" of Founder Group has undoubtedly brought "turmoil" to the enterprise...
Now that this protracted "shareholder war" continues, who do you support? Feel free to leave a message in the comments section.