When Meta officially announced the $2 billion acquisition, the entire outbound venture capital circle was buzzing. It seemed like a perfect story—Chinese team, overseas operations, industry giant taking over—almost like the "standard outbound template" that entrepreneurs dream of. But this optimism didn't last long; regulatory authorities' review notices soon followed, directly puncturing this celebration.

On the surface, it was good news about the acquisition, but at its core, there was a different logic. This case actually tells us a repeatedly validated industry rule: cross-border acquisitions are far from the end point of "just selling," and are instead the true starting point of compliance negotiations. Especially when it involves technical teams, user data, and core business permissions, regulators' focus quickly shifts to data security and cross-border compliance issues.

Interestingly, after the acquisition, some air coins with the same name appeared, claiming to be related to the Manus ecosystem and aiming to enter the crypto space. What was the result? Over 95% drop within 3 hours. The official sources have repeatedly denied involvement in crypto activities, but some still try to exploit the situation for quick gains. This reminds us that any seemingly positive news can be surrounded by predatory projects.

From another perspective, this incident has educational significance for the entire industry. Those "free lunches" often hide hidden compliance costs. The approval process for large cross-border acquisitions usually takes much longer than expected, often involving multiple rounds of regulatory assessment. Data cross-border flow, changes in operational jurisdiction, user privacy protection—these are all dimensions that regulators scrutinize carefully.

The takeaway for industry practitioners is: don’t be blinded by short-term transaction benefits. The real test often comes after the celebrations die down. Teams that have gone through international M&A and survived to continue operations are mostly those who have planned compliance pathways in advance and have a clear understanding of regulatory expectations. Although this shockwave was sudden, it has recalibrated the market’s understanding of "success in going overseas"—success is not just reaching an acquisition agreement, but completing the entire transaction and subsequent operations within a compliant framework.