The most important successor resigned on the eve of Wanda's change of leadership

On Monday this week, Wanda Group's office of the board sent a message, appointing Zhang Lin as the Chairman and legal person of Wanda Investment Group according to the instructions of the Chairman of the group:

Please be informed, no need to reply.

However, two days later on Wednesday, still from Wanda's office of the board, another notice was sent, stating:

Agree to Zhang Lin's resignation as President of Wanda Culture Tourism Group; appoint Zhang Chunyuan as the Executive President of Wanda Culture Tourism Group, in charge of the overall work of Wanda Culture Tourism Group;

Agree to Li Rongzhi's resignation as Vice President of Wanda Group and General Manager of the Information Technology Center; appoint Huang Shuo as the General Manager of the Information Technology Center...

On Wanda's OA system, as the most valued talent by Lao Wang in the past two years, the third most important figure in Wanda, Zhang Lin's position had almost become too prominent.

But after Wednesday, his name was still there, with only one title left:

Director of Wanda Group.

Just now, in Dalian, the "Dragon Prosperity Land" of Wanda Group, an important signing ceremony came to an end.

Taimee Investment led by CITIC Capital, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Abu Dhabi Mubadala Investment Company, and ARES Investment Group once again resolved Wanda's urgent need:

They brought 600 small targets.

Taimee had invested in Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management in 2021, making them old friends of Wanda. In December last year, as the lock-up period for the listing of Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management was approaching, Taimee and Wanda signed an agreement. Taimee, along with other investors, would reinvest in Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management after the expiration of its redemption period in 2021, following the redemption by Dalian Wanda Commercial Management Group.

This signing ceremony was the fulfillment of this agreement.

Wang Jianlin and Taimee Investment's CEO, Dan Weijian, did not appear at the signing ceremony. However, executives from all parties were present.

Three executives representing Wanda Group delivered speeches, namely Qi Jie, President of Wanda Group, He Qicong, Vice President of Wanda Group, and Xiao Guangrui, President of Wanda Commercial Management Group.

Zhang Lin, who was still the General Manager of the Commercial Management Group on Monday, did not show up again.

1

Zhang Lin's name first appeared on the Wanda official website in 2007.

At that time, he was just a project leader; but in 2009, at the age of 37, he reappeared on the official website as the General Manager of the Finance Department of Wanda Group.

Starting from 2012, Zhang Lin's name began to frequently appear on the Wanda official website; during the era when Wanda was thriving and Lao Wang often talked about small targets, he often accompanied Lao Wang to meet important guests, thus entering the power center of Wanda.

In 2015, Lao Wang was once asked about his successor, and his answer was "There are definitely successors now, there are several, it depends on who can lead the team well in the coming years." At that time, it was widely believed that Qi Jie and Zhang Lin were the most likely candidates.

In the following years, people like Qu Dejun and Liu Haibo were sent in by Lao Wang; Ding Benxi, Chen Ping, Yin Hai and others retired abruptly; Zeng Maojun, Liang Feijian and others also left. Of the dozen or so elders who used to celebrate the New Year with Lao Wang, most have left, and now only:

Qi Jie, Zhang Lin, Xiao Guangrui. The significance of being the richest person is becoming more and more important to Zhang Lin.

Wanda Group has three major industry groups under its umbrella: commercial management, cultural tourism, and investment. Qi Jie serves as the group's president; Xiao Guangrui is the chairman of commercial management; Zhang Lin serves as the chairman of the investment group, president of commercial management, and president of cultural tourism.

In terms of hierarchy, Qi Jie is the highest among the three; although Xiao Guangrui's position carries the most weight, the heaviest burden falls on Zhang Lin. In 2022, he even temporarily served as the chairman and legal person of Wanda Films.

More importantly, Zhang Lin is the youngest among the three.

Now, all speculations are just illusions.

Raising funds and going public have always been the two most important tasks for Wanda in recent years. In addition to selling multiple Wanda Plazas, Wanda has also sold off its stake in Wanda Films in two separate transactions.

