The first and second group buying companies merged together

The public comment Network is becoming a new focus-not because of the upcoming IPO, but because of the ongoing scandal with the Giants.

October 28, according to Shenzhen Electric Shock E-commerce company founder Shangxiang, "Suning in joint Hong Yi 420 million U.S. dollars acquisition pplive, now is and the public comments on the acquisition, allegedly also talked about." ”

A few days ago October 24, a media report said, from the public comment on the investment of Sequoia Capital to get news, the public comment on the network and Baidu is in negotiations, to discuss Baidu to buy about 2 billion U.S. dollars price of the public comment network matters. The public commented on the rapid denial of the rumor, while another party to the scandal Baidu ambiguous said "no comment."

In the past 2013, the mobile internet has undergone a series of capital integration, the second echelon of enterprises (Sina Weibo, Gould, UC, 91) has been nationalized under the giant, which makes the public comments in an unprecedented complex and delicate industrial situation. In this way the Giants are using capital for the future layout of the situation, focus on connecting users and offline merchants of the public comment on the value highlighted, became the coveted sweet cakes.

Core value

2013 mobile Internet many mergers and acquisitions and shares of the background is the giant for the mobile channel scramble, but objectively speaking, the public comments in fact is not a UC or 91 of the size of the flow of large, then he was the giant coveted the core value of what?

The first is to continue to 10 years of cultivation online under the threshold of the accumulation of merchant end. As we all know, the so-called O2O is the most difficult to do is the line of the semicircle, products, payments can be built in a short time, but to win the trust of merchants and in millions of of businesses to build word-of-mouth and identity is far from internet companies to obtain users so easy. After all, the concept of the Internet can be said the hype, but to the cooperative merchants that, the demand may be two words: "You are not really understand me, with your cooperation can bring me what benefits?" ”

In fact, the mass reviews have done a lot of work around the merchant side in the past year, whether the card has tens of millions of electronic membership card or recently with the implementation of some of the online booking system, are in the way of the Internet to help businesses do marketing, this in the merchant side of influence and identity is not a short-term can easily be replaced.

The public reviews Another core value is the user's habits.

We often see such examples in the Internet world, some seemingly good products, promote the application of money in the end is halberd in the market, many times lost to the opponents of the user habits. In the smartphone era, looking for restaurants to see the public comments has become a lot of users of the habit of subconscious, although once a gold map also tried to integrate a variety of businesses in the application of the comments information, I hope that the map as a unified entrance let users eat and drink in the map of the whole solved, But it's hard for users to get into the habit of opening maps and finding restaurants.

Online merchant end of the accumulation and user years of formation of the review habits let the public comments have and other flow-type companies have different advantages, and these offline advantages are almost all bat (Baidu, Ali and Tencent) do not have, if there is a relatively stable industrial environment, so that the public comments around the line merchants do deep and big, To become the most valuable internet company for millions of of merchants, it is naturally the best choice for an independent listing. But over the past year the complex and subtle industry and capital changes have made the public comment on this node to seriously think about their future.

The embarrassment of public comment

The merger and acquisition of the capital level in the 2013 is like toppling a domino, although the public comment is not directly in it, but after a series of capital hit the ball, industry pressure has been to it head-on.

The first is the capital pressure, which is, in fact, the deep reason why many mobile Internet two or three-echelon companies chose to be bat-bought this year. For the public comments, although the beginning of 2008 has been profitable, but the 2011 group purchase market changes in the whole industry under pressure, the public comments have to choose to continue to expand the financing in 2012 market share, but now the U.S. capital market is still continuing to slump, in the stock is frequently questioned, At least in the near future is not a good time to go public. Public Comment Network CEO Zhang in the recent interview expressed the hope that the independent IPO in 5 years, only the profit-seeking capital may not have such a long-term strategic vision, then investors to seek exit, nature would like to have large companies with mergers or acquisitions of the way to take a stake.

The second is the pressure of industrial environment change. In the Giants around the flow of the war basically come to an ending, mobile internet traffic resources increasingly to bat and 360 of such companies gathered, the public comment on the network faced with more complex competition, choose to work with a traffic giant to become the most plausible choice. In fact, this is also some media think the public comment will be put into Baidu such a flow of the logic of the giant embrace. However, if you carefully analyze the mass comment on the flow structure will find that the public comment on the demand for Baidu may not be so strong. According to the public comments insiders revealed that the increase in flow costs on the impact of the public comment is not as big as the outside imagination, the current mass comment network flow composition, more than 60% from its own flow, through the search brought about 10% of the flow.

Compared with the flow rate, the low gross profit margin of the group buying business is the most difficult problem. According to group buying industry sources, the whole group buying market low gross margin of the fierce competition has seriously affected the healthy development of the industry. In 2012, the group purchase industry's gross profit margin can still reach about 8%, and this number has fallen to 5% this year. Whether it is the public comment or the United States, if you want to continue to develop, must think how to let group buying business across the current inefficient competition stage.

In any case, facing the fierce competition within the industry and the huge changes in the industry environment in the past year, the public comments as a business is destined to be very heavy local life service company, if one side in the local life market and the United States and other competitors fierce fight, the other side of the strategic space is the giant slowly Will be in the most dangerous charybdis situation. To seek a stable strategic, to concentrate on fighting a war is to become a public comment on the choice that must be made.

into whose arms?

