中
国本土互联网巨头正在通过投资的方式进军硅谷。这些中资公司在中国以外市场基本没有消费者业务，目前他们正在大举投资美国初创公司，以期了解难以进入的美国市场并最终在那里获得立足点。据知情人士透露，本周社交网络和游戏公司腾讯控股有限公司(Tencent Holdings Ltd. HK:700 -0.72% )寻求领投炙手可热的美国讯息应用公司Snapchat Inc.一轮规模2亿美元的融资。
腾讯的投资对这家公司的估值可能为40亿美元，这家公司成立仅两年，尚无营收。
Bloomberg News
8月14日，洛杉矶威尼斯海滩，人们在Snapchat公司总部前拍照。
中国拥有6亿使用者的强大互联网市场长期以来一直“闭关锁国”，因为审查制度将国际竞争者拒之门外，这助推腾讯和阿里巴巴这样的中资公司成长为全球科技巨头。腾讯的市值超过1,000亿美元，阿里巴巴正计划进行首次公开募股(IPO)，此次IPO对该公司的估值可能也在这一水平。然而，近些年面对激烈的市场竞争，这些公司的增长速度放缓，规模最大的几家公司已经开始在海外寻找新的机会。
为了进入美国市场，中资公司不仅通过投资，还采取了其他措施来挖掘进入硅谷严密网络的路径。
这些中资公司聘用了少数人脉较广的银行家和高管，来为他们提供指引。今年10月份，阿里巴巴建立了一家总部设在旧金山的美国投资公司，由Michael Zeisser领导，Zeisser曾供职于Liberty Media Corp.和麦肯锡公司(McKinsey)。中资公司的投资兴趣助涨了美国初创市场的估值泡沫，初创公司的创始人即使不需要那么多钱，也在对积极的投资意向加以考虑。
腾讯总裁刘炽平(Martin Lau)上个月在斯坦福大学(Stanford University)的一个会议上说，中国显然不是全球互联网市场的先驱。
风险投资公司Accel Partners的合伙人Rich Wong说，中资公司将开始影响全球互联网市场的格局，他们拥有可以利用的市场资本，这些资本可以帮助他们走向全球。
在中资公司进军美国市场的活动中，腾讯的动向最受关注，该公司多年来一直寻求在美国获得立足点，据对初创公司高管、风险投资家和前雇员的采访，腾讯最近已经成为硅谷最积极的参与者之一。
腾讯在美国没有引人注意的会议或初创公司孵化器，但该公司驻加州帕洛阿尔托的高管沃勒斯坦(David Wallerstein)和他的同事们会定期拜访风险投资家的办公室，在投资和视频游戏行业活动上悄然展开公关活动。一位企业家说，沃勒斯坦是一个“疯狂的、人脉很广”的人，即便在尽职询问创始人有关初创公司的信息时，他也可以表现得轻松幽默。
在腾讯总部深圳，两位此前任职于高盛集团(Goldman Sachs Group Inc.)的管理人员负责海外投资事宜。公司总裁刘炽平曾在麦肯锡公司工作，之后曾负责高盛亚洲的电信、媒体和科技行业组业务。首席战略长米切尔(James Mitchell)曾在纽约负责高盛的全球互联网研究，2011年来到中国加入腾讯。
腾讯拒绝让任何高管接受采访，且对Snapchat不予置评。一位公司发言人说：我们感兴趣的是，能通过合作伙伴关系、开放平台或股权投资的方式与那些有共同目标的公司展开合作。
腾讯成立于1998年，最初凭藉一款名为QQ的即时通讯系统取得了成功，该系统主要针对的是中国大学生。目前，腾讯称其聊天软件每月有超过8亿活跃用户。该公司利用其在聊天软件上的主导地位引导用户使用视频游戏和社交网站，并通过出售虚拟产品、收取游戏费和广告业务赚钱。腾讯的收入中只有不到10%来自广告；相比之下，Facebook Inc. FB -3.08% 有大约80%的收入来自广告。
腾讯早些时候在美国建立了据点，目前该公司在帕洛阿尔托一处原来是基督教科学会教堂的地方办公。但多年来，腾讯在美国的业务一直难以取得显著进展。该公司推出的各项服务，比如Facebook上的游戏等，从未真正有过起色。与此同时，腾讯美国业务还错失了早期投资Zynga Inc. ZNGA +4.33% 和YouTube的机会。
