Liang Changlin confirms Meituan's acquisition of Dingdong Maicai, internal letter details merger logic and employee arrangements

On February 5th, Meituan announced on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that it would acquire 100% equity of Dingdong Maicai’s China business for an initial consideration of approximately $717 million.

Observer.com learned that Dingdong Maicai’s founder and CEO, Liang Changlin, released an internal letter titled “A Letter to All Dingdong Maicai Colleagues” today, officially announcing that the company has signed a sale agreement with Meituan. In the letter, he reviewed Dingdong Maicai’s over eight years of entrepreneurial history, explained the reasons for choosing Meituan, and addressed future arrangements for employees.

Liang Changlin recounted in the letter that Dingdong Maicai entered the fresh e-commerce sector in 2017, making it the latest among Shanghai’s players at that time. The company established its differentiated approach by delivering live fish and shrimp to homes with a 29-minute ultra-fast delivery, became a key supply provider during the pandemic, and successfully went public in 2021.

Shortly after listing, Dingdong proposed a strategy of “efficiency first, balancing scale,” abandoning rapid expansion opportunities but achieving sustained profitability. Since Q4 2022, the company has maintained profit for 12 consecutive quarters, becoming an industry leader and, at one point, the only profitable major player.

Regarding this sale, Liang Changlin stated that the board of directors conducted careful deliberation. He praised Dingdong Maicai’s “real skills” in supply chain construction—over 85% of fresh produce sourced directly from sources, 12 self-operated factories, and 2 self-operated farms—and noted significant growth in categories such as black pork, organic vegetables, and health foods.

He also commended Meituan’s Xiaoxiang Supermarket for “achieving very strong growth in recent years,” which complements Dingdong’s “4G” strategy. Liang Changlin believes that Dingdong’s core capabilities in product strength, service quality, and supply chain efficiency “will not disappear because of the merger; instead, they will play a greater role on a larger platform.”

He emphasized that Dingdong’s mission to make good ingredients as accessible as tap water aligns closely with Meituan’s mission to “help everyone eat better and live better.” The merger is described as “the convergence of two strong streams,” aiming to serve a broader market together.

Addressing employees’ primary concern about job stability, Liang Changlin clearly stated: “Dingdong Maicai’s business and team will remain stable, and everyone will continue to have a very stable development platform.” He further pointed out that Meituan’s extensive business scope “opens up greater career opportunities” for employees, encouraging them to “soar in a rapidly developing career, where the sky is the limit and the sea is wide enough for fish to leap.”

At the end of the letter, Liang Changlin fondly reflected on his 23 years in Shanghai, from programmer to entrepreneur, and called Dingdong Maicai’s over eight years “the proudest moment” of his entrepreneurial journey. He emphasized that this pride does not stem from going public or profitability but from every delivery rider who persisted during the pandemic, the early-morning sorting staff, the meticulous product developers, and the engineers working silently behind the scenes.

“Dingdong Maicai’s success today relies on each and every one of our partners,” Liang Changlin wrote.

He stated that a new chapter has begun, and he will continue to work with everyone for a long time to come. He called on all employees to “walk with outstanding people and continue doing difficult but right things.”

The release of this internal letter marks a significant consolidation in the fresh e-commerce industry. The partnership between Meituan and Dingdong Maicai may reshape the market landscape of China’s fresh retail sector.