Chapter 26: The Willing One Takes the Bait
After hearing what Bartley said, Greg and the others on the other end of the phone were all cheered up and looked towards Song Yang.
Hearing Bartley say this, Song Yang knew that he was going to get to the point. "Manager Bartley is really well-informed. DoubleClick needs some funds to expand into more markets. You know, DoubleClick is now the general agent for digital advertising for Netscape and Yahoo!"
Although Song Yang is not an experienced veteran when it comes to financing, he still knows the rules of selling things, which is to brag about the junk he has, no matter whether it is valuable or not, he will brag about it first.
According to what Song Yang meant, DoubleClick Company is not raising funds now because of lack of money, but because the market is booming. In order to achieve better development of DoubleClick Company, it is "forced" to raise funds. Finally, it did not forget to bring in Netscape and Yahoo as its two backers.
At the instruction of the investment department of AT& T said to Song Yang, "Of course, AT&T also supports DoubleClick, otherwise it would not have given the first digital advertisement to DoubleClick!"
"In order to better cooperate with both parties, AT&T Group is willing to lend a helping hand to DoubleClick. If you are willing, you can come to New York and sign this agreement. I believe you will be absolutely surprised."
Bartley looked at the note handed over by the investment department and continued to speak into the phone, "Song, I want to congratulate you in advance. The new generation of American multimillionaires, AT&T Group is willing to invest 8 million US dollars in DoubleClick in exchange for 51% of the equity!"
The voice coming from the phone made everyone in Song Yang's office look a little dazed. Needless to say, Gallo almost jumped up when he heard Bartley say eight million US dollars. He rubbed his hands and looked at Song Yang nervously.
This is eight million US dollars, a sum that an ordinary American cannot earn even if he works as a slave for two lifetimes!
Greg was not much better off, his breathing became rapid. The largest amount of money he had ever handled was a divorce case involving 400,000 US dollars, but now 8 million appeared before him. With just a word from Song Yang, it would be within his reach.
Kevin Ryan, Wesley, and Irene all looked at Song Yang with their hearts beating faster. Surprisingly, Irene was the first to react.
Irene suppressed her excitement, took a deep breath to calm herself down, and then whispered to Song Yang, who looked a little dazed, "Telephone and Telegraph Group, they want to acquire DoubleClick!"
After being reminded by Irene, Song Yang began to calm down slowly. It would be a lie if he didn't feel tempted when seeing eight million US dollars in front of him. This was eight million US dollars in 1995, enough to buy a dozen courtyard houses in Yanjing, China, and building a royal garden would probably only cost a few hundred thousand US dollars.
Even in Song Yang's previous life, this was an astonishing fortune. In his two lives, Song Yang had never come across such a huge fortune. This was not money borrowed from the Bank of America, but as long as Song Yang nodded, it would belong to him completely!
Irene's reminder made Song Yang slowly come back to his senses and remember the conditions proposed by Bartley. The Telephone and Telegraph Group was preparing to acquire the controlling stake of Double Click Company in one fell swoop.
For a moment, Song Yang fell into a struggle. Reason told Song Yang that the valuation of DoubleClick Company was definitely more than 16 million US dollars. With the support of Netscape and Yahoo, and even with good luck, if it could be listed, then selling more than half of the shares today would become one of the cheapest investments in the history of the Internet. Song Yang might even be ridiculed for having no vision.
But now Double Click Company is really short of money. If it misses this opportunity and there is no next village, and no new investors are willing to invest in Double Click Company, then it will be a waste of time.
In Song Yang's office, he saw Irene's words that made Song Yang never answer. Gallo could not help but glare at Irene, thinking that Irene was deliberately making trouble and preventing the Bruno family from entering the multi-millionaire club.
Irene ignored Gallo's anger and just looked at Song Yang. Whether to sell DoubleClick Company depended entirely on Song Yang's decision. At this moment, Irene suddenly had more expectations for this motley company.
It's not about expectations for other people, but for Song Yang. Whether Song Yang is willing to sell Double Click Company and become a wealthy wealthy man, or to pursue more things, depends on this moment.
Bartley was also waiting anxiously. He and everyone in the Telegraph Group had just heard the noisy voice on the other end of the phone. Just think about it, how tempting is eight million US dollars in cash for a young man?
Anyway, Bartley knew that if it were him, he would definitely not be able to resist such temptation. However, after a slight noise on the other end of the phone, it suddenly fell into silence.
"Song?"
Bartley called out to Song Yang tentatively, "I think you should think carefully about this. The AT&T Group will not easily make an offer for a person, but if you miss the opportunity, the AT&T Group will withdraw the order and there won't be a second time!"
