Chapter 763 The palms and backs of your hands are all mine
In recent years, Qiandu and 3721 have been fighting fiercely in the search market, with each competing against the other.
In order to attack Baidu and gain market share, Zhou Hongyi, who became the deputy director of the Computer Security Committee of the Xia Computer Society more than ten years later, forced users to install plug-ins when installing the computer, which were difficult to uninstall. The plug-ins even pushed some colored content links, earning him the nickname "the father of rogue software."
All we can say is that the person who is best at "antivirus" must be the one who knows the most about "viruses".
For Yang Zhiyuan, who likes to gamble, Zhou Hongyi, a technical genius who also does not follow the beaten path, is the target that best meets his expectations.
Lu Yiming said to Yang Zhiyuan, "As we all know, population is the foundation of everything. Xia Country has the largest population in the world, so it will definitely have the largest market in the world in the future. If we can establish a presence in Xia Country as early as possible and take root in Xia Country, Yahoo will definitely be able to make a difference in Xia Country's Internet market. The United States is too small, and its population is only a fraction of Xia Country's. If you need, I think we can cooperate in this regard. I happen to have a small achievement in Xia Country."
Yang Zhiyuan's eyes lit up and he asked, "What are you going to do?"
Lu Yiming did not directly answer Yang Zhiyuan's question, but asked: "I think you should know about 3721, right?"
How could Yang Zhiyuan not know about 3721? After all, Yahoo had already placed its next investment focus on Xiaguo. Both Baidu and 3721 were his chosen targets, but he had not yet made a decision. And what Lu Yiming said now coincided with what he thought.
Although deep down in his heart he even had the urge to treat Lu Yiming as a confidant, Yang Zhiyuan knew very well that Lu Yiming was sitting here to negotiate business with him, and he had to do his best to hide his true thoughts to prevent Lu Yiming from raising the price.
After all, this is the guy who can say that Google is worth 1.5 trillion US dollars. No one would be surprised if he says anything shocking.
After all kinds of thoughts went through his mind, Yang Zhiyuan said calmly, "I've heard of it, but I don't know much about it."
Of course, Lu Yiming didn't believe what Yang Zhiyuan said. After all, a businessman who doesn't know about his competitors is no different from an idiot. He said bluntly, "Whether Mr. Yang really doesn't know or not, Yahoo doesn't have many choices, and no matter what Yahoo chooses, it's the same to me."
Yang Zhiyuan was very unhappy that Lu Yiming had taken the lead in the conversation, so he argued, "I know that you are a major shareholder of 3721, and I'm afraid you came here because you saw that Yahoo is planning to acquire 3721. But Mr. Lu, 3721 is not the only option for Yahoo. If your asking price is too high, we can also choose Baidu."
Lu Yiming smiled and said, "That's right. When it comes to business, it's definitely right to compare prices from different suppliers. And Qiandu is doing pretty well in Xia Country, so it can be used as a backup option for you, Mr. Yang. But I still recommend 3721."
Yang Zhiyuan knew that it was meaningless to hide his weakness in front of Lu Yiming, so he asked directly: "If I want to take over 3721, how much do you plan to offer, Mr. Lu?"
Lu Yiming responded with a much more respectable-sounding price: "Two hundred and seventy million U.S. dollars."
Of course, this so-called decency is based on what Lu Yiming said before, "Google is worth 1.5 trillion."
It has to be said that Lu Yiming understands price anchoring.
Lu Yiming can say that Google's market value is one trillion, but at first glance, it seems much more reasonable to think that 3721 is less than 300 million.
However, Yang Zhiyuan was not someone who could be easily fooled. He knew the actual value of 3721 very well, so he immediately retorted, "This price is really too expensive."
Lu Yiming said confidently: "3721's current profitability is still very good, with an annual turnover of more than 100 million RMB, or only 200 million US dollars. It will be earned back in a dozen years, and my offer is not high at all. Mr. Yang, good things can't be cheap. I guarantee that 3721 is absolutely worth the money."
