Recently, the reporter was informed exclusively that the plan of Daimler’s plan to hold a 12% stake in Beiqi has remained in the relevant approval department and has not been approved so far.
On February 1 this year, Daimler signed a strategic agreement with Beijing Automotive Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as BAIC Group), except that Daimler plans to hold a 12% stake in Beijing Automotive Co., Ltd., and BAIC shares in the joint venture company Beijing Benz Automotive Co., Ltd. The company’s equity will also increase to 51%. At present, Beijing Benz’s equity structure is 50% owned by BAIC and 50% by Daimler.
According to the above agreement, after Daimler holds shares of Beiqi, its indirect shareholding interest in Beijing Benz will exceed 50%. Whether the indirect shareholding should be regarded as "breakthrough the red line of the joint venture policy," the competent authorities entrusted relevant industry associations to conduct the agreement. The feasibility study. The survey results show that people in the auto industry generally believe that this change does not meet the policy requirements. This has caused a series of changes to the Beiqi and Daimler shareholding plans to be shelved.
An important step in the overall listing of BA shares by H-shares is to implement control over Beijing Benz and incorporate it into its main business, thereby increasing the attractiveness of BAIC's "profitability". It is difficult to predict the current approval, Beiqi shares may also delay the listing.
Beidaihe challenge policy red line
On February 1 this year, Beijing Automotive Group disclosed to the media “a significant equity change agreement signed by BAIC and Daimler.†Among the “blanket†agreements, the three most important changes were through the purchase of additional shares, and Muller will hold a 12% stake in Beijing Auto, Beijing Auto will increase its stake in the joint venture Beijing Benz Motors Co., Ltd. to 51%, and Daimler's shares in Beijing Benz sales will increase to 51%.
The biggest uncertainty of this equity change agreement is that Beijing Benz’s shareholder change plan is that Beijing Automotive’s and Daimler’s shareholding ratios were 51% and 49%, respectively, and Daimler also held a 12% stake in Beiqi. . As a result, Daimler’s equity interest in Beijing Benz will exceed 50%.
As the proportion of the Chinese auto industry's Chinese-foreign joint-venture production enterprises' shareholdings in the automobile industry must not be less than 50%, whether the changes in the equity involved in BAIC and Daimler can be successfully implemented, the "attitude" of the competent authorities will become the key.
Daimler does not directly hold shares. However, if the indirect equity interest exceeds 50%, can it be regarded as a violation of the joint venture policy of industrial policy? According to the reporter’s understanding, because there is no past experience to learn from, relevant government departments commissioned industry associations to conduct feasibility studies. In the survey, almost all auto companies disagreed with this change of shareholding and believed that they had already broken the policy red line.
Therefore, the relevant government departments have not stated their position on the “Northern Wearâ€, resulting in the suspension of this package of changes in equity ownership.
BAIC Group is making efforts for this purpose. Prior to this, Yan Xiaolei, secretary of the Board of Directors of Beiqi Co., Ltd., told the joint venture company that it only considers the direct shareholding ratio and that the “shareholder’s shareholder†holding status is not within the measurement range.
Han Yonggui, deputy general manager of BAIC Group and general manager of Beiqi Co., Ltd., said that although the above-mentioned agreement still needs to be approved, the relevant automobile industry policy encourages “car companies to become bigger and strongerâ€, so it is expected that the difficulty of approval is not great.
Obviously, the problems encountered in this equity-change agreement are more thorny than expected. The relevant person in charge of the Beijing Automotive Group said in an interview with reporters that at present there is no clear reply from the relevant government departments.
Or delaying the listing process of BAIC
At the beginning of this year, BAW Group's package solution for the change in equity was considered to have completed the perfect operation in the capital market. However, the follow-up approval process casts a shadow on this plan.
In fact, 2013 was the listing year of BAIC Group. After three years of operation, BAIC plans to land H shares at the end of 2013. Therefore, the time left for BAIC to sort out the equity structure has been very limited.
In mid-January, Beijing Benz China's shares have been included in Beijing Auto's shares. After this change of shareholding, Beiqi Co., Ltd. enjoyed the profits of Beijing Benz. This is a crucial step for the Beijing Auto Group’s IPO.
