Chapter 378 The sudden change
Back to the hotel where we stayed.
"Mr. Xu, I'm afraid it will be difficult for this acquisition to come to fruition in a short period of time." Xia Wei said.
Xu Liang nodded. Vivendi only wants money now. After getting their quotation, it will definitely leak it to Microsoft and Sony as soon as possible, and then wait for the bidding from the two.
Similarly, if their bid is higher than Hongmeng, Vivendi will definitely disclose it to them.
Jean Foch would not sell the Vivendi game without squeezing all its value out of it.
“Fortunately Nintendo withdrew, otherwise this negotiation would have been more difficult.” Xu Liang sighed.
Xia Wei nodded in agreement.
The day before they visited Vivendi, Nintendo officially withdrew from the competition.
"Leave a few people in Paris to take charge of liaison. You can go back to Dublin. The operation of the European subsidiary depends on you. You can't be away for too long."
Xia Wei nodded, "Mr. Xu, when will you leave?"
"I will stay for a few days to see Vivendi's movements. If there are still no results, it will not be too late to leave."
"Okay."
Just as Xu Liang originally expected, Vivendi made no move after receiving his quotation.
When Lu Hui called, she just said perfunctorily that she was still considering it, and asked them to wait for a while, and the result would be available soon.
Obviously, Vivendi is still waiting for a price.
Xu Liang couldn't make Vidhiwang, who was obsessed with making money, compromise in a short time.
It is impossible to wait here forever.
"Richard, I'll leave Paris to you."
Xu Liang looked at the tall middle-aged white man in front of him and confessed.
"Please rest assured, I will tell you as soon as possible if there is any news." Richard Sanders said respectfully.
He is the vice president of Hongmeng Europe and is responsible for the French business.
After Xia Wei returned to Dublin, he was left to be responsible for liaison between Hongmeng and Vivendi, and to recruit personnel to prepare for the establishment of Hongmeng's French subsidiary.
"I'm waiting for your good news."
After patting him on the shoulder, Xu Liang boarded his private plane.
Things are almost busy here in Europe, and it’s time to leave.
After leaving Paris, his next destination was New York.
After a seven-hour flight, he came to New York for the third time.
Checked into the New York Plaza Hotel.
“Mr. Xu, when is the meeting with Mr. Chu Gang scheduled?”
"At ten o'clock tomorrow morning."
"Where is the location?" Lu Hui asked immediately.
“Has the location of Hanhua Capital’s New York office been chosen?”
“It has been chosen, it is at 1184 Greenwich.”
Greenwich It is a gathering place for American hedge funds. Hedge fund giants including Bridgewater have placed their companies here.
After 9/11, it was only 60 kilometers away from New York, with convenient transportation, and the property tax was only 1.2%. The beautiful environment of Greenwich became the first choice of hedge funds.
When Hanhua Capital entered New York, it also placed the address of its branch headquarters here.
When Xu Liang was about to ask about the company's formation, the phone in his pocket suddenly rang.
Picked it up, looked at it, and pressed the answer button.
“BOSS, I am Richard Sanders.”
"Is there any change at Vivendi?"
"Yes. Google has joined the competition, quoting US$2.9 billion."
"Google? Are you sure you are right?!" Xu Liang was surprised road.
“Yes. I see Google President Eric Schmidt here, and Vivendi is selling high prices to promote competition, and there is no way it is cheating us on this.”
Xu Liang nodded.
"BOSS, do we want to increase the price?"
"No for now, let's wait and see what happens with Microsoft and Sony first."
With Vivendi's greedy nature, unless it is sure that there is no new competition If not, the contract will not be signed.
“Okay.”
“Keep an eye on Google. If there is any trouble, remember to notify me as soon as possible.”
After explaining, Xu Liang hung up the phone.
The brows were furrowed.
The emergence of Google was completely beyond his expectation. Google has no gaming business at all, and it has no competition for the capital of Vivendi Games. It is really unexpected to suddenly intervene this time.
Xu Liang paced back and forth in the hall and pondered for a while.
Took out the phone and called Jean Foch.
The phone that always took a long time to get through before was answered quickly this time.
"Mr. Xu, it is really a pleasure to receive your call."
Xu Liang could feel the excitement in his tone.
This is also easy to understand.
The emergence of new competitors means that Vivendi games can be sold at higher prices.
"Mr. Foch, it seems that you have been waiting for my call for a long time."
"NO, NO, Mr. Xu misunderstood. I am not waiting for your call anymore, but I am planning to call you. . I didn’t expect you to call me before I took action. We really have a tacit understanding. It’s all about money.
After cursing secretly in his heart, Xu Liang suppressed the anger in his heart and said quickly.
"Mr. Foch, I heard that Google has joined the competition for Vivendi Games?"
"Yes. This is what I was about to tell Mr. Xu. I didn't expect you to get the news so quickly."
Xu Liang directly skipped these proud words.
"Mr. Foch, you may not know. Although Google has developed well in recent years, their revenue is not high, and the overall value is not even as good as Vivendi Games.