Listening to Bartley's words, Song Yang strengthened his conviction and took a deep breath. "Thank you for the kindness of AT&T Group and Manager Bartley, but I need to think about this matter. I need the opinions of everyone in DoubleClick Company and the Bruno family!"
Although Song Yang said it politely, he still firmly rejected the acquisition proposal of AT&T Group. Hearing Song Yang's refusal, Gallo hugged his head in pain, and kept saying "Mad man!"
Gaining and losing eight million was too exciting, and even Greg was a little dazed. Ryan and Wesley also sighed. Although they couldn't get eight million, this was the closest they had ever been to eight million US dollars.
Irene looked straight at Song Yang. She suddenly felt that this boss, who was younger than her, not only had good looks, but also had an indescribable feeling. The fact that he could refuse the temptation of eight million US dollars meant that he had bigger goals. This had a fatal attraction for a career-oriented woman like Irene. At a certain moment, Irene looked at Song Yang and suddenly felt her heart beating violently.
Bartley did not expect Song Yang to reject the acquisition proposal. There was a sudden noise in the conference room of the Telephone and Telegraph Group. After the investment department whispered a few words to several bigwigs from Telephone and Telegraph, they handed Bartley another note. Looking at what was on the note, Bartley finally couldn't help but took a breath.
"I'm sorry about your choice, Song," Bartley said to Song Yang, "but I hope to promote the cooperation between Double Click and TT Group. I want to see you, Song, in TT Group!"
"If you are willing to join AT&T, AT&T is willing to acquire all the shares of DoubleClick for 18 million US dollars. After the acquisition, you can still stay in DoubleClick, and AT&T is willing to provide a suitable position for you, the member of Bruno family!"
As expected of being the most profitable company of the time, Telephone and Telegraph was extremely generous. In the blink of an eye, they raised the purchase price by another two million US dollars. Even Greg couldn't help it. Not only was it an acquisition, but they also provided jobs for the Bruno family. This condition was already quite generous.
Under Irene's gaze, Song Yang, who had already made up his mind, rejected Bartley's proposal again, "I am looking forward to working with Manager Bartley, but I need to think about it!"
"This guy actually rejected the acquisition. Are there other acquirers?"
"It's not necessary to acquire DoubleClick. My God, spending 20 million US dollars to acquire a company that has no profit at all is really crazy. There are plenty of companies like this in Silicon Valley!"
"But there is only one DoubleClick company. Do you know the Matlay Law? No matter how many digital advertising companies there are, only a few DoubleClick companies will be able to win orders in this industry in the future!"
In the conference room of AT&T Group, when Bartley put down the phone, the financial director and the manager of the investment department immediately started a verbal battle.
There are conflicts of interest in any company, not to mention within a giant like AT&T.
The finance department of AT&T Group did not want to pay for the acquisition. If they bought the company and it went bankrupt in the future, the finance department would be blamed, while its development would have nothing to do with the finance department.
As for the investment department, it is different. When they see an opportunity, they ask the finance department for money to buy it. If it succeeds, it means they have a keen eye and can see through the fog of the investment market. They will get bonuses and promotions. Even if it fails, it will be considered as a lesson learned. After all, investment has risks...
“It’s hard to say whether the digital advertising industry will exist or not. Isn’t it too early to talk about this now?” the CFO retorted to the manager of the investment department.
The manager in charge of the investment department of AT&T immediately mocked him, "Do you think that SoftBank's plan to invest $100 million in Yahoo is as crazy as you?
As the digital advertising general agent for Netscape and Yahoo, two companies valued at hundreds of millions of dollars, isn’t DoubleClick worth 20 million dollars? !”
Bartley was stunned. He now understood why AT&T suddenly wanted to invest in DoubleClick. It turned out that they had heard that Softbank was going to invest 100 million US dollars in Yahoo. Bartley didn't know whether the world was too crazy or he was out of date.
Not only was there an argument at AT&T, but the situation at DoubleClick was even more chaotic.
"You crazy woman, do you know what you have done? That's 18 million US dollars!"
Gallo was so anxious that he kept walking around in the office. He talked to Irene and complained to Song Yang, "Song, how could you believe what this crazy woman said? You shouldn't have let her in in the first place."
"I learned in business school that when prey appears, it will attract more than just a lone wolf!"
Irene glanced at Gallo coldly, secretly mocking his intelligence. She was sure that the one who targeted DoubleClick as his prey would not be the lone wolf of the Telephone and Telegraph Company. Who knows what other ferocious beasts are hiding in the forest.
"Then can you guarantee that other companies can definitely pay more than AT&T?!"
