Correspondence 0001213900-24-006704 from WiMi Hologram Cloud Inc. (WIMI) (CIK 0001770088) (WIMI)
WiMi Hologram Cloud Inc. (WIMI) (CIK 0001770088)
Date: Jan. 26, 2024 · CIK: 0001770088 · Accession: 0001213900-24-006704
AI Filing Summary & Sentiment
File numbers found in text: 001-39257
Referenced dates: January 11, 2024
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WiMi Hologram Cloud Inc.
January 26, 2024
VIA EDGAR
Division of Corporation Finance
Office of Technology
Securities and Exchange Commission
Washington, D.C. 20549
Attn.:
Ms. Kathleen Collins
Ms. Megan Akst
Re:
WiMi Hologram Cloud Inc.
Form 20-F for the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2022
Filed April 13, 2023
File No. 001-39257
Ladies and Gentlemen:
WiMi Hologram Cloud Inc. (the
“Company”, “we”, “us” or “our”) hereby transmits its response to the letter received
from the staff (the “Staff”) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”), dated January
11, 2024 regarding its Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 filed on April 13, 2023.
Set forth below are the Company’s
responses to the Staff’s comments in the Comment Letter. The Staff’s comments are retyped below in bold for your ease of reference.
The Company respectfully advises the Staff that where the Company proposes to add or revise disclosure in its future annual reports on
Form 20-F in response to the Staff’s comments, the changes to be made will be subject to relevant factual updates and changes
in relevant laws or regulations, or in interpretations thereof.
Item 18. Financial Statements
Note 13. Goodwill, page F-50
1.
We note your response to prior comments 1 and 2. Please address the following as it relates to your fiscal 2022 goodwill impairment analysis:
●
Tell us if the 2023 forecasted revenues
used in your goodwill impairment analysis for Shenzhen Yidian and Shenzhen Yitian were consistent with your internal budgeted and/or
forecasted revenues for 2023.
The 2023 forecasted revenues used in our goodwill
impairment analysis for Shenzhen Yitian (“Yitian”) and Shenzhen Yidian (“Yidian”) were generally consistent with
our internal forecasted revenues for 2023. Since the acquisition of Yitian and Yidian, the Company has promoted collaborative operations
among departments year by year. In order to maximize the value of Yidian and Yitian following their acquisition, branches of the Company
have begun utilizing the core technologies and patents of Yitian and Yidian. By gradually increasing Yitian and Yidian’s overall
scale of contribution to the Company, Yitian and Yidian are being progressively integrated into the Company’s unified management
scheme. The ultimate goal of the Company is to establish a unified management scheme relating to the management of Yitian and Yidian with
a view of maximizing overall value.
In forecasting 2023 revenues, the Company predicted
that the year will show a general increasing trend of operating income from the integration of Yitian and Yidian’s core IP competencies
throughout various subsidiaries and branches. Management also optimistically assumed that China’s macroeconomic conditions, market
environment, industrial trends will improve. As a result, management held positive expectations for 2023 revenue growth.
●
Tell us what your actual revenue growth rates
were for Shenzhen Yidian and Shenzhen Yitian for fiscal 2023. To the extent revenues did not meet the 200% and 707% growth rates assumed
for Shenzhen Yidian and Shenzhen Yitian, respectively, explain in detail how that will impact the forecasts used in your fiscal 2023 goodwill
evaluation.
In accordance with the Company’s management
plan described above, the Company began utilizing Yitian and Yidian’s core IP competencies on an intra-company basis. Over the course
of the 2023, the proportion of its use in the AR advertising business of the Company has gradually increased in scale. Because the core
IP competencies of Yitian and Yidian is gaining wider market recognition, the revenue generated by the use of their core IP is also growing,
similarly, revenue that is attributable to Yitian and Yidian in proportion to the Company’ overall revenue also showed a growing
trend.
Since the acquisition of Yitian and Yidian, the
Company has worked towards strengthening the collaborative operations between Yitian and Yidian and various subsidiaries and branches
of the Company, and have begun using the core IP competencies of Yitian and Yidian in revenue generating activities on an intra-company
basis, and through increasing the scale of their contribution, the Company continued to work towards the departmentalization of these
entities to maximize their value to the Company as a whole. Under this management scheme, the Company's holographic AR advertising revenue
rose sharply in the second half of 2023; the holographic AR advertising revenue from July to November increased by 58.88% compared with
the same period last year. The reason for the sharp rise is that Yitian and Yidian’s core IP competencies is being used throughout
the Company, as a result the overall revenue scale of the Company's holographic AR advertising has increased. In light of the strategy
being implemented by the Company, the actual revenue growth of Yitian and Yidian did not deviate to a great degree from the forecasted
growth rate.