腾讯在2011年转变战略，大掏腰包进行投资。该公司宣布成立一只7.6亿美元针对新兴企业的基金。当年晚些时候，腾讯把米切尔招致麾下。米切尔毕业于牛津大学(Oxford)，在高盛工作的数年时间里，专门研究谷歌(Google Inc. GOOG -0.09% )和腾讯等互联网公司的财务状况。
到2012年，腾讯已经准备好把自己塑造为硅谷的投资者。该公司投资了Andreessen Horowitz和SV Angel等风险投资公司，并据此得以提前了解那些上升中的初创公司。2012年，腾讯以2.31亿美元收购了游戏开发商Riot Games的大多数股份，并以约3.3亿美元收购了Epic Games大约40%的股份。该公司对Riot Games的投资已经为其带来了回报——Riot前董事拉斯基(Mitch Lasky)同时也是Benchmark的合伙人以及Snapchat的现任董事。
今年夏天，腾讯加入某投资集团，该集团以23.4亿美元收购了Activision Blizzard Inc.近25%的股份。
收购Activision股份的交易显示出，腾讯希望把投资和合作联系到一起。在该集团于7月份宣布上述投资前，Activision曾说其将单独与腾讯合作，为其最大规模的游戏《使命召唤》(Call of Duty)推出针对中国的版本。
熟悉腾讯战略的人士说，该公司利用其可以引导初创企业进入中国市场的前景吸引初创公司创始人，同时利用投资来更好地了解美国市场。此外，腾讯希望投资的对象还包括那些可以为其提供相应技术和内容的公司，从而令腾讯可以通过授权许可或合作的方式把这些技术和内容带到中国。
虽然腾讯热衷于建立合作关系，但一些西方游戏公司的员工则说，他们难以同该公司共事。腾讯内部团队之间竞争激烈，有时团队间会提供相互竞争的服务。这意味着合作方无法享受到他们希望的推广支持和合作。
上述三位腾讯高管和管理团队的其他成员定期在中国举行外出会议，讨论战略投资。
熟悉该公司交易过程的人士说，对于像投资Fab.com这样的大规模交易，米切尔经常负责大部分的流程和讨论。在米切尔还担任分析师时，他经常在腾讯公司召开的业绩电话会议上就利润率问题追问刘炽平。米切尔以密切关注一家公司的财务细节和预期收入而为人熟知。刘炽平从斯坦福大学(Stanford University)获得了电子工程硕士学位，被腾讯员工形容为一位温文尔雅的管理者。
通常来说，腾讯会收购一家公司30%或更多的股份，对Riot Games或Epic Games的投资就属于这种情况。然而，腾讯在硅谷实施这一战略时却鲜有成功，这里的创始人通常不愿放弃太多股权。
在投资Fab时，米切尔于今夏与Fab首席执行长戈德堡(Jason Goldberg)会面，但很快就没有了消息，一直到数月后才提出收购提议。最终希望向亚洲扩张的Fab接受了这个提议。
一位熟悉该交易的人士说，腾讯没有明显跟进，但你知道他们正在研究。
收购Snapchat的股份可能与腾讯希望在全球推广微信(WeChat)的努力有关。Snapchat允许用户发送在特定时间内自动删除的信息，而微信则是腾讯旗下针对智能手机的通讯软件。微信截至8月份的每月活跃用户数量达到2.36亿，在中国大受欢迎，但在中国以外的地方则不太普及。
据知情人士说，腾讯此前曾就收购事宜与美国竞争对手WhatsApp Inc.的高管接触过。一位频繁接触腾讯高管的风险投资家说，腾讯希望扩大规模，特别是在美国、印度和欧洲。
即便只是持有Snapchat的少数股份，也让腾讯得以在一项有可能风靡美国的服务中占有一席之地。此外，该交易还有助于腾讯更好地应对竞争对手阿里巴巴新推出的软件来往(Laiwang)。来往允许信息发送方删除已发送的信息。
对Snapchat而言，腾讯的投资也不仅是让其获得一笔资金那么简单。即便是在中国以外的地方，腾讯也被视为是通过广告以外的途径利用在线服务赚钱的领军者。虽然Snapchat可以推动业务增长，但该公司还没有找到一个收入模式。
Evelyn M. Rusli / Paul Mozur
（更新完成）
（本文版权归道琼斯公司所有，未经许可不得翻译或转载。）
China's homegrown Internet giants are buying their way into Silicon Valley.