In such a situation, the public reviews if you want to guarantee the interests of investors, but also for their own to create a continued local life in the field of deep cultivation conditions, the easiest choice is with the flow of the giants of one of the cooperation, focus on the establishment of the online business services. Along the way, Baidu, Tencent, Ali, 360 or even Su Ning (at least to solve the problem of funds) will become possible partners, but for the public comments on the current billions of U.S. dollars in the valuation, the Giants have the power to take over the size of the large, and more importantly, there is no time to come up with so much money

In fact, the public comment on the embrace of the giant in addition to another bolder choice, that is--and the United States Group merger. If this thing really happens, then the new company will be in the domestic group buying and local life market occupy absolute dominance, according to the group 800 released in August 2013 Group Purchase Market report, the mass Comment Group and the United States network in the one or two line market coverage of 41.95% and 33.22% respectively, The two add up to occupy more than 75% of China's one or two coil market share, The sum of the total amount of a single month and more than 2.5 billion RMB (mass comment Group 925 million, the United States Group Network for 1.651 billion), public comments on the one or two-line city deep cultivation for many years of influence plus the U.S. network in three-tier city coverage will not only create a new mobile internet giant based on O2O, will also end the group buying industry low gross margin cut meat competition of the tragic situation, driving the entire industry to more mature Stage development.

Time back more than a year ago, video website boss Youku and its most powerful competitor Potato announced the merger, the video website market appears the absolute leader, today, this not only ends the domestic video website to sell the copyright cut meat Competition's savage stage, The new Youku Potato Group, which no longer worries about market share, can also devote more resources to home-grown content and to developing these more valuable strategic directions to the mobile side, in the long-term vision of the strategy, only to today to "Xiao said", "logical Thinking", "never thought of" a number of domestic video site self-made content of the flowers.

Although the merger of the United States network and the public comments is a good thing for the development of the industry, but at the same time it faces an obvious practical difficulty: not to say that the United States and the general public comment on the competition in the field, and more importantly, Ali as a shareholder of the United States Regiment, it is difficult to imagine it will tolerate public comments and the United States Regiment to become a new mobile internet, But if it is in Baidu or Tencent to the public comment on the continued competition under pressure?

In fact, the general public comments CEO Zhang and the United States Network CEO Wang once had a long chat, it was in July this year, the 2013-year Geek Park Mobile Internet Innovation Conference. They went on stage to speak, then chatted under the stage, and then continued to talk in the guest lounge, finally Wang even decided to take the same flight to Shanghai with Zhang. What they talked about in those hours in the clouds is out of the question, but it's a lot of reverie, especially in today's internet landscape.

Among the many CEOs in the Internet Circle, Zhang is a low-key but vision person, otherwise it is difficult to lead his team to work for 10 years in a field full of dirty living dirty. So he did not choose to buy the concept of the rise, Groupon, Yelp and other companies to go public with the concept of the IPO, but continue to finance the group buying business and local life to do a solid, seeking to more than five years to become a strong local life service provider independent listing.

On the other hand, the public comment is not a capital overhead company, according to Zhang Public disclosure, the public comments the founding team and management currently occupies more than 50% of the equity.

In fact, for the public comment, if you join bat any one of the camp, it is difficult to ensure that the future company will be in their own ideal direction to go forward, this is any want to make a difference in the heart of the CEO of the deepest knot.

As UC excellent as chairman of the Yu when he refused to buy Baidu 2 billion U.S. dollars said, "Around the future layout, Baidu has too many want to help him to support the UC, help him to the landing, help him to complete things." However, many Baidu that strategic priority is higher than the things that UC today to focus on the direction of development. Any pursuit of the mobile Internet 2nd Echelon Enterprise, in the face of the bat out of the capital Olive branch, mood is complex, many times the acquisition means to obtain a large amount of cash, but also means the collapse of the dream. At least it has become a tool for the realization of the giant's dream, and for any founder who wants to make a difference, his heart will be a bit unwilling. ”

Refused to be acquired, independent development is the need for strength and courage, then the public comments and the United States to abandon the hatchet together to become a mobile internet a new pole of possibility?

The first obvious advantage is that the two sides do not have to buy this is already very "hard" field for the marching of the market. It is known that group buying is a very low margin of the industry, on the one hand, the same quality of the site group purchase competition, on the other hand, because the current stage of the group can bring the marketing value of the merchant is limited, if two mergers, eliminating the duplication of resources consumption, can more energy and resources on how to help businesses do marketing, will also make the entire group purchase service level and profit margin pull a new level.

On the other hand, as the top two of the group buying market, the United States and the public comment on the fact has gradually been away from the homogenization of competition, more and more complementary parts of the two sides. Take group buying business, the U.S. regiment covers a wide range of cities, especially in the two or three-line city rapid expansion. While the public comments on the one or two-line city of the United States to dig deeper, according to the latest data, its coverage of 37.72%, higher than the U.S. regiment about 5.5%.

And in the company strategy, the United States by virtue of its business in the film purchase of the advantages of a separate application of "cat's Eye film", which means that the United States Regiment has been in the territory outside the group, into the vertical subdivision of the industry began O2O exploration. At present, in the "Cat's Eye movie" Outside, the United States Regiment also began to exert force in the hotel field, to buy as the center began horizontal development. Accordingly, the public reviews by virtue of its accumulation in the field of food for many years, then in the longitudinal extension to the O2O, the merchant's marketing do deep do a solid. In the last year, the public comments on the information, group buying, but also has launched an electronic membership card and booking business. It can be said that according to this development momentum, there is no direct competition between the two families in many aspects.

If combined, it would be a 1+1>2 option that could become another pole of the Chinese Internet Bat Trio. This is not only beneficial to each other, it will also enrich China's Internet ecology. After all, in a healthy business environment, every new historical stage of industrial change will be born a new giant, sometimes, to create a legend or a sigh after many years, really only in the light of a flint.