Bitmain's "Zhan Wu War" resurgence
Editor's Note: This article comes fromHoneycomb Finance News (ID: fengchao-caijing), Author: Kyle, reproduced by Odaily with authorization.
Editor's Note: This article comes from
Honeycomb Finance News (ID: fengchao-caijing)
Honeycomb Finance News (ID: fengchao-caijing)
, Author: Kyle, reproduced by Odaily with authorization.
The power struggle of Bitmain is not yet over. Ketuan Zhan, the former director who was expelled from the senior management last year, has successively tried to regain control of the company. Regaining the position of legal representative of the company is a key step in his plan.
According to Bitmain’s official statement on April 29, Ketuan Zhan’s previous application for administrative reconsideration to the Beijing Haidian District Justice Bureau has resulted in the approval of Beijing Bitmain Technology Co., Ltd. by the Haidian District Market Supervision Bureau on January 2 this year. (hereinafter referred to as "Beijing Bit") the decision to change the registration of the legal representative was revoked.
Lawyers familiar with relevant laws told Honeycomb Finance that the company's articles of association do have priority in the selection of legal representatives. However, to determine whether the relevant reconsideration decision made by the Haidian District Justice Bureau is illegal, it is necessary to clarify the reasons for Zhan Ketuan's application for reconsideration. Currently, this information is unclear.
Although Ketuan Zhan used the administrative reconsideration procedure to seize power, the actual result is still full of uncertainty. Bitmain emphasized that the above-mentioned administrative reconsideration results did not decide to restore Ketuan Zhan as the legal representative. According to industry and commerce information, at present, the legal representative of Beijing Bit is still Liu Luyao.
In addition, Bitmain Technologies Limited, the Hong Kong entity that wholly owns Beijing Bit, still has the right to exclude Ketuan Zhan. Bitmain stated that the executive director and authorized representative of Bitmain Hong Kong are both Jihan Wu; the shareholder of Bitmain Hong Kong is the Cayman Company, and the Cayman Company no longer has super voting rights. A fair vote, and Ketuan Zhan has been removed from the Cayman Company’s board of directors.”
From the looks of it, Bitmain led by Wu Jihan has already blocked Ketuan Zhan's seizure of power from the company's articles of association. According to previous data from Bitmain, the company’s revenue in the first four months exceeded US$300 million, and its AI business achieved rapid growth. The changes brought about by Wu Jihan after regaining control of "Mainland" are winning him the support of all parties.
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Bitmain fights back against administrative review
On April 29, a public statement made by the chip giant Bitmain attracted the attention of the outside world. After Ketuan Zhan, the former chairman of the company, was dismissed from all positions last year, the power struggle triggered by infighting has come to an end.
In October last year, after Ketuan Zhan was expelled from the management of Bitmain, the legal representative of Beijing Bitmain was also changed from Ketuan Zhan to Jihan Wu. On January 2 this year, BBT again changed its legal representative from executive director Wu Jihan to general manager Liu Luyao. According to Bitmain, the reason for the change is to further improve internal management efficiency.
Since then, Ketuan Zhan has been trying to regain power through legal means, and the lawsuit has been fought all the way from Beijing and Fujian to the Cayman Islands.
Bitmain’s statement on April 29 revealed that on February 12 this year, Ketuan Zhan filed an administrative reconsideration with the Haidian District Justice Bureau, applying to revoke the change of the legal representative and restore himself as the legal representative. On April 28, the change was revoked, but Bitmain emphasized that Ketuan Zhan was not restored as the legal representative.
On May 2, Honeycomb Finance checked through the national enterprise credit information publicity system, and Liu Luyao is still the legal representative of Beijing Bit.
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As of May 2, the legal representative of Beijing Bit is still Liu Luyaojin
In Bitmain’s view, the selection of corporate legal persons is very important to the survival and development of the company. According to the relevant provisions of the "Company Law", the shareholders of the company have the right to replace the legal person of the company. "It needs to be emphasized that the final appointment and dismissal rights of Bitmain's legal person belong to shareholders, not any administrative agency or individual."
Therefore, Bitmain questioned the result of the administrative reconsideration, arguing that the Haidian District Judiciary Bureau used administrative power to "brutally interfere with corporate autonomy", and the company will file an administrative lawsuit against this.