The Chinese firms, which have little consumer business outside their home market, are unloading small fortunes on startups as they strive to understand and eventually gain a foothold in the elusive U.S. market. This week, Tencent Holdings Ltd., a social networking and gaming company, is vying to lead a fundraising round of $200 million in buzzy American messaging app Snapchat Inc., according to people briefed on the matter.
Tencent's investment will likely value the two-year-old company, which has no revenue, at $4 billion.
Snapchat is just China's latest target. Tencent, which has more than $5 billion in cash reserves from its massive social networking and online gaming business, this summer led a $150 million investment in Fab.com Inc., an American e-commerce company. Last month, Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd. took the lead on a $206 million investment in ShopRunner Inc., a rival to Amazon.com Inc. Smaller mobile browser company UCWeb Inc. also says it is actively looking for investment opportunities in the U.S.
Long cloistered by a censorship regime that blocks international competitors, China's 600-million user strong Internet market has helped companies like Tencent and Alibaba become some of the world's largest. Tencent is worth more than $100 billion, while Alibaba is edging toward an IPO that could value it just as much. Growth, however, has slowed in recent years amid ferocious competition, and the largest firms have begun to look abroad for new opportunities.
To accomplish this, Chinese firms are tunneling into Silicon Valley's tightknit network with more than just thick checkbooks.
To lead their efforts, they've tapped a small circle of connected bankers and executives. In October, Alibaba established a San Francisco-based U.S. investment group, headed by Michael Zeisser, formerly of Liberty Media Corp. and McKinsey. The Chinese firms' appetites are fueling lofty valuations in the frothy U.S. startup market, where founders who don't even need the money are now entertaining aggressive bids.
'Obviously, China is not the pioneer in terms of global Internet,' Martin Lau, Tencent's president, said at a conference at Stanford University last month.
The Chinese firms 'will begin to impact the landscape,' said Rich Wong, a partner at venture-capital firm Accel Partners. 'They have the market cap to put to work, and that market cap can help them go global.'
At the center of the activity is Tencent, which has sought for years to gain a toehold in the U.S., and lately grown into one of the Valley's most aggressive players, according to interviews with startup executives, venture capitalists and former employees.
Tencent doesn't have a splashy U.S. conference or startup incubator, but Palo Alto, Calif.-based senior executive David Wallerstein and his colleagues regularly visit the offices of venture capitalists and quietly work the rooms at investing and videogame industry events. One entrepreneur, who described him as 'crazy, well-connected,' said Mr. Wallerstein can project a casual, goofy demeanor, even as he diligently grills founders for information about their startup.
Back in Shenzhen, where Tencent has its headquarters, two Goldman Sachs Group Inc. alums call the shots. Company President Mr. Lau formerly worked at McKinsey and later ran Goldman's telecom, media and technology group in Asia. Chief strategy officer James Mitchell, once led Goldman's global Internet coverage in New York, and was lured to China by Tencent in 2011.
