The acquisition is confirmed! Geely acquired 79.09% of Meizu’s equity, what is the cross-border linkage？

Recently, the website of the Second Division of Anti-Monopoly Law Enforcement of the State Administration for Market Regulation released the case of Hubei Xingji Times Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Xingji Times") acquiring the equity of Zhuhai Meizu Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Zhuhai Meizu"), and confirmed the acquisition news.

According to the announcement, after the completion of the transaction, Xingji Times will acquire a 79.09% stake in Zhuhai Meizu, but the acquisition amount and specific details have not been announced yet.

According to Tianyancha, Star Era was established in September 2021 with a registered capital of 715 million yuan, and the chairperson is Li Shufu, founder of Geely Automobile. According to the equity penetration chart, Star Era’s major shareholder Geely Group’s shareholding ratio is 32.3%.

What is the cross-border linkage?

Whether it is cross-border mobile phone manufacturing or cross-border car manufacturing, it is nothing new. But Geely’s acquisition of Zhuhai Meizu still caused a lot of "shock" in the industry.

In recent years, the automotive industry is accelerating its development towards intelligent electric connected vehicles. Faced with the trend of electric, intelligent and networked transformation in the automotive industry, traditional fuel vehicle companies have adjusted their strategic layout, increased R & D investment, formulated clear transformation plans and gradually put them into action. Huawei, Xiaomi, Baidu and other information and communication companies have also entered this market.

The replacement of fuel vehicles by new energy vehicles has become a general consensus around the world, and some developed countries have announced a timetable for the suspension of production and sale of traditional energy vehicles. Of course, there are issues such as environmental protection and energy security, but the essence may be as Wu Hequan, former vice president of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, once said at the China Electric Vehicle 100: "The future car will be a giant mobile intelligent end point."

The end point is the "biggest trend". From computers in the Internet age, to mobile phones in the Internet age, to smart TVs in the living room, whoever can seize the largest entrance to the "super end point" is likely to "winner take all" and obtain the greatest benefits.

The "track" of new energy vehicles provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for China’s auto industry to "overtake".

The chassis, engine, gearbox and other core technologies of traditional fuel vehicles have always been the shortcomings of China’s automobile industry, but in terms of core technologies such as new energy vehicles "three electricity", our country’s automobile enterprises have developed by leaps and bounds in the past 10 years, and some fields of technology have ranked among the top in the world.

By actively deploying new energy vehicles, in the future, our country’s new energy vehicles are expected to win the opportunity in a new round of automotive industry changes. If you choose to "lie flat" when the situation changes, it is better than Nokia and Motorola in the mobile phone market, and you can only usher in the cruel reality of the late hero.

Geely joins hands with Meizu, and this cross-border linkage will provide Geely with the information technology "puzzle" it needs most in the new round of automobile industry competition, helping it to occupy a favorable position in the upcoming new round of "reshuffle".

Li Shufu, chairperson of Geely Holding Group, once said that mobile phones can not only allow users to share innovative achievements as soon as possible, but also transfer some of the safe and reliable results to the car, so as to achieve close linkage between the car and the mobile phone software technology.

Therefore, after the Star Era successfully included Zhuhai Meizu in the bag, Geely Automobile will have a significant breakthrough in the application of information technology in the future, and sufficient funds will also promote Geely to bring breakthroughs at the end point of the vehicle system.

What chess is Geely playing?

At the end of 2002, Huang Xiuzhang founded Meizu Technology Co., Ltd. and served as the CEO of Meizu. Meizu Technology started with music players and decisively transformed the smartphone market in 2007, seizing the first wave of development of domestic smartphones. Its operating system is Flyme, which is based on Android self-optimized, and has been well received in the industry. As of 2020, the cumulative number of Flyme users exceeded 100 million.

According to the public announcement, before this transaction, Huang Xiuzhang and Taobao (China) Software Co., Ltd. ("Taobao China") held 49.08% and 27.23% of Zhuhai Meizu respectively, and jointly controlled Zhuhai Meizu.

After the completion of this transaction, Mr. Huang Xiuzhang’s shareholding in Zhuhai Meizu will be reduced to 9.79%, and Taobao China will withdraw its shareholding and control of Zhuhai Meizu. The acquirer, Xingji Times, will hold a 79.09% stake in Zhuhai Meizu, gaining sole control of Zhuhai Meizu.

Star Times public relations official told China Industry News Network and China Manufacturing reporter that recently, Star Times, led by Li Shufu, has signed an agreement with Meizu Technology on strategic investment matters. The transaction still needs to go through the approval procedures of relevant regulatory agencies, and the details of the transaction are still under negotiation.

The person in charge also said that there is no clear timeline for the progress of new high-end mobile phone products. While continuing to increase investment in research and development, the company will build a "moat" and ecosystem through investment mergers and acquisitions, strategic cooperation, joint development and other means according to business development needs.

Can Geely’s acquisition of Meizu become a classic like the acquisition of "Volvo" back then? Reporters will also continue to pay attention.