Lawyers who are familiar with relevant laws told Honeycomb Finance that according to Article 13 of my country's "Company Law", the company's legal representative shall be the chairman, executive director or manager in accordance with the company's articles of association, and shall be registered in accordance with the law. priority in the determination of candidates."
Regarding whether the Haidian District Judicial Bureau violated the law, the above-mentioned lawyer stated that according to Article 28 of my country's "Administrative Reconsideration Law", the judgment needs to be based on whether there are unclear main facts, insufficient evidence, wrong application basis, violation of legal procedures, etc. "Because Ketuan Zhan's reasons for applying for reconsideration are not very clear, whether the application meets the acceptance conditions cannot be determined, and it is still unclear whether the relevant reconsideration decision made by the Haidian District Justice Bureau is illegal."
Beijing Bit Controversy Still Depends on Voting Rights
This is not the first time Ketuan Zhan has tried to seize power by legal means. In October last year, Jihan Wu replaced Ketuan Zhan as the legal representative of BBT and dismissed him from all positions in the company. Afterwards, Ketuan Zhan filed an administrative lawsuit with the People's Court of Haidian District because he dissatisfied with the decision of the Haidian District Market Supervision and Administration Bureau to change the registration with industry and commerce. According to the announcement on the Beijing Court Trial Information Network, Ketuan Zhan filed a withdrawal of the lawsuit on November 14 last year. Zhan applied for administrative reconsideration before withdrawing the lawsuit.
Judging from the current industrial and commercial information, the legal representative of Beijing Bit has not changed. Judging from the "Company Law" granting enterprises the right to set up their own articles of association, Zhan needs an equity advantage if he wants to return to the pinnacle of power.
According to Qichacha information, Beijing Bit is a wholly-owned holding company of Bitmain Technologies Limited (hereinafter referred to as "Hong Kong Bit"), the main body of Bitmain Hong Kong. In other words, the sole shareholder of Beijing Bit is Hong Kong Bit.
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Bitmain emphasized in the statement that the executive director and authorized representative of Bitmain Hong Kong are both Jihan Wu, and the shareholder of Bitmain Hong Kong is the Cayman Company, and the Cayman Company no longer has the setting of 10 times the super voting rights, " All shareholders have one share, one vote, fair voting, and Ketuan Zhan has been removed from the Cayman company’s board of directors.”
Previously, when Bitmain planned to list in Hong Kong, it was disclosed that Ketuan Zhan had 59.6% of the voting rights. However, in November after the opening of "Zhan Wudou" last year, Bitmain held a general meeting of shareholders and canceled Ketuan Zhan's voting rights. This also led Zhan to file a lawsuit in Cayman to get his voting rights back.
According to people close to Bitmain, Zhan only indirectly holds 36% of Bitmain’s shares, and five shareholders including Wu Jihan formed a unified camp, owning more than 50% of the shares.
Whether in terms of shareholding or voting rights, Ketuan Zhan obviously does not have an advantage. This may be why Bitmain dared to say in the statement that "Even if Ketuan Zhan is wrongly registered as the legal representative of Beijing Bitmain, Hong Kong Bitmain can remove him again according to law." It can be seen that Bitmain, where Jihan Wu is back at the helm, has already reduced the possibility of Ketuan Zhan's return at the level of the company's articles of association.
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Beijing Bitmain is only one of dozens of subsidiaries inside and outside Bitmain. Bitmain stated that even if Ketuan Zhan is mistakenly registered as the legal representative of Beijing Bitmain, it will not have a major impact on Bitmain's normal domestic and overseas operations.
Not long ago, it was reported from inside Bitmain that its revenue in the first four months of 2020 exceeded 300 million US dollars, and the layout of the mines has been further expanded. Currently, four mines are under construction or renovation. In addition, the AI business is also growing rapidly.
Compared with the history of loss of 310 million US dollars in the first quarter of last year, Bitmain is recovering interest.
It is worth noting that the AI business was the field dominated by Ketuan Zhan before. According to media reports, after the structure adjustment of Bitmain's AI business, the third-generation cloud AI chip BM1684 has begun mass production and shipment, achieved breakthroughs in several major customers, and received the final payment of tens of millions of orders. The AI chip BM1686 is also being upgraded. The third-generation cloud AI chip BM1684 was developed by Zhan Ketuan. On September 17 last year, a conference was held for this product.
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Last year, Bitmain released the BM1684 chip