Tencent declined to make any of the executives available for interviews, and declined to comment on Snapchat. 'We are interested to work with companies that share the same goals through partnerships, open platforms or equity investments,' said a spokesman.
Founded in 1998, Tencent first gained prominence with an instant-messaging system called QQ that targeted Chinese college students. The company used its dominance on chat--where it now claims more than 800 million monthly active users--to drive people to videogames and social-media sites where it made money by selling virtual products, charging gaming fees, and advertising. Less than 10% of Tencent's revenue comes from ads; by comparison, Facebook Inc. makes some 80% of its revenue from ads.
Early in its history, Tencent established a beachhead in America, where it now operates out of a former Christian Science church in Palo Alto. But for many years, it struggled to gain meaningful traction. The company built services, like games on Facebook, that never really took off. Tencent America, meanwhile, passed on several major opportunities to invest early in Zynga Inc. and YouTube.
Tencent shifted strategy in 2011 by loosening its purse strings. The company announced a $760 million fund for emerging companies. Later that year, it poached Mr. Mitchell, an Oxford graduate who had spent years at Goldman slicing through the financials of Internet companies like Google Inc. and Tencent.
By 2012, the Tencent team was well on its way in establishing itself as a money player in Silicon Valley. The company made investments in venture-capital firms, such as Andreessen Horowitz and SV Angel, which helped the company get early peeks at rising startups. In 2012, Tencent acquired the bulk of game maker Riot Games for $231 million, and purchased about 40% of Epic Games for some $330 million. Its purchase of Riot Games has already yielded dividends: a former board member of Riot, Mitch Lasky, is also a partner at Benchmark and a current board member of Snapchat.
This summer, Tencent was also part of an investment group that spent $2.34 billion for an almost 25% stake in Activision Blizzard Inc.
The Activision deal showed how Tencent hoped to tie together investments and cooperation. Just before they announced the investment in July, Activision said it would exclusively partner with Tencent to release a China-geared version of its biggest franchise 'Call of Duty.'
People familiar with Tencent's strategy say the company entices startup founders with the prospect of guidance for an entry into the China market, while it uses investments to better understand the U.S. market. It also looks to invest in companies that can provide it with technology or content it can bring to market in China through licensing or partnerships.
Though Tencent is fond of partnerships, employees at some Western gaming companies have said they have had difficulties working with it. Intense competition between Tencent's internal teams, which work on sometimes competing services, can mean partners don't get the levels of promotion or cooperation they expect.
The trio of Tencent executives along with other members of the management team, regularly hold off-site meetings in China to discuss strategic investments.
For a large transaction like Fab.com, Mr. Mitchell will often handle the bulk of the process and the discussions, according to those familiar with the company's deal making. Mr. Mitchell--who used to grill Mr. Lau on questions about margins as an analyst on earnings calls--is known for paying close attention to a company's financials and projected revenue. Mr. Lau, who has a master's degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University, is described by Tencent employees as mild-mannered.
Usually, Tencent has taken larger stakes of 30% or more in a companies--such as in the case of Riot Games or Epic Games. However, it has had less success pursuing such a strategy here, where founders are often more hesitant to give up a lot of equity.
In the case of Fab, Mr. Mitchell met with Fab's CEO Jason Goldberg this summer, but soon fell quiet and didn't return with an offer, until months later. Fab, which has ambitions of eventually expanding to Asia, accepted.
'There's no obvious follow-up, but you know they are doing their research,' said one person familiar with the deal.
The play for a stake in Snapchat, which allows users to send messages that expire, may be connected to Tencent's global ambitions for its own smartphone-based messaging application, WeChat. The app, which as of August had 236 million monthly active users, has taken China by storm, but is less popular elsewhere.
The company previously spoke to executives at U.S.-based rival WhatsApp Inc. about an acquisition, according to people familiar with the matter. 'They are looking for scale, especially in the U.S., India and Europe,' said one venture capitalist who meets with Tencent executives frequently.
