- Wecast Network (WCST +1.5%) is forming a joint venture with the Beijing He Ying private-equity fund to increase its focus on business-to-business infrastructure.
- The two will join on Seven Stars He Ying Smart Cloud, 51% owned by Wecast. It says it will focus on supply chain finance, supply chain management and financial settlement for both the automotive and commodities industries.
- Wecast also says it will work on a global commodity index exchange module based on its NextGen Exchange Group platform.
- The new venture will work to raise 50B yuan (about $7.4B) from investment partners.
- Wecast has undertaken a number of complex transactions, many with other companies owned by its chairman, Bruno Wu, as it transitions from video firm You On Demand.
- The company says that once it's fully operational, the supply chain finance fund could "theoretically" convert each fund dollar into 6-10x sales turnover over a 12-month period (with average gross margins for the commodity and auto industry of 1-3%).
- Now read: Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA)'s 'Mummy' Misstep
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