The 1% equity difference determines the financial ownership scope of the joint venture company. The 50% peer to equity ratio can only indicate that the joint venture is the investment income of the BAIC shares. After achieving the holding, Beijing Benz became the main business of BAIC. .
At present, Beijing Auto's main business is only its own brand, there is no profit forecast, and 50% of the shares of Beijing Hyundai should belong to investment income, and non-core business is not attractive to investors. Therefore, the holding of Beijing Benz is of great significance to the “book†of Beiqi.
According to public information, Beijing Automobile is currently the only profitable asset under Beijing Auto, and Beiqi's own-brand passenger vehicle business is still in the early stage of development. "If there is no Beijing-Benz, the high-quality assets owned by Beijing Auto Co., Ltd. are not many. Beijing-Hyundai alone cannot bring good results to Beiqi."
“The key now is the attitude of the NDRC. What is the status of the approval of the three equity agreements and how is the effective date determined? This is an important issue.†A person close to the Beijing Automotive Group told reporters.
According to analysis by industry insiders, the reason why BAIC failed to achieve a listing and Beijing Benz has not been included in the profit statement of BAIC shares, resulting in the overall profitability of Beiqi is not high.
Xing Haizhi, an analyst at the securities and auto industry, said that the biggest problem with Beiqi’s IPO is that the overall profitability is not high and there are not many high-quality assets. "If the successful introduction of Daimler shares, the Beiqi Co., Ltd. IPO's influence and financing scale will certainly have greater growth."
Business behavior and policy game
Before the 12% share ratio could not be settled, there was no new progress in the changes in Beijing Benz. Yan Xiaolei once stated that a number of equity agreements are not related, that is, “whether an approval passed or not is the first to be implementedâ€.
However, according to the reporter's understanding, before Daimler completed its shareholding in Beiqi, Beijing Benz’s share ratio has not changed at present. In response, the person familiar with the matter told the reporter that although the "conversion" agreement between BAIC and Daimler had not been clearly linked, Daimler could not make concessions and change the equity of Beijing Benz.
Although the change in the share ratio has not been settled, the operation of the Beijing Benz sales company has started from last year. Prior to this, the relevant responsible persons repeatedly stressed that the Beijing Benz sales company has completed integration in the channel and organizational structure.
Some analysts believe that Daimler's agreement to lower its share-of-shares ratio may, on the face of it, lose its controlling stake, but Daimler will have greater discourse in the future, both at BAIC and in Beijing, as it has achieved equity participation in Beijing Auto. right.
Obviously, under the pressure of overall listing, Beiqi urgently needs Daimler to become its strategic partner. Whether it is the change of equity or the cooperation of future technology, BAIC needs support from its partners.
In this context, Daimler shares shares in Beiqi, and did not exchange for BAIC Group’s shareholding in Daimler. After discussing the plan, BAIC and Daimler’s “cross-shareholdings†have also become Daimler’s counterparts. Unilateral holding of shares.
“For strategic investors, the 12% share is very large.†The auto industry analyst told reporters: “If Daimler holds 12% of shares in Beiqi, in exchange for BAIC shares holding 51% of Beijing Benz Obviously, BAIC made huge concessions."
For BAIC, the introduction of Daimler is a commercial activity that can contribute to the future development of BAIC, but from a policy perspective, this will have a far-reaching impact on the future direction of China’s automobile joint venture policy.
After 30 years of automotive joint ventures, foreign companies have increasingly demanded more equity, new equity in joint ventures, and sales rights, including breakthroughs in the 50% policy bottom line of vehicle joint ventures. The party hopes to seek more equity in the joint venture process. At this point, policy approval is also seen as the last barrier.
In 2012, China’s auto production and sales exceeded 19 million vehicles, and remained the world’s number four for four consecutive years. Especially in the context of a serious overcapacity in European autos and a time lag in the recovery of the auto market in North America, the Chinese market has become crucial.
Some analysis pointed out that under such a background, the issue of discussing the policy red line has no practical significance. Previously, Li Wanli, former deputy inspector of the Ministry of Industry and Information Industry and deputy secretary-general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, once stated that the Chinese government’s insistence on insisting that the stock ratio of the Chinese side is not less than 50% has so far been still considered by the national industry and competent authorities. To stick to it, there are already relevant documents.
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