Even a small stake in Snapchat would give Tencent a foothold in a service that could be America's next-big-thing. It would also give Tencent a better angle on Chinese rival Alibaba's new chat application Laiwang, which also allows a sender of a message to delete it after the message is sent.
For Snapchat, a Tencent deal also offers more than a lump sum. Even outside of China, Tencent is considered a pioneer in figuring out how to make money on online services beyond advertising. While Snapchat has been able to fuel growth, it has yet to unveil a revenue model.
Evelyn M. Rusli / Paul Mozur
The Chinese firms, which have little consumer business outside their home market, are unloading small fortunes on startups as they strive to understand and eventually gain a foothold in the elusive U.S. market. This week, Tencent Holdings Ltd., a social networking and gaming company, is vying to lead a fundraising round of $200 million in buzzy American messaging app Snapchat Inc., according to people briefed on the matter.
Tencent's investment will likely value the two-year-old company, which has no revenue, at $4 billion.
Snapchat is just China's latest target. Tencent, which has more than $5 billion in cash reserves from its massive social networking and online gaming business, this summer led a $150 million investment in Fab.com Inc., an American e-commerce company. Last month, Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd. took the lead on a $206 million investment in ShopRunner Inc., a rival to Amazon.com Inc. Smaller mobile browser company UCWeb Inc. also says it is actively looking for investment opportunities in the U.S.
Long cloistered by a censorship regime that blocks international competitors, China's 600-million user strong Internet market has helped companies like Tencent and Alibaba become some of the world's largest. Tencent is worth more than $100 billion, while Alibaba is edging toward an IPO that could value it just as much. Growth, however, has slowed in recent years amid ferocious competition, and the largest firms have begun to look abroad for new opportunities.
To accomplish this, Chinese firms are tunneling into Silicon Valley's tightknit network with more than just thick checkbooks.
To lead their efforts, they've tapped a small circle of connected bankers and executives. In October, Alibaba established a San Francisco-based U.S. investment group, headed by Michael Zeisser, formerly of Liberty Media Corp. and McKinsey. The Chinese firms' appetites are fueling lofty valuations in the frothy U.S. startup market, where founders who don't even need the money are now entertaining aggressive bids.
'Obviously, China is not the pioneer in terms of global Internet,' Martin Lau, Tencent's president, said at a conference at Stanford University last month.
The Chinese firms 'will begin to impact the landscape,' said Rich Wong, a partner at venture-capital firm Accel Partners. 'They have the market cap to put to work, and that market cap can help them go global.'
At the center of the activity is Tencent, which has sought for years to gain a toehold in the U.S., and lately grown into one of the Valley's most aggressive players, according to interviews with startup executives, venture capitalists and former employees.
Tencent doesn't have a splashy U.S. conference or startup incubator, but Palo Alto, Calif.-based senior executive David Wallerstein and his colleagues regularly visit the offices of venture capitalists and quietly work the rooms at investing and videogame industry events. One entrepreneur, who described him as 'crazy, well-connected,' said Mr. Wallerstein can project a casual, goofy demeanor, even as he diligently grills founders for information about their startup.
Back in Shenzhen, where Tencent has its headquarters, two Goldman Sachs Group Inc. alums call the shots. Company President Mr. Lau formerly worked at McKinsey and later ran Goldman's telecom, media and technology group in Asia. Chief strategy officer James Mitchell, once led Goldman's global Internet coverage in New York, and was lured to China by Tencent in 2011.
Tencent declined to make any of the executives available for interviews, and declined to comment on Snapchat. 'We are interested to work with companies that share the same goals through partnerships, open platforms or equity investments,' said a spokesman.
Founded in 1998, Tencent first gained prominence with an instant-messaging system called QQ that targeted Chinese college students. The company used its dominance on chat--where it now claims more than 800 million monthly active users--to drive people to videogames and social-media sites where it made money by selling virtual products, charging gaming fees, and advertising. Less than 10% of Tencent's revenue comes from ads; by comparison, Facebook Inc. makes some 80% of its revenue from ads.
