Chapter 616: The richest man has unrivaled connections
Ji Qi glanced over there and saw another yellow-skinned man. There was something strange in his eyes, and then he said confidently: "Foreign investment is unlikely to fight to the death with Ctrip. As long as Ctrip shows signs of weakness, the foreign investment companies that hold the most Ctrip shares will be the ones that run away the fastest."
Lu Yiming was a little surprised that Ji Qi could say such a thing, and then he smiled and said, "It seems that you have grown a lot during this period of time. So if you want to take back Ctrip at the lowest cost, the only way is to beat Ctrip to death first."
Ji Qi nodded slightly and said with a firm look, "Well, as long as we merge with Ctrip, Home Inn can dominate the entire online travel industry, so I will go all out in this battle and fight Ctrip to the end."
Expanding business is nothing more than a competition of who can spend more money.
With a strong backer like Lu Yiming, Ji Qi can be said to be full of confidence.
What's more, Lu Yiming had previously helped him improve the business model of the express hotel. Even if it was not a competition of burning money but a competition of service quality, Home Inn had all the advantages, so Ji Qi was not panicked at all, and did not think he would lose.
foreign investment?
Foreign investment means nothing.
At this time, Yang Xiangdong raised his glass, walked past the crowd and came to Lu Yiming, and introduced himself with a smile: "Hello, Mr. Lu, I am the managing director of the American Carlyle Investment Group. I will be responsible for Carlyle's Asian acquisition fund business in the future. I hope to have the opportunity to cooperate with young talents like you, Mr. Lu."
Although he harbored hostility in his heart, Yang Xiangdong was a respectable man after all, so he naturally wouldn't just come up and shout for fighting and killing. That kind of street thug's attitude was really too uncivilized.
As a top student with an MBA from Harvard Business School and a bachelor's degree in economics from Harvard University, Yang Xiangdong does not allow himself to be so tasteless. He prefers to use financial means and business competition to defeat his opponents.
After all, for the upper class, being able to kill someone without shedding blood is a real skill.
Lu Yiming also greeted him with a smile: "No, no, Mr. Yang is so polite. I heard that you worked at Goldman Sachs for nearly ten years after graduation. You were also the managing director, co-head of Asian private equity investment, and a member of Goldman Sachs' Asian operating committee. Now you have been poached by Carlyle Group for a large sum of money to lead all acquisition business in the Asia-Pacific region. You will definitely be able to achieve great things in the future."
The two of them were chatting and laughing back and forth. If you didn't know them, you would think they were close friends who hadn't seen each other for many years.
Yang Xiangdong is gentle and refined, and his conversation makes people feel like they are in the spring breeze, but his eyes reveal the cruelty and ferocity of a wolf.
As an out-and-out rentier in civilized society, Yang Xiangdong is a pure "carnivore" in the business world. Rather than being an investor, he is more like a hunter who specializes in hunting down those commercial companies that he considers valuable.
He has now set his sights on Home Inn.
"Mr. Lu, the online travel industry is just emerging. Ctrip is a pioneer in the industry, and Home Inn is a rising star. Instead of fighting to the death, it would be better for both parties to cooperate and benefit from it. What do you think of this idea, Mr. Lu?"
When Lu Yiming heard this, he immediately understood. No wonder this guy came over to toast him, it turned out he came to negotiate peace.
He smiled slightly, but said bluntly: "I don't think it's very good."
It is obvious that Lu Yiming has no intention of cooperating with Ctrip. The main reason is that he is very unhappy with the American and Japanese capital behind Ctrip and does not want to collude with them.
Yang Xiangdong was very unhappy with Lu Yiming's attitude. After all, the two had fought for several rounds, and they were both gentle and smiling, but now Lu Yiming was straightforward, without even the intention of being euphemistic, which made Yang Xiangdong feel very embarrassed.
In fact, he looked down on investors like Lu Yiming who came from a "wild background" from the bottom of his heart, but he was a shrewd investment agent, so when it came to profit, he would never act on impulse.