In 2023, the preparation for full integration
and departmentalization of Yitian and Yidian has been completed. In 2024, Yitian and Yidian will be transformed into research and development
centers of the Company, at the same time, sales and marketing service personnel of Yitian and Yidian will be transferred to and become
fully integrated with the marketing and sales departments of other subsidiaries and branches of the Company. In 2024, in light of the
functional transformation of these two entities, these two entities will no longer engage directly in revenue generating activities, but
the revenue contribution of these two entities will be reflected in the overall revenue of the Company. As a direct result of the management
plan described above, there exists great uncertainty concerning the revenue growth rate of these two units for 2024. In accordance with
management's strategy of full integration and departmentalization of Yitian and Yidian, it is expected that these two units will no longer
directly generate revenue in 2024 and we expect that their revenue growth in 2024 will be close to -100%.
The Company has retained an appraisal firm
perform goodwill impairment analysis of Yitian and Yidian. Because Yitian and Yidian are no longer expected to directly generate revenue
in 2024, the Company and the appraisal firm has agreed to take an asset-based approach to perform goodwill impairment analysis, and has
determined that complete goodwill impairment is imminent (as further discussed in response to query 4 below). In addition, the Company
has disclosed the risk of goodwill impairment on a Form 6-K on January 12, 2024. The Company will also submit relevant disclosures in
an updated Form 6-K report regarding the Company’s plan to fully impair the goodwill of Yitian and Yidian in due course.
2
●
Explain further the basis for your long-term
growth rates, particularly since your historical growth rates do not appear to support such assumptions.
In order to maximize the value of Yitian and Yidian
for the Company, management decided towards the end of 2022 that all subsidiaries of the Company would implement and market the core IP
competencies of Yitian and Yidian. This resulted in a significant sales growth for these two units in 2023. Such business planning is
only a precursor to the full integration of these two entities by the Company and will inevitably lead to drastic and unsustainable changes
in the long-term growth rate of Yitian and Yidian. In the current case, growth of Yitian and Yidian have saturated due to the speed at
which the Company’s branches and subsidiaries were able to implement their core IP in revenue generating activities. As a result,
in 2024, the Company will transform Yitian and Yidian into research and development centers with a view of full integration. As a result, in 2024, Yitian and Yidian are no longer expected to directly generate
revenue and their goodwill will be fully impaired accordingly.
The Company’s management plan is geared
towards maximizing the benefits of full integration while reducing the risk of goodwill to nil. From the point of view of the long-term
growth rate of the Company, the best plan for Yitian is Yidian is full integration into the various departments of the Company, so as
to receive support from all branches and subsidiaries with a view of ultimately achieving a unified management scheme of the Company.
The Company believes that the management plan is more conducive to maximizing the value of Yitian and Yidian after their acquisition and
at the same time reducing the goodwill risk to zero.
●
Explain to us management’s role in determining
the growth assumptions used in your analysis. In this regard, you appear to indicate that rate projections included in your response were
extracted from a forecast provided by your appraisal firm.
Management presented to the appraisal firm the
Company’s two-step business plan as described above of core IP implementation and subsequent departmentalization. In addition, management
was optimistic with respect to its outlook on China's macroeconomic and industrial market environment, particularly due to frequent interest
rate cuts and looser monetary policy changes. As a result, the Company anticipated a positive growth trend in implementing the first step
of the business plan (i.e. various branches and subsidiaries implementing the core IP of Yitian and Yidian in 2023). In consideration
of the Company business strategy, the positive expectations of the overall macroeconomic condition, industrial data and DCF, the appraisal
firm also held positive expectations for future business growth, and management generally agreed with the assumptions of the appraisal
firm.
3
●
Clarify what other specific risk factors were considered in determining the discount rate premium (i.e. industry specific premium risk, country specific risk premium, etc.).
The following risk factors were also considered in determining
the discount rate premium:
(1) Liquidity risk premium: some risk considerations will be added in the assessment according to the liquidity difference between
the target company and the listed company.