Early in its history, Tencent established a beachhead in America, where it now operates out of a former Christian Science church in Palo Alto. But for many years, it struggled to gain meaningful traction. The company built services, like games on Facebook, that never really took off. Tencent America, meanwhile, passed on several major opportunities to invest early in Zynga Inc. and YouTube.
Tencent shifted strategy in 2011 by loosening its purse strings. The company announced a $760 million fund for emerging companies. Later that year, it poached Mr. Mitchell, an Oxford graduate who had spent years at Goldman slicing through the financials of Internet companies like Google Inc. and Tencent.
By 2012, the Tencent team was well on its way in establishing itself as a money player in Silicon Valley. The company made investments in venture-capital firms, such as Andreessen Horowitz and SV Angel, which helped the company get early peeks at rising startups. In 2012, Tencent acquired the bulk of game maker Riot Games for $231 million, and purchased about 40% of Epic Games for some $330 million. Its purchase of Riot Games has already yielded dividends: a former board member of Riot, Mitch Lasky, is also a partner at Benchmark and a current board member of Snapchat.
This summer, Tencent was also part of an investment group that spent $2.34 billion for an almost 25% stake in Activision Blizzard Inc.
The Activision deal showed how Tencent hoped to tie together investments and cooperation. Just before they announced the investment in July, Activision said it would exclusively partner with Tencent to release a China-geared version of its biggest franchise 'Call of Duty.'
People familiar with Tencent's strategy say the company entices startup founders with the prospect of guidance for an entry into the China market, while it uses investments to better understand the U.S. market. It also looks to invest in companies that can provide it with technology or content it can bring to market in China through licensing or partnerships.
Though Tencent is fond of partnerships, employees at some Western gaming companies have said they have had difficulties working with it. Intense competition between Tencent's internal teams, which work on sometimes competing services, can mean partners don't get the levels of promotion or cooperation they expect.
The trio of Tencent executives along with other members of the management team, regularly hold off-site meetings in China to discuss strategic investments.
For a large transaction like Fab.com, Mr. Mitchell will often handle the bulk of the process and the discussions, according to those familiar with the company's deal making. Mr. Mitchell--who used to grill Mr. Lau on questions about margins as an analyst on earnings calls--is known for paying close attention to a company's financials and projected revenue. Mr. Lau, who has a master's degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University, is described by Tencent employees as mild-mannered.
Usually, Tencent has taken larger stakes of 30% or more in a companies--such as in the case of Riot Games or Epic Games. However, it has had less success pursuing such a strategy here, where founders are often more hesitant to give up a lot of equity.
In the case of Fab, Mr. Mitchell met with Fab's CEO Jason Goldberg this summer, but soon fell quiet and didn't return with an offer, until months later. Fab, which has ambitions of eventually expanding to Asia, accepted.
'There's no obvious follow-up, but you know they are doing their research,' said one person familiar with the deal.
The play for a stake in Snapchat, which allows users to send messages that expire, may be connected to Tencent's global ambitions for its own smartphone-based messaging application, WeChat. The app, which as of August had 236 million monthly active users, has taken China by storm, but is less popular elsewhere.
The company previously spoke to executives at U.S.-based rival WhatsApp Inc. about an acquisition, according to people familiar with the matter. 'They are looking for scale, especially in the U.S., India and Europe,' said one venture capitalist who meets with Tencent executives frequently.
Even a small stake in Snapchat would give Tencent a foothold in a service that could be America's next-big-thing. It would also give Tencent a better angle on Chinese rival Alibaba's new chat application Laiwang, which also allows a sender of a message to delete it after the message is sent.
For Snapchat, a Tencent deal also offers more than a lump sum. Even outside of China, Tencent is considered a pioneer in figuring out how to make money on online services beyond advertising. While Snapchat has been able to fuel growth, it has yet to unveil a revenue model.
Evelyn M. Rusli / Paul Mozur
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