Despite the contraction of the cultural tourism group he oversees and the shrinking of assets, Zhang Lin remains the executive most trusted by Wang Jianlin.

Now, the level of danger for Wanda executives is increasing. Losing the trust of the old Wang is one thing, but it is also very easy to be restricted from high consumption due to the company's lack of credibility.

The most dangerous position within the Wanda system is the Wanda Investment Group, which was formerly a real estate group.

In 2020, 48-year-old Zhang Lin took over from Lv Zhengtao as the director of Wanda Real Estate Group, and later became the legal person.

Real estate has always been the lifeblood of Wanda. In recent years, although Wanda has focused on weakening its real estate business, the cash flow pressure is still significant.

On April 20, 2023, the Wanda Real Estate Group was forcibly executed by the Second Intermediate People's Court of Shanghai, involving an amount exceeding 1 billion RMB, and was listed as a dishonest person subject to restrictions on high consumption.

Although a week before that, Zhang Lin had already resigned as the legal person of Wanda Real Estate. However, due to the default behavior that occurred during his tenure, Zhang Lin was still implicated and restricted from high consumption.

Therefore, on March 25, when he was reappointed as the legal person of Wanda Investment Group, Zhang Lin submitted his resignation the next day and was quickly approved. After serving at Wanda for 24 years, his position on Wanda's OA was reduced to just a director of Wanda Group.

At the age of 70, the old Wang lost his most important successor.

2

In December last year, PAG, the largest investor in Wanda Commercial Management, announced that it would continue to increase its holdings and introduce new investors. The listing gambling crisis of Wanda Commercial Management was temporarily alleviated as a result. However, after this adjustment, Wang Jianlin's shareholding will decrease from 70% to 40%, still a major shareholder but losing absolute control.

According to the agreement, the new investors will help Wanda improve corporate governance. It is well known that PAG, known as the "Asian Blackstone," is not only an investor but is more interested in:

Control.

After today's signing, Wang Jianlin's stake in Wanda Commercial Management has dropped to 40%, with PAG and other investors holding a total of 60%. Once again, the old Wang's influence has been weakened, but he has no other choice.

In early March, 50.72 billion shares of equity in Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management were frozen for the second time, with the reason being "property preservation," and the executing party being its major shareholder, Wanda Commercial Management This portion of equity was previously frozen in July last year.

In mid-month, Wanda Commercial Management added information on a 16.205 billion yuan equity freeze, with the executed enterprise being Dalian Xinda Alliance Business Management Co., Ltd., which was established just over two months ago.

Also in March, there was a shareholder change at Wanda Plaza in Jizhou District, Tianjin, with Wanda Commercial Management exiting. According to media reports, Wanda has sold a total of 14 Wanda Plazas since last year.

At this point, there is still no clear news about the progress of Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management's listing.

It seems that Wanda is about to enter a new phase. However, fewer and fewer of Old Wang's old comrades remain by his side.

CITIC and Taimee believe that the independence of the new company is a prerequisite for their investment. Xinda Alliance will break away from Wanda's management system, with investors joining the board of directors, influencing decision-making.

Not to mention ordinary employees, a middle-level friend at Wanda said that the group's human resources continuously set targets for them, lay off employees, and cut costs. He sees colleagues resigning every day, and even directors have been laid off.

Wanda, once seen as successfully landing, still couldn't completely avoid this disaster.

Replacing Zhang Lin is Zhang Chunyuan, who comes from a human resources background and was responsible for the proven failed business, Baobei Wang. With few people available around the 70-year-old Old Wang.

In November last year, Wang Sicong rarely appeared in government news, solemnly meeting and signing agreements with leaders in Tai'an, Shandong, wearing an Off-White hoodie and limited edition Nike sneakers. Netizens said that this might be the most formal outfit Wang Sicong has worn.

In January this year, a video of Sicong celebrating his birthday in Sanya went viral. With fireworks lit, this most famous second-generation rich in China held a microphone and told his friends that his wish was for good health:

Earn big money next year.

Article Author: Uncle Youbao, Source: Youbao District, Original Title: "The night before Wanda's change, the most important successor resigned"