There is no money to acquire, so don’t be fooled.” “Haha, don’t worry, Mr. Xu. We have verified Google’s qualifications. Citibank has proved that they have US$1.5 billion in cash in their account. If it is acquired through leverage, model, they do have the ability to acquire Vivendi Games”
Xu Liang knew that Foch would not lie to him in this regard.
Take a deep breath, a cold look flashed in his eyes.
“I understand, thank you Mr. Foch for informing me.”
“Mr. Xu, I personally prefer to sell Vivendi games to Hongmeng, but after all, the company is not my own. Yes, I also want to respect everyone's opinions, so you should think more about it.
But I guarantee that even if you pay 10 million US dollars more than Google's offer, I will sell Vivendi Games. You.”
"This greedy bastard." Xu Liang said after cursing in his mind, "Thank you, I will seriously consider it."
Jean Foch did not expect Xu Liang to update his quotation immediately.
After a brief chat, he hung up the phone.
Xu Liang held his cell phone and began to think deeply.
Although Google has now shown its potential as a giant, it still cannot raise US$1.5 billion in cash on its own.
"Something must have happened in the middle."
Xu Liang said.
Recalling my connections in the United States, I finally found Dan Bailey and called him.
As the president and chief operating officer of Merrill Lynch, Dan Bailey is undoubtedly a Wall Street giant. With Merrill Lynch's channels, most things in the American financial circle cannot be hidden from him.
And Merrill Lynch is one of the largest EPs of Qinglong Fund, so he will not hesitate to tell him some inside information.
The phone rang for a while and then connected.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Xu."
"Good afternoon, Mr. Bailey. Didn't I disturb your work?"
"Of course not. Mr. Xu's phone number is at Calling at any time is not an intrusion. "
After saying "Thank you", Xu Liang quickly said: "Mr. Bailey, do you have time in the evening? If possible, can we have a casual meal together?"
"Mr. Xu is in New York?"
"Just arrived this morning."
"That's great, I'm very happy to keep the appointment."
"I'll make the time later. and the location will be sent to your mobile phone ”
“Okay.”
"See you in the evening then?"
"See you in the evening."
After hanging up the phone, Xu Liang turned around and told Lu Hui.
“Call Xie Wen immediately and ask him to check whether Google has received investment recently.”
“Okay.”
——
Restaurant box of New York Plaza Hotel.
"Mr. Xu, we meet again."
Dan Bailey smiled.
Holding the right hand that the other party extended, Xu Liang smiled and said: "Mr. Bailey, welcome."
After a brief greeting, the two sat down.
After ordering the food, Xu Liang didn’t hesitate.
"Does Mr. Bailey know Google?"
"Of course, many investment institutions are now looking for excellent Internet targets, and there are very few outstanding ones in Google."
< br>"Really? So Merrill Lynch also invested in them?"
Dan Bailey shook his head, "We failed to compete with DFJ, Goldman Sachs and Carlyle."
After secretly saying "Sure enough".
“I heard that Google raised US$1.5 billion in cash?”
“1.5 billion US dollars? No, No, they raised 55 times net profit and a total valuation of 6 billion. He received US$900 million in cash, not US$1.5 billion.”
Xu Liang frowned and thought, “Did Jean Foch lie to me?”
Looking at Xu Liang, Dan Bailey smiled slightly.
“Although Google’s Series C financing failed to raise US$1.5 billion in cash, they issued an ABS asset-backed bond worth US$600 million through Goldman Sachs with the company’s future profits under the guarantee of Oracle. "
" Oracle? "
Xu Liang's expression changed.
Finally we know who is behind the scenes.
"Larry Ellison is an arrogant and vindictive guy, and Google is Hongmeng's competitor. When they join forces, Mr. Xu must be careful." Dan Bailey said with a smile.
Xu Liang was silent for a moment and picked up the wine glass on the table.
"Mr. Bailey, I respect you. Thank you for providing me with this valuable information."
Dan Bailey smiled, picked up the glass and said with a smile: "Mr. Xu is polite. Well, there is a good cooperative relationship between Hanhua and Merrill Lynch, and it is natural for them to exchange their needs.”
He has always been optimistic about Xu Liang’s future, especially his talent in finance.
That's why he told the news he knew without reservation.
“Merrill Lynch will always be our best partner of Hanhua.” Xu Liangdao.
Dan Bailey smiled, "Mr. Xu, Google has raised such a large amount of money and will become a strong competitor of Hongmeng in the international market. Coupled with the impact of companies such as Yahoo and Amazon, you also need Open Series B financing to face the future.”
Xu Liang smiled and said: “Mr. Bailey is right. We at Hongmeng have decided to launch Series B financing in June next year. I will send a special invitation letter to Merrill Lynch.”
After getting what he wanted, Dan Bailey smiled with satisfaction.
"I'm looking forward to Mr. Xu's email."
"Definitely."
"Cheers."
"Cheers."
Both guests and hosts enjoyed themselves. Finally, Xu Liang sent Dan Bailey away.
(End of this chapter)