(2) Risk of low diversity in terms of product offerings and
operating locations: Based on the comparison between the operating product of the target company and that of the listed company, the differences
in product maturity and diversification are considered to adjust the differences in scale.
(3) Operating risk premium: Increase some risk considerations
according to the Company's specific operating conditions, such as the company's recent strategic changes, business transformation and
operating volatility.
(4) Industry risk premium: such as fierce industry competition,
certain technologies becoming obsolete in the industry and other factors.
(5) Equity risk premium: A certain equity premium is considered
according to the actual location of operation of the target company.
(6) Scale premium: According to the equity scale of the target company,
the scale premium of different sizes is considered. Usually, the larger the scale, the smaller the premium.
2.
You state in your response to prior comment
1 that the company has received offers to purchase Shenzhen Yitian and Shenzhen Yidian. Please provide more information regarding such
offers. For example, tell us whether these were bona fide offers, when they were made, whether they were from unrelated third parties,
the amount and terms of such offers and the reason for such offers, etc.
The potential purchaser is an active participant
in the AR Holographic industry in China whose reputation is known by the Company. The purchaser is an unrelated third party that is aware
of the advanced algorithms of Yitian and Yidian. To the extent of the Company’s knowledge, the purchaser believed that Yitian and
Yidian had significant growth potential.
On May 20, 2023, the purchaser formally made an
offer to purchase by way of a Letter of Intent (“LOI”). Prior to the LOI and in early 2023, the parties were engaged in informal
discussions relating to the purchase and sale of Yitian and Yidian. As a result of discussion between the Company and the purchaser prior
to the LOI, the LOI valued Yitian and Yidian at US$45 million and US$48 million respectively. However, initially the purchaser indicated
an intent to value Yidian and Yitian at their net asset value of US$28 million and US$31 million. They subsequently increased their cash
offer to commensurate with Yitian and Yidian’s carrying value after the Company communicated management’s integration plan
and disclosed to purchasers Yitian and Yidian’s valuation analysis.
4
Key terms of the Letter of Intent include:
1. Cash payment;
2. Consideration of US$48 million as to Yidian,
US$45 million as to Yitian;
3. Termination: The LOI shall automatically terminate if the parties are unable to enter into a substantive purchase agreement during six
months from the date of the LOI.
After receiving the LOI, company management assessed
the benefits of sale versus the benefits of fully carrying out the integration plan. In addition, from a transaction perspective, the
Company assessed credit risk, transaction costs, and opportunity costs related to the potential sale of Yitian and Yidian. In the context
of goodwill, the Company noted that the purchaser’s offer to purchase proved that the Company’s initial acquisition of Yitian
and Yidian was profitable, because the offer exceeded not only the initial purchase price paid by the Company to acquire Yitian and Yidian,
but also the carrying value. In that respect, the Company noted that the offer has a certain protection effect on goodwill. However, the
Company concluded that the purchase price was still far lower than the potential value of Yitian and Yidian, because management firmly
believed that the technology of Yitian and Yidian will bring greater value after their comprehensive integration and departmentalization
into the Company as a whole. As a result, the Company unilaterally terminated the LOI because management determined a potential sale was
not in the best interest of the Company and the shareholders.
3.
In your response to comment 2 you indicate
that the growth rate projections for fiscal 2024 are subject to greater uncertainties as the growth of Shenzhen Yidian and Shenzhen Yitian
are beginning to stagnate. Please tell us how this will impact the growth rate projections used in your December 31, 2023 goodwill evaluation
and, if available, what growth rate projections you will use in your 2023 goodwill evaluation.
As discussed above, in 2023 the Company began
to integrate the core IP competencies of Yitian and Yidian throughout the Company’s various branches and subsidiaries, as a result,
the AR advertising revenue of the Company showed an overall growth trend in 2023. Integration occurred more rapidly than expected, thus
the Company believes that growth from integration has saturated and growth potential will stagnate. Because integration has largely been
achieved in 2023, in 2024, the Company will transform Yitian and Yidian into technology research and development departments and become
fully integrated with other technical departments of the Company. As mentioned above, the marketing and sales function of Yitian and Yidian
will be transferred and become fully integrated with the marketing departments of other branches and subsidiaries of the Company. In principle,
Yitian and Yidian (to the extent they will remain as individual entities) will no longer directly engage