DJI's old department broke out as the leader in the portable energy storage industry, but why did it fall into a big brawl of equity disputes?
Written by |Honghai.
Produced by |Planetary Energy Storage Institute.
Recently, according to the Financial Associated Press, it has only sat on the top spot of portable energy storage this yearThe "unicorn" Zhenghao Technology is falling into an "infighting" dispute.
Shenzhen Zhenghao Innovation Technology Co., Ltd. *** hereinafter referred to as "Zhenghao Technology") founder and CEOWang Lei was sued by a number of founding shareholders of the company on the grounds of misappropriation of shares by improper meansAt present, the equity held by Wang Lei has been frozen by preservation, and the case has also entered the trial process.
On the one hand, the former founding shareholders are spitting out their bitternessThe complaint was that Wang Lei's wife first stuffed 6 million founding funds into her pocket;After being beenWang Lei skillfully set up capitalBureau, secretly diluted the equity between flashes and moves, and deceived the founding shareholders of Zhenghao Technology into the listing "table", which made a good means.
On the other side,Zhenghao Technology has not only attracted the favor of many well-known investment institutions, completed multiple rounds of financing, and the valuation has reached billionsWith a market share of 35%, it firmly occupies the first place in the field of portable energy storage.
At a time when Zhenghao Technology is becoming popular in the subdivision track, there are founding shareholders who have filed a lawsuit with the courtThe lawsuit sued its founder and CEO, Wang Lei, for illegally embezzling a large number of shares and revealing that he wanted to immigrate to Singapore.
Founder and CEO of Zhenghao Technology - Wang Lei
From 6 million registered capital to billions of yuan valuation,Turning over and stabilizing Huabao New Energy, Zhenghao Technology, which is about to be listed in the field of portable energy storage with a market share of 35%, is now mired in equity disputes
The "unicorn" overtook the top
Founded in 2017, Zhenghao Technology is a national high-tech enterprise focusing on the field of mobile energy storage and clean energy, with 522 patented technologies. At present, Zhenghao technology products mainly include outdoor power supply, power supply system, solar panels and intelligent equipment, which have been sold in 100+ countries and regions.
No one thought that Zhenghao Technology, which chose to work in the relatively niche portable energy storage track, not only had a rich harvest, but also a fast speed.
In 2017, Zhenghao Technology launched its first consumer energy storage product, River Mobile Power Station, which made Zhenghao Technology only availableMore than $1 million in crowdfunding was received on launch day.
The River range of products is constantly being updated
In addition,Zhenghao Technology and the University of Hong KongBegan to jointly develop low-cost, high-efficiency energy storage technology and management systems, and the two sides carried out in-depth cooperation in the field of energy storage batteries and battery management systems.
Market recognition and technical guarantee have enabled Zhenghao Technology to successfully win the favor of capital.
Only one year after its establishment, Zhenghao Technology completed a Pre-A round of financing with an amount of 30 million yuan, and only a month and a half later, it received a round of financing of 4 million US dollars, and in this round of financing, Penghui Energy, as the head of energy storage, also participated. A year later, Zhenghao Technology once again completed tens of millions of yuan in Series A+ financing.
In the same year, Zhenghao Technology once again played a trump card - the new portable energy storage product Delta 1300. Prior to this, in addition to the River Mobile Power Station when it was first established, Zhenghao Technology also launched related products, but compared with similar competing products on the market, there is no significant advantage, and the market feedback is not idealAt this time, Zhenghao Technology is not struggling on the line of life and death, but it is also facing great pressure to break through.
The newly launched product delta1300 has performed well in both self-charging time and battery capacity, and has also received good market feedback. On the one hand, the soaring sales and product advantages have brought a lot of impact and pressure to Huabao Xinneng's dominant "electric small two", and on the other hand, it has also brought considerable profits and reputation to Zhenghao Technology.
Relying on this, Zhenghao Technology has really begun to gradually penetrate into the domestic and foreign markets.
Global portable energy storage shipments and growth rate
**: China Business Intelligence Network
After entering 2020, with the outbreak of energy storage and the prevalence of camping trends, the development of Zhenghao Technology has also shown a rapid trend. According to relevant data, in 2020, Huabao New Energy ranked first in the market in terms of product shipments and sales scale, and Huabao New Energy accounted for 16 percent in terms of shipments6%, and at this time, Zhenghao Technology, which has only been established for 3 years, ranks behind, accounting for 63%。
In 2021, the progress of Zhenghao's technological development will become louder and louder. In June, Sequoia China, Hillhouse Ventures, CICC and other well-known investment institutions entered Zhenghao Technology, and Zhenghao Technology completed the B round of financing of over 100 million US dollarsIt was also valued at $1 billion during this period.
Although Huabao New Energy is still 23The revenue of 1.5 billion yuan ranks ahead of Zhenghao Technology with a revenue of 1.6 billionBut at this time, Zhenghao Technology is ready for everything, and it has shown a trend of overtaking.
In 2022, Zhenghao Technology's revenue will reach 5.9 billion yuan, and in comparison, Huabao New Energy will achieve revenue of 320.3 billion yuan, so far, Zhenghao Technology has officially achieved corner overtaking. In the first half of 2023, Zhenghao Technology's revenue will exceed 3 billion yuan, and it will sit on the first throne with a market share of 35%.