So he still patiently persuaded: "Boss Lu, maybe the previous incident caused some misunderstandings between us, but there is nothing that cannot be discussed in business. I hope we can put aside our past grudges and make the most rational judgment. This will benefit both of us."
Obviously, although the shareholders of Carlyle Investments are very unhappy with Lu Yiming, as capitalists, they can put face aside in order to make money.
Hearing what he said, Lu Yiming sneered, "You were able to reject my investment in Ctrip before, so now I can't reject your investment in Home Inn? Isn't this too hypocritical?"
Seeing that the soft approach didn't work, Yang Xiangdong changed his tone and decided to use a hard approach.
"Mr. Lu, please don't act on impulse. If Home Inns goes to war with Ctrip, both will most likely suffer in the end. Once the IPO fails and the path to listing is cut off, there will be no recovery. You don't want your investment to end up losing everything, right?"
First he used bribery, then he used intimidation. Yang Xiangdong's strategy was cautious and impeccable.
As a lobbyist for capital, he is undoubtedly extremely successful. Whenever he meets a normal investor, he can persuade the other party to give up and make peace.
It’s a pity that he met Lu Yiming, a man who doesn’t play by the rules.
Facing Yang Xiangdong's threat, Lu Yiming was not angry at all. Instead, he showed a mocking and disdainful expression: "Brother, think about it carefully. What do they call me? They call me the richest man! I can afford to lose money, but I don't know if you, Carlyle Investment, can afford to lose money?"
Yang Xiangdong's expression changed slightly. It was obvious that Lu Yiming's words had hit the point directly.
Comparing your money with the richest man, you are losing money? You must be a little bit sick in your brain.
"So you are determined to go against me? Can't we make peace?"
Lu Yiming said simply: "No."
Yang Xiangdong asked: "Why?"
"Because my legs and feet are not in good condition, I can't kneel down."
"Hey, Mr. Lu, it seems that you have a deep prejudice against us, Carlyle Investments."
"prejudice?"
Lu Yiming laughed again: "If you want to talk about prejudice, it is you who have deep prejudices against China. You fantasize that Xiaguo is still the poor and weak Xiaguo a hundred years ago, which did not fight back when beaten or scolded. Unfortunately, times have changed, and we also have the right to say no."
Seeing that his persuasion failed, Yang Xiangdong said nothing more and turned away. There was no expression on his face, and no one could guess what he was thinking.
Yu Jiayi didn't dare to breathe, and only after Yang Xiangdong left did she step forward and ask Lu Yiming: "Mr. Lu, will this offend anyone?"
The Carlyle Group is an international giant, and she instinctively believes that it should not be offended.
Lu Yiming smiled and said, "What do you mean by offend or not offend? Foreign investors are all mean. If you behave in a gentle, humble and polite manner, they will only think that you are easy to bully and then take advantage of you. But if you behave like a barbarian and are very powerful, then they will not dare to provoke you."
"I see!"
Yu Jiayi suddenly understood.
Then Lu Yiming said to her: "What's more, I had already offended the Carlyle Group when I shorted the US stocks, and it's not that bad today. So, it's like too many lice don't itch, and too much debt doesn't worry."
Ji Qi came over and said with a smile: "Boss Lu is so domineering! Carlyle Group should give up this idea now. If you ask me, these people are really hypocritical. When you wanted to invest in Ctrip before, they disagreed. Now that we reject their investment, they say it is our problem. They say both the pros and cons of it."
Lu Yiming said calmly: "They are just like this. After all, they were still monkeys a thousand years ago, and they still behave like beasts now. The only thing they think about is to fight if they can win, and beg for mercy if they can't. They don't think about anything else at all."
"Haha, Mr. Lu is really amazing. He saw through everything at once. Now I have nothing to worry about. I must fight Ctrip to the death!"
"come on."
