Are the two companies allies or mortal enemies，Usually a very simple question。But for Ctrip and 188bet online live casino，The relationship between the two is even more puzzling。

At first glance，It seems obvious that these two online travel companies are competitors。In the rapidly growing online travel booking industry in China，Ctrip is already a leading company，Not only occupies 55% of the market share，He is staying at the hotel、Air tickets、The business volume in the tour group and business travel booking market is also far ahead。188bet online live casino is also developing online travel business，Although it is relatively small (only 9% market share)，And its main business is focused on accommodation booking，But it targets the same target customer group，Provides similar services。

From these points of view，They seem to be competitors，Isn’t it？

But actually，They are more like those that are increasingly common in rapidly developing markets、Special rivals—David and Goliath-style rivals in which the weak defeat the strong。

188bet online live casino is like Goliath，Powerful、mighty，And it has advantages。Through two large call centers，188bet online live casino took the lead in China’s tourism market，Consumers can place orders using the phone (using artificial voice calls instead of apps)。With the popularity of the Internet，Although currently 40% of 188bet online live casino’s transactions are still completed over the phone，But it has moved more and more transactions online。

And Yilong is David，Weakness、Cunning、Intelligent and destructive。Although 188bet online live casino and Ctrip were both established in 1999，But 188bet online live casino is under the protection of its former major shareholder Expedia，Formed a business model that prioritizes conducting business through the Internet。All 188bet online live casino orders can now be completed online，This allows 188bet online live casino to handle more orders without hiring a corresponding number of manpower。Anyway，This is the development model of Yilong。Currently, each employee of 188bet online live casino and Ctrip can generate RMB 230,000 in revenue，From this point of view，188bet online live casino’s strategic development prospects will be more promising。

Therefore，How can these two companies not become competitors？Many investors know，Ctrip has acquired 37% of 188bet online live casino's shares - this is the beginning of the complexity of their relationship。

Ctrip’s investment in 188bet online live casino can be interpreted from two perspectives。On the one hand，This investment can be seen as aiming to help Ctrip develop faster。On the other hand，This can also be seen as a move to contain competitors。

The latter interpretation seems more likely。If the purpose of Ctrip’s acquisition is to promote its development，A more meaningful approach would be to merge with 188bet online live casino。In that case，188bet online live casino’s price tag is approximately RMB 7 billion。When Ctrip acquired 188bet online live casino shares from Expedia in May 2015，Ctrip has RMB 12 billion in cash。

However，Ctrip’s acquisition of 188bet online live casino shares can be seen as a way to contain the development of 188bet online live casino before its competitors develop into a huge threat。In terms of occupying Ctrip’s market share，188bet online live casino’s lethality is relatively smaller。188bet online live casino’s main online business is not subject to the huge amount of large customer service centers、Limited by fixed operating costs。What makes Ctrip most uneasy，188bet online live casino seems willing to seize Ctrip’s market share by lowering prices。

But acquiring 37% of the shares is different from a complete acquisition。This time Ctrip is investing in 188bet online live casino，Instead of acquisition。But this time it’s a minority ownership investment，It will make the relationship between the two companies more complicated。

Imagine you are a member of the board of directors of 188bet online live casino。In order to make the company grow rapidly，188bet online live casino hopes to seize market share from competitors including Ctrip。Management strongly proposes to lower prices to attract Ctrip customers。They insist that fixed costs are lower due to the development of 188bet online live casino’s business，Beat Ctrip in the price war。

This strategy seems reasonable，But we must also be clear，Ctrip is a shareholder of 188bet online live casino！As a listed company，188bet online live casino’s directors have the legal responsibility to give priority to serving shareholders。Is it illegal to poach shareholders’ customers？Maybe，This is a gray area。On the other hand，The other 63% of 188bet online live casino’s shares are not held by Ctrip，Therefore，If 188bet online live casino does not adopt this most effective development strategy，Would it be derelict in its fiduciary duties to other shareholders？How will Tencent, which holds 15% of 188bet online live casino’s shares, view 188bet online live casino’s behavior: in order not to frustrate Ctrip, which is both a shareholder and an opponent，And decided to deliberately slow down the pace of progress？

You can see how 188bet online live casino is confusing.

A coping strategy may have emerged。Tencent acquired the remaining shares of 188bet online live casino at US per share, which was 24% higher than the then share price。Will Tencent eventually become the controlling shareholder of 188bet online live casino，Depends on how many shareholders accept Tencent’s offer。If Tencent’s acquisition fails，I suspect it will come back with more proactive bidding，At that time, it may send the offer directly to 188bet online live casino’s board of directors instead of sending it to each shareholder individually。

No matter how this acquisition develops，I would be surprised that Tencent failed to become the controlling shareholder of 188bet online live casino in the end。If the acquisition can be successful this time，You must think that Ctrip will regard 188bet online live casino as a competitor。But after this tender announcement is released，Ctrip’s management affirmed Tencent’s move，They also said that the two companies can cooperate。

This may be Ctrip’s boast (otherwise，What else can Ctrip say？)，These two companies will still cooperate，But this possibility seems unlikely。This is precisely because，Tencent wants to take 188bet online live casino under its umbrella，With other Baidu trying to enter the online travel market、Internet giants like Alibaba compete，188bet online live casino will pose a huge threat to Ctrip by then。

Even abroad，Ruyilong、Ctrip、The chaotic cross-shareholding phenomenon of the three companies of Tencent is also rare in most industries，But it is common among online travel companies。Priceline、Expedia、Ctrip、188bet online live casino、trip.com、TripAdvisor and other online travel sites operate in a complex web of relationships: partners are often unclear on one page、Relationship network between customers and competitors。