The market share of portable energy storage manufacturers in H1
**：ggii
With sufficient funds, a big reputation, and a reversal to the top, the march played by Zhenghao Technology, as a portable energy storage "unicorn", was chaotic at this time.
"Fighting for equity" has turned into an enemy
The three founding shareholders, Su Wei, Eli and Hannah, filed a lawsuit in court, accusing the founder and CEO of Zhenghao TechnologyWang Lei embezzled shares in an improper manner in the process of industrial and commercial change and financing.
In August 2023, the Nanshan Court in Shenzhen sealed, seized, and froze more than 5.7 million yuan of property in Wang Lei's name. In November, Wang Lei's equity in Zhenghao Innovation, Haohai Xingchen and Zhenghao Technology was frozen.
According to a founding shareholder of Zhenghao Technology disclosed to the Financial Associated Press, in 2016, Zhenghao Technology (hereinafter referred to as Hong Kong Zhenghao) was registered in Hong KongDue to the preference for overseas markets, there are plans for overseas listing, and Hong Kong Zhenghao at this time is wholly owned by a BVI companyEli and Wang Lei's wife are public shareholdersIn the equity agreement, it is clear that there are 7 shareholders including Su Wei, Eli, Hannah, and Wang LeiWang Lei holds the most equity at 22%, followed by ELI with 18%.
The BVI company's equity agreement specifies the shareholders' situation
**: Finance Associated Press
Each shareholder contributed a total of 6 million yuan, which was held by Wang Lei's wife, who holds Hong Kong identity and has lived in Hong Kong for a long timeWang Lei's wife, without the knowledge of other shareholders, transferred all the shares of Hong Kong Zhenghao to Wang Lei's name.
In 2017, Zhenghao Technology was established, which is wholly owned by Hong Kong Zhenghao, and at this time, there are 7 shareholders of Hong Kong ZhenghaoOnly Wang Lei publicly has a connection with Zhenghao Technology at the legal levelAfter that, when Wang Lei introduced other founding shareholders, he kicked out 1 personAnd by using the establishment of a limited partnership, the voting rights were completely obtained, and the equity of other shareholders was also dilutedWang Lei's shareholding rose to 30%.
Since then, Zhenghao TechnologyA series of industrial and commercial changes and financing are basically led by Wang LeiAfter multiple rounds of financing, Zhenghao Technology's equity changes frequentlyWang Lei made a number of founding shareholders withdraw from Zhenghao Technology through equity dilution, repurchase and other methods.
In September 2021, Zhenghao Technology signed a listing counseling agreement with China Company to be listed on the domestic exchange. At this time, most of the founding shareholders have withdrawn from Zhenghao Technology, and there are no such founding shareholders in the equity structure of Zhenghao Technology.
Zhenghao Technology's listing counseling and filing information publicity
At this stage,Zhenghao Holdings is the largest shareholder of Zhenghao TechnologyHolding more than 27% of the sharesecoflow innovations pte.ltd.It is the largest shareholder of Zhenghao Holdings, holding 99% of the sharesThe ultimate beneficial stake in Zhenghao Technology is 2684%。
It is worth mentioning that exceptFounded in Singapore in March 2023，ecoflow innovations pte.ltd.The company could not find any additional information.
Shenzhen Zhenghao Innovation Holdings*** shareholders
**: Tianyan check
Su Wei once revealed to the Financial Associated Press that Wang Lei had completed Singapore immigration and raised jurisdictional objections. However, since no basis is provided, the truth is unknown.
But if this company has a relationship with Wang Lei, and Wang Lei is close to 30 in Zhenghao Technology5% of the ultimate beneficial sharesThe two hold a total of more than 51% of the shares, and Wang Lei also has an absolute controlling stake in Zhenghao Technology.
It is worth mentioning that many of the founders of Zhenghao Technology are from DJIEven the two companies are located in Xili Street, Nanshan District, so Zhenghao Technology was also called "Xili DJI" when it was first founded, and got the investment of Professor Li Zexiang.
It only takes a few minutes to walk from Zhenghao Technology to DJI's headquarters
Wang Lei, the founder and chairman of Zhenghao Technology, has a background in battery technology, graduated from the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the University of Hong Kong with a doctorate, and takes new energy storage battery technology as the research directionHe was the founder and head of DJI Battery's R&D department.
Eli was previously responsible for global business development at DJIAt CHENHAO Technology, he was responsible for global sales and market development. Su Wei and Hannah are responsible for product design and development and North American market development respectively in Zhenghao Technology.
From eating in the same pot to starting a new stove together, once like-minded and doing business to now-for-tat for equity, is it Wang Lei who skillfully set up capital ** or has another hidden secret?We don't know what is right and what is wrong.
But one thing is for sureThe infighting of the founders is by no means a good thing for Zhenghao Technology, which is in full swing at this stage. Resolving equity disputes as soon as possible, avoiding expanding the impact, and getting back on track are the most important things for Zhenghao Technology.