Naturally, Yang Zhiyuan was unwilling to accept such a high offer, which was twice his psychological price. Anyone who accepted this as a sucker would be a fool.
Yang Zhiyuan didn't believe a word of Lu Yiming's words. After all, he had secretly sent people to investigate 3721's details. So he retorted, "3721's turnover is 100 million, but that doesn't mean its profit is also 100 million. Moreover, for a service like the Chinese website, competitors may emerge within ten months, let alone ten years. If we don't sell it now, it may become worthless in a few months."
The two sides exchanged verbal battles and finally reached a price of 220 million US dollars. Lu Yiming insisted on this price and Yang Zhiyuan was unwilling to compromise, so the negotiations came to a standstill.
"Oh, you see, I'm getting hungry while talking. Although Mr. Yang doesn't seem to accept my point of view today, I believe this is only temporary. As long as we continue to strengthen mutual trust and enhance understanding, we will reach a consensus one day."
Lu Yiming stood up, bowed to Yang Zhiyuan, and said, "Goodbye."
Although Zhou Hongyi told him that he advocated selling 3721 to Yahoo if they wanted to list it, Lu Yiming was not in a hurry at all.
Although Yang Zhiyuan was very anxious now, after all, Google was pressing him step by step, but he didn't want to show this anxiety to Lu Yiming. After all, Lu Yiming's price was $100 million more than his psychological price, so he was certainly unwilling to compromise.
So, when Lu Yiming wanted to leave, he did not stop him. He planned to leave Lu Yiming alone and let him calm down first.
After leaving Yahoo and getting in the car, Yu Jiayi said to Lu Yiming, "Mr. Lu, Mr. Zhou from 3721 called several times just now."
Lu Yiming took out his cell phone and complained as he dialed the number: "This old Zhou, what's the point of being anxious?"
"Hello? Lao Zhou, why are you still awake in the middle of the night and calling me all the time?"
Zhou Hongyi laughed a few times, then asked impatiently, "How is it going? Mr. Lu, have you talked to Yahoo?"
Lu Yiming said, "I know you are anxious, but don't worry. We just talked about it, and Yang Zhiyuan's current offer is only 120 million US dollars, which I think is too little."
Zhou Hongyi felt speechless when she heard what Lu Yiming said.
As the saying goes, family members know their own business. How much is 3721 worth? As the boss, how could Zhou Hongyi not know?
"Mr. Lu, I think the price of $120 million is not bad. If they are willing to pay, it may not be impossible to sell it."
However, Lu Yiming seemed even more excited than the founder Zhou Hongyi. He said indignantly, "I don't care what you think, I care what I think. 3721 is worth at least $200 million, right? I will never accept such a high-quality asset being sold at a low price."
On the other end of the phone, Zhou Hongyi rolled her eyes and was too tired to complain.
He is obviously the "real father" of 3721, why does it feel like he has become the fake father now, and Lu Yiming is the founder of the company?
It's really weird!
However, Zhou Hongyi couldn't help but fantasize that if it could really be sold for 200 million US dollars, it would seem like a good thing.
But even though he was greedy, he was still rational. He asked Lu Yiming a little nervously: "The price of $200 million is too high. Can Mr. Yang agree to it?"
Lu Yiming said confidently: "Don't worry, I will make him agree."
Yahoo! Inc.
CEO Terry Semel walked into the office and saw Yang Zhiyuan frowning and looking unhappy, so he asked him, "Jerry, what's wrong with you?"
Yang Zhiyuan sighed deeply and said, "Lu Yiming came here just now."
Terry Semel had naturally heard of Lu Yiming, a ruthless character who was hated by countless people on Wall Street. He asked curiously, "Lu Yiming? The common enemy of Wall Street? What is he doing here?"
Yang Zhiyuan naturally had no need to hide anything from Terry Semel, so he said directly: "He wants to sell 3721 to Yahoo for 220 million US dollars."