In the next few hours, many people expressed their opinions and views on the tourism-related industries, but after Lu Yiming helped Ji Qi solve the problem, he took Yu Jiayi away. He felt that instead of wasting time on such things, he might as well go home and lie on the sofa and watch a few more episodes of soap operas.
Lu Yiming's departure did not cause any big commotion, and the event ended in a relaxed and warm atmosphere.
A few days later, Yang Xiangdong participated in a program. The host asked Yang Xiangdong: "I heard that you have led many private equity investment cases in Asia, including Goldman Sachs' investment in Kookmin Bank of South Korea and China Netcom. Recently, Ctrip.com, which was invested by Carlyle Group, encountered commercial sniping. What do you think about this?"
Yang Xiangdong said seriously: "Ctrip and Home Inns are both excellent Chinese companies. Both companies have a bright future. I originally planned to promote cooperation between Home Inns and Ctrip. After all, in the emerging field of online travel, it is better for everyone to join forces and move forward hand in hand instead of fighting alone."
At this point, Yang Xiangdong deliberately revealed an expression of deep regret, saying: "It's just a pity that my proposal was rejected by Mr. Lu, the richest man."
He said it so sincerely that the audience who didn't know the truth felt that Lu Yiming was a little ungrateful when they heard this argument.
The host asked: "Why would Mr. Lu reject your proposal? Isn't this a win-win situation?"
Yang Xiangdong said with emotion: "Mr. Lu was too impulsive and irrational in this matter. Perhaps his continuous success has made him arrogant. In short, he didn't appreciate my kind words of advice."
The host looked at the information in his hand and said, "It is rumored that there was a huge conflict among the four gentlemen of Ctrip. As one of the founders, Ji Qi was squeezed out of Ctrip by the other three companies. That's why Ji Qi cooperated with Lu, the richest man, to establish Home Inn. Is this true?"
Yang Xiangdong denied it flatly, "That doesn't happen. This is pure slander. We attach great importance to the interests of our partners, and the interests of the founders are naturally our top priority. How could we drive the founders away? Speaking of President Ji, everyone knows that the reason why he chose to leave Ctrip to establish Home Inn was because of the planning of the richest man Lu. I have reason to suspect that the rumor that the four gentlemen of Ctrip were not in harmony was also spread by him."
"Mr. Lu wanted to invest in Ctrip in the beginning, but after our research, we found that Mr. Lu's motives for investing in Ctrip were not pure. For the healthy development of Ctrip, we had to reluctantly reject Mr. Lu's investment. I guess it was at this time that Mr. Lu became resentful of Ctrip. He not only spread rumors that the four gentlemen of Ctrip were not in harmony, but also founded Home Inn to compete with Ctrip..."
In Yang Xiangdong's description, Lu Yiming was completely turned into a villain. When the investment failed, he poached people and then retaliated. No matter how you look at it, he is insidious and vicious, not like a good person.
At Lu's Garden, Lu Yiming, who had just finished his breakfast, was looking at the newspaper and said with emotion: "While smearing me, he also took the opportunity to promote Ctrip. It seems that Yang Xiangdong is quite capable."
Most people's attention is focused on the matter of eating melons, but they don't know that eating melons is exactly what Yang Xiangdong wants, because there will be topics only when there are discussions, and topics mean that Ctrip's name is beginning to be remembered by more people.
It has to be said that fighting with a master really aroused Lu Yiming's fighting spirit.
"Interesting. I guess I have to fight back."
After breakfast, Lu Yiming leisurely ran to the headquarters of Home Inn, slapped the newspaper in his hand on Ji Qi's desk, and said with a smile: "Have you read this morning's newspaper?"
Speaking of this, Ji Qi felt very angry and snorted, "This skill of the villain making the first complaint is really amazing. I was just about to fight back. We can't let the truth remain silent forever."
Lu Yiming said: "Ctrip has a high exposure rate now. Although Home Inns has also been mentioned, it is used as a negative example. Do you have any publicity plan to reverse this situation?"
