AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)06/14 Report--

On June 13, the second Department of Anti-monopoly Law Enforcement of the State Administration of Market Supervision and Administration issued an equity announcement. According to the information, Hubei Star Times Technology Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Star Times") has signed an agreement with Zhuhai Meizu Technology Co., Ltd. (referred to as "Zhuhai Meizu") and trading shareholders to acquire a 79.09% stake in Zhuhai Meizu.

Prior to 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, Huang Xiuzhang's stake in Zhuhai Meizu will be reduced to 9.79%, Taobao China will withdraw from its shareholding and control of Zhuhai Meizu, and Fang Xingji will hold a 79.09% stake in Zhuhai Meizu. Take separate control of Zhuhai Meizu.

Regarding this transaction, Zhuhai Meizu responded: "Starry Times, which is led by Mr. Li Shufu, has signed an agreement with Meizu Technology on strategic investment matters, this transaction still needs to go through the examination and approval procedures of the relevant regulatory authorities, and the details of the transaction are still under negotiation."

According to Tianyan, Hubei Xingji Times Science and Technology Co., Ltd. was established on September 26, 2021, with a registered capital of 715 million yuan. Its business scope includes mobile terminal equipment manufacturing, mobile communication equipment sales, etc., and the legal representative is Wang Yong. According to the shareholding structure, Geely Group (Ningbo Co., Ltd.) is the first-generation shareholder of the Star era, with a stake of 32%, while Li Shufu holds 6.1%.

As for Meizu Technology, he used to be a well-known mobile phone manufacturer in China, and he can even keep pace with Xiaomi in the domestic mobile phone market, but in the development in recent years, Xiaomi technology has its own place in both high-end and middle-and low-end markets. Meizu Technology is difficult to sustain, and gradually lost the scenery of the past.

In 2002, Huang Zhang became the general manager of the Singapore joint venture Aegean Company. In 2003, Huang Zhang left Aegean Company and came to Zhuhai, Guangdong Province to establish Meizu Technology. In the same year, he released the first MP3 product, and then launched Music card and MINIplayer series products to become the top seller in the industry. In 2007, Meizu realized the transition from MP3 to the smart phone era. At that time, Nokia was still the leader of the domestic mobile phone market, Lei Jun had not yet left Jinshan, the domestic smartphone market was still barren, and Meizu became the first pioneer. Meizu began to devote all its energy to the smartphone field in 2008, devoting itself to the development of high-end smartphones, and released its first product, Meizu M8, in 2009, which was the beginning of Meizu's fame. Since then, Meizu has driven into the fast lane, and its fame, sales and market share have been increasing.

In 2010, the culmination of Meizu's glorious history, it began to decline, when Huangzhang decided to retire, and Xiaomi was officially born two years later. In the next few years, the domestic smartphone market started a scuffle, but Meizu did not grow further, but the latecomers came first. In 2012, Xiaomi shipped 7.19 million units, while Meizu shipped more than 1 million; in 2013, when Xiaomi set a target of 20 million, Meizu shipped only 2 million phones.

In order to turn the situation around, Meizu Technology launched a new sub-brand Magic Blue in December 2014, and officially launched the first Mei Blue note phone in January 2015. In February 2015, Meizu Technology and Alibaba Group jointly announced that Alibaba Group will invest 590 million US dollars in Meizu. With the support of Ali, Meizu and its Meilan brand released a total of 25 mobile phones in two years, especially 14 in 2016. This route has indeed brought results. Meizu shipped more than 20 million units in 2016, the highest in Meizu's history.

However, this radical expansion strategy has also brought sequelae. Meizu is facing serious revenue and cost pressure due to investment in channels and supply chains. In addition, Meizu has no hope of hitting the high end, and the middle and low-end market is occupied by Xiaomi and other manufacturers. Meizu's development is in a dilemma. Meizu's share of the mobile phone market has shrunk sharply in recent years. According to BCI, Meizu's market share was only 0.1 per cent in January 2021.

In the context of a sharp decline in market share and poor revenue prospects, Meizu is acquired by Geely or the best destination, but it does not mean that Meizu can rise again. Fundamentally speaking, Meizu, as a long-established domestic mobile phone manufacturer, although its development is not good in recent years, at least it still has the ability to lack Geely's shortcomings in brand, research and development, intelligent control and other aspects, especially in software systems and car systems. Many car owners complain about Lecker car machine system stutter, and if Geely successfully acquires Meizu, not only the problem can be solved, but also more convenient and practical exclusive features can be unlocked. This may be an explicit selling point.

Li Shufu once responded to making a mobile phone: "the mobile phone is a fast iterative portable mobile terminal and an application carrier for electronic product market verification and software innovation. It allows users to share the results of innovation as soon as possible. At the same time, it can transfer some of the safe and reliable results to the automobile application, and realize the close interaction between the car machine and the mobile phone software technology. In the future, it has become a major trend to build a user ecological chain across the border and build an enterprise moat in accordance with the law. Mobile phones can connect car networking and satellite Internet, create rich consumption scenes, strengthen the ecosystem, and provide users with a more convenient, intelligent, multi-screen interactive life experience of the Internet of everything. "

Welcome to subscribe to the WeChat public account "Automotive Industry Focus" to get the first-hand insider information on the automotive industry and talk about things in the automotive circle. Welcome to break the news! WeChat ID autoWechat