Hearing this, Terry Semel was even more shocked than Yang Zhiyuan just now, and couldn't help but screamed: "Is he crazy? How can such a small company be worth $200 million?"
In fact, if it weren't for Google's constant pressure and Yahoo's time pressure, they wouldn't even want to spend the $100 million they were going to use to acquire 3721.
Yahoo is not having a good time right now, so it is naturally impossible for it to spend money as lavishly as it did a few years ago.
Terry Semel was not only the president of Disney's entertainment distribution department, but also the president of CBS's entertainment distribution department, so he responded quickly and said to Yang Zhiyuan: "Mr. Lu is now fearless. I think you can talk to Baidu first. It doesn't matter whether it succeeds or not. Let's spread the word and put pressure on Lu Yiming."
Lu Yiming returned to the hotel, took a shower, ate some snacks, thought about it, and then called Li Yiwen.
As a result, what Lu Yiming didn't expect was that the person who answered the phone was Li Zixian.
In the newly bought villa, Li Yiwen was dissatisfied when he saw Li Zixian answering the phone. He muttered in a daze, "Who is it? Calling in the middle of the night."
Li Zixian rolled her eyes at him and said, "Who else could it be at this point? It could be your good cousin in the United States."
In other words, it was still daytime in the United States, so it was reasonable for Lu Yiming to call. If Lu Yiming was in China, he would definitely be sleeping at this time.
It must be said that Lu Yiming's sleep and rest schedule is quite normal, and he sleeps at least eight hours every night without fail.
Li Yiwen took the phone from Li Zixian and said to Lu Yiming unhappily, "What are you doing here in the middle of the night?"
Lu Yiming said with a smile: "Ah, cousin, you haven't gotten up yet?"
"Brother, do you know what time it is? If you have something to say, say it now ."
Lu Yiming said: "I talked to Yahoo today and I plan to sell 3721 to Yahoo for $220 million."
Li Yiwen couldn't fall asleep instantly. He sat up in shock and asked Lu Yiming, "I remember when you invested in 3721, you spent 5 million to get 30% of the shares, right? Aren't these shares worth more than 500 million now?"
My goodness, how long has it been? And the return on investment has been hundreds of times?
Once again, Li Yiwen felt the charm of investing in the Internet. It really was like buying a lottery ticket. It was so exciting.
However, Lu Yiming's next words calmed Li Yiwen down a lot: "Yang Zhiyuan is unwilling to agree to my offer now. I guess he will go to Qiandu to negotiate soon. When the time comes, you can help me deal with Li Hongyan and tell him not to sell the company in a rush."
This is something that anyone can think of. Yahoo can only buy two companies, 3721 and Qiandu. Now that the negotiations with 3721 have reached an impasse, it will naturally go to Qiandu.
Li Yiwen didn't know this, and asked in confusion: "Yahoo wants to buy Baidu? How did you know?"
Lu Yiming said, "Yahoo has already lost its foundation in North America. If it doesn't seek a way out, is it going to die? There are only two companies that are the most powerful in Chinese search, Baidu and 3721. Yang Zhiyuan has no other choice. I guess he might offer $150 million. Cousin, you must resist the temptation of sugar-coated bullets."
Li Yiwen retracted the yawn that was just about to start: "How much did you say?"
Back then, when Lu Yiming asked him to invest in Qiandu, he only invested less than 8 million yuan in total, and now he holds 42% of Qiandu's shares.
Doing the math, these shares are now worth at least $521 million!
To be honest, Li Yiwen felt that this was a bit too unreal. When he invested in Qiandu before, he had no idea how much the company was worth. He even didn't go to the company for a few days after the investment, and only sent someone to check the accounts occasionally.
But now the prize was suddenly revealed, which caught him off guard.
After hanging up the phone, Li Yiwen sat on the edge of the bed in a daze.
Li Zixian asked: "What's wrong with you? Did something happen?"
