Chapter 818
Three days later, Lu Yiming and Li Yiwen appeared in Beijing. Then Ali represented by Jack Ma and Yahoo led by Yang Zhiyuan appeared in a conference room of a hotel.
After everyone introduced themselves, Yang Zhiyuan got straight to the point and said, "Mr. Lu, I won't say any more polite words. I came here this time to buy some shares of Ali. I had planned to buy 40% from Mr. Ma, but Mr. Ma told me that all the shares of Ali are in your hands, so I want to make a deal with you."
Lu Yiming already knew Yang Zhiyuan's goal, so he said without hesitation: "Boss Yang, I'm so sorry, the shares I have are not for sale."
Yahoo is doomed, and its thinking is backward. It is still playing the game of the 1.0 era with the mindset of the Internet. How can it play well in the game that has been updated to the new version 2.0? Selling Alibaba's shares to Yahoo is like giving a golden chicken that can place orders to a dying gambler.
Jack Ma felt very happy when he heard what Lu Yiming said. Although he asked Yang Zhiyuan to come to Lu Yiming to buy shares, he actually didn't want Lu Yiming to agree to sell the shares.
And if Lu Yiming agrees to sell, then it is certain that not all 40% of the shares will come from Lu Yiming's hands. Jack Ma will definitely have to contribute a part as well.
This is not what Jack Ma wants to see.
In the past, this transaction was made by Jack Ma in order to raise funds to fight against eBay, but now the transaction partner has changed from Yahoo to Lu Yiming.
Jack Ma saw Lu Yiming's straightforward answer as a sign that he recognized his business philosophy.
When Yang Zhiyuan heard the words "not for sale", he didn't take it too seriously. He thought that the money must not be enough, so he continued to say enthusiastically: "Mr. Lu, Yahoo is really sincere. The price of 500 million US dollars for 20% of the shares, I dare to guarantee that no one else in the world can afford this price."
Before, he had said 40% of the shares, but now he knew very well that it was impossible for him to get that much, so he had to settle for the next best thing.
If it were other investors or investment institutions, they might have agreed to Yang Zhiyuan's offer without saying a word.
After all, Lu Yiming only spent five million to get 50% of the shares. Now he is only selling 20% of it for $500 million, and the return rate is more than two hundred and fifty times!
However, Lu Yiming was well aware of the course of history, and he knew very well that 250 times was not the end point for Ahri. Now Ahri had not even been listed on the market, let alone 20%. Even if it was sold at 2% at this price, it would be a huge loss.
Lu Yiming did not bargain with Yang Zhiyuan on the price, but asked with a smile: "Boss Yang, let me ask you, tell me honestly, how much do you think Ali is worth?"
Yang Zhiyuan couldn't help but complain in his heart, didn't he just say 20% of 500 million? Doesn't that mean 2.5 billion?
However, Yang Zhiyuan was also very clear that this answer was obviously not what Lu Yiming wanted. He did not speculate too much, but asked directly: "Mr. Lu, what do you mean by this?"
Lu Yiming did not hide it and said, "Boss Yang, let me tell you this. In my mind, in the next fifteen years, the market value of Ali will reach at least 800 billion US dollars."
"How much? 800 billion? Dollars?"
Yang Zhiyuan wanted to laugh when he heard this number!
When you bought the shares, you valued it at 10 million. When I bought the shares, you valued it at 800 billion?
Are you kidding me?
Not to mention Yang Zhiyuan, even Jack Ma, who was used to bragging, was shocked by the price.
"Boss Lu, are you telling the truth?"
$800 billion?
How much is that?
I dare not even think about it!
Yang Zhiyuan looked at Jack Ma and asked, "Mr. Ma, do you believe Mr. Lu's estimate?"
Of course Jack Ma really wants to believe it. After all, 800 billion US dollars. Not to mention a company, even if a country’s GDP has that much, it can rank among the top in the world!
But Jack Ma's reason told him that Lu Yiming's price was just a joke.
Ali's market value could reach 80 billion - no, if it could reach 8 billion US dollars, Jack Ma felt that he would have to kowtow to Lu Yiming three times.
