China's Renaissance man nabs taxi ride ahead of foreign rivals

By Denny Thomas and Elzio Barreto HONG KONG (Reuters) - When little-known Chinese taxi-hailing app Didi Dache needed $15 million to grow its business two years ago, a local upstart investment bank stepped in to help it raise the funds from social networking giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. That paid off last month for Fan Bao, 44-year-old founder of boutique firm China Renaissance, as Didi agreed to merge with bigger rival Kuaidi Dache to create a $6 billion company. Didi tapped Bao to put together the deal, sidestepping Wall Street heavyweights like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley that dominate China's $347 billion M&A market. In a twist, Kuaidi also wanted Bao on its side, leaving China Renaissance as sole financial adviser to both firms - a rare feat even in China, where tycoons have struck deals over a few drinks. Bao's ability to single-handedly broker the deal - and he's a self-confessed adrenaline junkie - underscores the growing clout of small and nimble corporate advisers in China, presenting a new threat to more established global firms.



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