Li Yiwen said: "I invested in Baidu according to my cousin's suggestion. Now Yahoo from the United States wants to buy Baidu."
Li Zixian felt even more curious: "Isn't that good?"
Li Yiwen said: "That's great. As long as I give my nod, I can make a net profit of more than 500 million from this deal. "
Li Zixian was immediately frightened by this number. She covered her mouth and screamed in shock: "Oh my God, more than 500 million?"
She had only read lines when she was on a show before about this much money, and had never imagined that one day she would be associated with such a huge sum of money.
However, Li Yiwen sighed and said, "Yes, it's more than 500 million, but my cousin told me not to sell it."
Li Zixian quickly calmed down, and then suggested that Li Yiwen listen to Lu Yiming, saying: "Lu Yiming is a capable person, I think you should trust him, after all, he will not cheat you for no reason, right?"
Li Yiwen smiled and said, "I think so too, but it's a pity. More than 500 million is equivalent to my entire current net worth."
Xia country.
Terry Semel went to meet Li Hongyan in person.
Facing Li Hongyan, Terry Semel did not exchange too many pleasantries and directly stated his purpose.
Li Hongyan was naturally very tempted by the offer of US$150 million.
Qiandu has been established for less than 5 years, and recently it ran into the tough opponent 3721 in the Chinese search field, and the two sides fought a bloody battle.
Many venture capitalists believe that the current capital market's enthusiasm for Internet concepts is difficult to sustain, so they choose the safer option of selling and cashing out.
So much so that even the founder Li Hongyan himself is pessimistic about the company's future.
If he could sell the company now, he could cash out immediately and put hundreds of millions of cash in his pocket. It makes him happy just thinking about it.
The negotiations went very smoothly. After all, Terry Semel's price was not low, and Li Hongyan had no reason to refuse.
However, just as both parties were preparing to sign the contract, Li Yiwen walked into Li Hongyan's office.
"Mr. Li, long time no see."
Facing Li Yiwen, the major shareholder of Qiandu, Li Hongyan certainly did not dare to neglect him, and quickly said with a smile: "Boss Li, why are you here?"
Li Yiwen was not polite. He sat on the sofa and asked, "I heard that you are planning to sell Qiandu?"
Li Hongyan was a little embarrassed and didn't dare to answer. After all, both parties had even prepared the contract materials, so there was no objection to quibbling.
Li Yiwen did not wait for Li Hongyan's answer, but just said to himself: "Yahoo has completely lost to Google in the North American search market. Now they want to enter the Chinese search field. In fact, it is a gamble, and they are betting on Xiaguo. But the question is, can Yahoo definitely unify the Chinese search market?"
Li Hongyan was puzzled and said, "Is it not possible? That's Yahoo."
Li Yiwen shook his head and said, "A few months ago, didn't eBay come in with great momentum? In the end, it failed to adapt to the local environment. Look at the current e-commerce C2C field in Xia Country, who is the overlord? Why do you think Yahoo can take over the search business in Xia Country?"
These words made Li Hongyan's heart surge.
After all, they are still young people with passion in their hearts. Who doesn't want to live a glorious life and accomplish something great?
Li Yiwen patted Li Hongyan on the shoulder and said earnestly, "Yahoo is not an Internet company that values technology, so no matter how big it looks , it is actually weak inside. The Internet era has changed. What everyone will compete for in the future is user experience and technical strength, and we have all of these. Times make heroes. Are you really willing to sell your brilliant future for $150 million?"
Li Yiwen's words immediately convinced Li Hongyan. After all, he was also an ambitious person, otherwise he would not have come to the United States to found Qiandu. His expression became firm, and he said, "Mr. Li, you are right, Qiandu must not be sold to Yahoo! No matter how much money you offer, I will not sell it!"
Li Yiwen laughed: "I think if Yahoo can come up with a few hundred billion, we can still sell it."
Li Hongyan laughed loudly upon hearing this: "What a pity, Yahoo is unwilling to pay this amount no matter what."