Yang Zhiyuan sighed and said to Lu Yiming: "Mr. Lu, I'm not kidding you. I sincerely want to discuss cooperation with you."
Lu Yiming also said seriously: "Boss Yang, I'm not kidding you. You should be aware of the current development of Ali. Now is definitely not the end of Ali. The 800 billion I mentioned is it. I never joke about making money."
This is very clear. My price is this price. If you can afford it, then buy it. If you can't afford it, then don't mention it.
Yang Zhiyuan was also depressed. 800 billion, 20% of the shares would cost 160 billion, and it was in US dollars. If I had so much money, would I have to come to discuss cooperation with Ali and use Ali to hedge the risk?
Although Lu Yiming looked very serious, without sarcasm or contempt, and even his every move revealed his sincerity in discussing the matter , Yang Zhiyuan still silently shed tears of poverty in his heart.
If I had money would I be like this?
Although Lu Yiming didn't plan to sell the shares in his hands, Yang Zhiyuan didn't want to give up, and turned to look at Jack Ma: "Mr. Ma, why don't you sell it to me at the price just now. You can't possibly not even have 20% of the shares in your hands, right?"
To be honest, Yang Zhiyuan didn't really care about the valuation of 800 billion US dollars. He thought it was just an excuse for Lu Yiming not to sell his shares.
Jack Ma would definitely not be so outrageous.
The fact is, Jack Ma is not as outrageous as Lu Yiming, and the offer of 20% of the US$500 million is also higher than he expected.
He was still very moved.
Jack Ma looked at Lu Yiming and asked, "Mr. Lu, what do you think of this price?"
Lu Yiming said, "Why are you asking me? He wants to buy your shares, not mine. It's up to you to decide whether to sell or not. Anyway, my price is that much."
This made Yang Zhiyuan and Jack Ma think that Lu Yiming's valuation of 800 billion yuan was just a bluff.
Jack Ma thought about it and realized that Yahoo's international channels, especially those in the United States, were exactly what Ali needed. So he said to Yang Zhiyuan, "Mr. Yang, since you are so sincere, I can't let you make a wasted trip. I can sell you 20% of the shares. But we still need to discuss the details of the cooperation."
Seeing Jack Ma agree, Yang Zhiyuan felt relieved and said with a smile, "Of course."
Two days later, news spread that Yahoo had purchased 20 percent of Ali's shares for $500 million, and the two parties held a press conference at Ali's headquarters.
After the press conference, the session of answering questions from reporters began as usual.
As the most successful Chinese entrepreneur in the United States, Yang Zhiyuan naturally attracted the attention of the media, and Lu Yiming, as the youngest richest man in Asia in history, was also the focus of everyone's attention.
"Mr. Yang, why did you invest $500 million in Alibaba Group? Is it because you are optimistic about Xiaguo's development in the e-commerce field?"
Yang Zhiyuan certainly wouldn't say that it was because Yahoo was in trouble and needed Ali to help. He had a serious expression on his face and slowly said something very well-thought-out: "Xia is my motherland and I love this land. So after I succeeded in the United States, I thought about whether I could give back to my hometown. At this time, the Internet industry in Xia is also developing rapidly. Did you know that not long ago, the number of Internet users in Xia officially exceeded 100 million, making it the second largest Internet power after the United States. I am proud of it and hope to continue to contribute to this great cause."
The reporters who were unaware of the inside story were moved by Yang Zhiyuan's words, and they did not hesitate to applaud and praise him.
"Well done, Mr. Yang. You are truly a good man of our Xia country."
"I really hope there will be more entrepreneurs like Mr. Yang. Even if they are successful outside, they never forget to give back to their hometown."
"With entrepreneurs like Mr. Yang who are dedicated to Xiaguo, Xiaguo's technology will surely take off."
Listening to Yang Zhiyuan's words and the reporters' praise, Lu Yiming, who knew the inside story, almost got hurt.
I don't know whether Lao Yang really loves his homeland and wants to build his motherland. After all, people's hearts are hidden. But it can be verified that Yahoo's development in the United States was blocked by Google.