Ji Qi thought about it and said, "We can continue to increase advertising."
Lu Yiming shook his head slightly and said, "Not enough. Public opinion is not favorable to Home Inn. Once this preconceived impression is formed, it will be difficult to reverse it by advertising alone. Besides, do you still have money in your hand?"
Thirty million yuan of funds is not a small amount, but it is not a lot either. The rapid expansion of Home Inn mainly relied on Ji Qi's lavish spending.
Once the money can no longer be burned, the pace of development will naturally slow down.
"I think it would be better to take this opportunity to let Home Inn start the A round. If Home Inn wants to break through, it must first come up with performance data that will impress people."
Ji Qi said worriedly, "Isn't Home Inn being criticized by them now? Public opinion is not favorable to us. I don't think the company's valuation will be very high if the news of financing is released at this time."
In the angel round of investment, Ji Qi received 30 million from Lu Yiming. Although he has achieved a lot, the current situation is unclear. Behind Ctrip, many American and Japanese forces are extremely powerful. Therefore, in the eyes of many people, Ctrip's chances of winning are much higher than others.
It is not clear whether anyone would dare to take a gamble when raising Series A funding at this time. Even if there are people who are really brave, I am afraid that the valuation would be pushed down to a very low level.
Lu Yiming's eyes were firm, and he was clearly confident: "Don't worry about this, just leave it to me."
Ji Qi said, "Okay, let's hold a meeting to announce this matter."
In the office, several company executives were shocked when they learned that the company was going to launch a Series A financing round.
“How long has it been since the Angel Round? Are we going to have the A round of financing so soon?”
"Yes, and why did you choose this time?"
"Boss Ji, why is it so sudden?"
Several executives couldn't help but ask Ji Qi for details. At this critical juncture, the situation of Home Inn was not good.
Ji Qi waved his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet, and then said: "I'm just telling you this. Mr. Lu said he is fully responsible for the specific operations. In fact, when I heard the news, I was as shocked as you."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they heard that Lu Yiming was in charge.
"Mr. Lu is in charge of it himself? Then there shouldn't be any problem."
"Who do you think Mr. Lu will choose to be the investor of Home Inn?"
“I don’t know.”
In anticipation and anxiety, Ji Qi waited for five full days before receiving Lu Yiming's call.
"I will bring investors to the company tomorrow, so you guys should get ready."
Ji Qi was shocked: "Come tomorrow? Time is so tight?"
Lu Yiming said, "The military situation is urgent right now, so we should do things as quickly as possible. How can we make money by being slow? Be quick and don't make any mistakes."
"Understand!"
"Turn on the fax machine and I'll send you the information later. Send the guest list and photos together and register them properly."
"Okay, Mr. Lu."
As time was running out, after talking to Lu Yiming on the phone, Ji Qi quickly called together the company's top executives.
"Mr. Lu just called and said that the investment delegation will come to our company tomorrow for inspection. Thank you for working overtime today. Please prepare all the materials and make sure there are no omissions or errors. The A round is very important, so make sure nothing goes wrong."
"Come tomorrow? Time is too tight. We need to act quickly."
"With Mr. Lu's status as a rich man, I wonder what kind of tough guys the investors he brings in will be."
"Indeed, to be honest, I am looking forward to it. Mr. Lu is the richest man in Xia Country. He won't bring the richest man from some other country over, right?"
"That's incredible. It will definitely become big news."
As everyone was talking, the fax machine in the corner started to click, attracting everyone's attention.
Ji Qi said: "It should be the guest information sent by President Lu."
Someone urged, "Hurry up and see who is here."
"I'll go and take a look."
Ji Qi came to the fax machine and waited patiently for Ji Qi to bring the transmitted information to the desk.
"This is……"
When the information was unfolded, everyone's eyes were focused on it. Then, everyone was stunned and expressions of shock appeared on their faces.
"incredible……"
"As expected of Mr. Lu, this is the connection of the richest man in Xia Country?"
"All I can say is, invincible."