Therefore, the current Xiaguo Internet market is Yahoo's only lifeline. As long as Yang Zhiyuan is not stupid, he will definitely hold on to it.
However, at this moment, a regretful expression suddenly appeared on Yang Zhiyuan's face, and he slowly said: "In fact, I was planning to invest one billion US dollars to buy 40% of Ali's shares. Unfortunately, this deal was eventually rejected by President Lu."
A billion dollars?
The reporters were shocked.
In other words, Ali’s valuation reached 2.5 billion US dollars?
Is Ahri so valuable?
In many people's impressions, Ali's recent development is indeed good, but after all, they are not people in the circle, and they don't understand what this "good" actually means.
But everyone knows how much $2.5 billion is.
What shocked everyone even more was that Lu Yiming actually vetoed the deal.
Could it be that Lu Yiming is still not satisfied with this price?
A reporter immediately directed the topic to Lu Yiming: "Mr. Lu, is this true?"
"Boss Lu, why don't you agree?"
Lu Yiming was just enjoying the show, but he never expected that Yang Zhiyuan would actually bring trouble upon himself.
He looked at Yang Zhiyuan, but found that Yang Zhiyuan was also looking at him with a smile on his face, so he suddenly felt a little depressed.
I was inexplicably cheated here, which really makes me speechless.
Yang Zhiyuan was just saying that he bought the Ali shares to give back to his hometown, but then he changed the subject and said that Lu Yiming was unwilling to buy shares. What do you think people will think?
There is no doubt that everyone will think that Lu Yiming is ignorant and is hindering the country's development.
Some extreme people even think that Lu Yiming, as a wealthy man in China, is not as patriotic as someone who has returned from abroad.
Lu Yiming obviously understood these pitfalls, so his thoughts never went in this direction.
"The company's equity swap and share acquisition are purely market behaviors. So from a business perspective, I did not agree to sell my shares because I felt that the offer was too low. In my mind, the value of Ali should be greater than it is now. This has nothing to do with patriotism. I just don't want to do business at a loss. I think you all know that I have never done business at a loss."
Lu Yiming's sudden witty remark at the end made everyone laugh.
But when everyone thought about Lu Yiming's current net worth, they couldn't laugh anymore.
grass!
Why is it so easy for Mr. Lu to do business?
It's not just that he has never lost money. For the richest man Lu, making less money would be equivalent to losing a lot of money.
For a time, many people began to become interested in Ali.
Even Mr. Lu is so optimistic about it. He refused to sell it even when Yahoo offered $500 million. Does this mean that I should pay attention to Ali in the future? I will buy some shares of Ali as soon as it goes public.
Ordinary people naturally shouldn't think too much about shares and the serious thing is to wait for the listing to see if they can sign some stocks.
A reporter couldn't wait to ask: "Ali is not listed yet, do you have any plans to list the company?"
This question finally came to Jack Ma's attention. He sat up straight and said, "We have already discussed the company's listing plan internally. First of all, we can be sure that we will go public. At present, the main focus of our debate is whether to list on the A-share market, the Hong Kong stock market, or the Nasdaq. The number of people in the company who voted internally now favored the Nasdaq. We are based in Xiaguo and face the world. Going public on the Nasdaq is not only part of our company's globalization strategy, but also an important part of putting our company to the test of the world market. We must integrate into the world competition."
When they heard that Ali wanted to list on NASDAQ, many people felt very depressed. Without connections, they would have nowhere to buy the stock.
Some people can't help but feel annoyed, why didn't Ali go public in China? Otherwise, they might have made a fortune.
Some people are already thinking about whether they have any connections in the United States. If Ali really goes public on the Nasdaq, they can ask others to help grab a share.
After the press conference, Lu Yiming said to Yang Zhiyuan: "You are such a dishonest guy. You set a trap for me in front of everyone."
Yang Zhiyuan pretended to be stupid and said, "Really ? No, haha. Let's go, let's go to the celebration banquet. Mr. Lu, we haven't seen each other for so long, I must drink a few more glasses with you..."
