Chapter 380 Plans don’t change as fast as plans
After the banquet, Sergey Brin and Larry Page returned to the company.
The two came to the office.
Close the door.
“Larry, we can’t spend all the money we raise on the acquisition of Vivendi Games, otherwise we won’t have enough funds to compete with Hongmeng Bing in the European market.” Sergey Brin said seriously.
Although the structure of the global search market has not yet been completely determined, some signs have been seen.
Hongmeng Bing dominates most of the Asian market. Except for India and Russia, the rest are basically swallowed up by them.
Google dominates the North American and global English markets. Although they have other competitors, they currently have the largest share in the English market.
As for the European market.
Google has an advantage in Northern and Central Europe, and Bing has an advantage in Southern Europe and Germany.
At present, both parties are still competing for markets such as France and Spain.
With abundant funds and an ecosystem created by more applications, Bing is developing faster in Europe.
This is also the main reason why Google has to raise funds while growing rapidly.
The reason why I want to acquire Vivendi Games is that I want to seek more income just like Hongmeng.
The huge amount of funds Hongmeng has obtained from games is the basis for supporting its global expansion.
After a deep understanding, Google is so envious.
Hundreds of millions of dollars a year, and it’s still doubling, they want it too.
So, when Larry Ellison came to the door, the two parties hit it off.
But beyond their expectation, Vivendi games were so popular.
Hongmeng is not the only enemy. Microsoft and Sony are both Fortune 500 giants with deep foundations and powerful strength.
It would be impossible to grab something from them without spending a lot of money.
But if you spend money, how much will you spend?
It is now US$2.9 billion.
Google has only raised a total of US$1.5 billion.
According to their original plan, the principal amount was US$1 billion, and the remaining part was paid with leverage.
But looking at the current trend of competing Vivendi games, the price may exceed their original expectations.
There is a high probability that US$1 billion is not enough.
Unless they increase the leverage.
But if the leverage is enlarged, not only will the interest be higher, but it will also put heavy pressure on Google's finances and affect the company's normal operations. This is what neither of them want to see.
Larry Page pondered for a while, "Sergey, I think we need to set a bottom line. If Vivendi's price exceeds this bottom line, then we will give up immediately."
Although Vivendi's game is important, it cannot affect Google's foundation.
"I have no objection. What price do you think is appropriate?"
Larry Page hesitated for a while, "I don't have a suitable number yet. Let's discuss it with Eric. .”
Sergey Brin nodded.
After a while.
"If we withdraw afterwards, I'm afraid Larry Ellison will be dissatisfied."
"We can explain that if he is really dissatisfied, there is nothing we can do. After all, Google is the first." Lee Page said.
“Yeah.”
——
“Did you watch Google’s press conference?”
After Xie Wen responded on the phone, "It seems that they are completely against us."
"It is a competitive relationship, so it is not surprising that they are against each other. But why did Google cooperate with AOL? "
"I just got the news that after being rejected by Yahoo, Google has been seeking to cooperate with AOL. It just signed a contract a few days ago.
Google promised that every customer paid. 85 cents of one dollar of advertising fees go to AOL, and a minimum annual payment of $150 million in advertising revenue is guaranteed."
"Larry Page and Sergey Brin are really willing. AOL seemed to be making money, but it was actually losing money."
Although AOL in this era was ridiculed by old American netizens as the "Internet on training wheels," it attracted 34 million paying users in 2002 with its friendly user interface.
This is a mature portal with a large number of users.
And it has huge popularity around the world.
In contrast, although Google is developing well, it is limited to the United States and Silicon Valley.
AOL joined Google's "advertising alliance" system, tying AOL to its own tank without spending a penny on Google and even making money.
All AOL customers will gradually use Google's search and Google's advertising alliance software, and then become Google users.
“Google’s luck is as good as ever. It used Yahoo to expand, but now it uses AOL to expand. It’s really enviable.” Xie Wendao.
“Yes.”
Xu Liang sighed. They had also planned to cooperate with AOL before, but they refused.
In the eyes of the United States, companies outside the United States, especially those in the East, are naturally inferior.
"Lao Xie, please make an announcement. Hongmeng will officially launch Series B financing negotiations in June next year."
"Okay. But is it too early?"
It's only October now, and there's still more than half a year until June next year.
“It’s a little early, but let’s put our attitude out first and attract some institutions, so that they don’t all turn to Google and our competitors.”
“Okay.” Paused. After a while, Xie Wen continued, "I heard that Microsoft from Vivendi has continued to quote?"
"Yeah. US$2.9 billion, all in cash."
"Microsoft is really wealthy." Xie Wen sighed.
“Microsoft does have money, but their investment in games is more to sell Xbox game consoles.
As long as a contract is needed, it can withdraw from the competition. Sony’s acquisition of Vivendi Games The purpose is the same as Microsoft, but now it is on the decline. Vivendi will withdraw once the price of its games is too high.
On the contrary, Google is our main competitor, and they are really planning to enter the game industry. "Xu Liang said seriously. At the beginning, he originally planned to sign a cooperation agreement with Microsoft.
The "King of Fighters", "Samurai Shodown", "Metal Slug" and "Hungry Wolf" owned by Hongmeng Games, as well as the acquired games from Vivendi Games, will be released on the Microsoft Xbox platform. In exchange for Microsoft withdrawing from the bid for Vivendi Games.
Unexpectedly, before he went to Seattle to negotiate with Microsoft, Google intervened and disrupted all his plans.
True to that sentence, plans are not as fast as changes.
“This acquisition of Vivendi Games will probably cost a lot more money.” Xie Wen sighed.
Xu Liang nodded.
"Lao Xie, Europe is increasing investment and continuing to maintain pressure on Google. We held a press conference and said that we will invest US$1 billion to develop the US market."
" Mr. Xu, do you really want to open up the US market?”
“It’s just a bluff, we can’t let Google invest all its money in acquiring Vivendi Games without any worries.”
Xie Wen breathed a sigh of relief.
To acquire Vivendi Games, it will also have to spend money to develop the US market. Unless it raises funds, Hongmeng will not be able to spend that much money.
"Mr. Xu, if it's just a bluff, I'm afraid it won't last long."
"What do you think?"
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Now Yahoo spent US$1.63 billion to acquire Overtuer, an Internet search company. It is still determined to enter the field of online search.
In the English search market, Yahoo's main enemy is Google. I think we can pay a visit to Yahoo. In the end, no specific cooperation was reached, and it was just a show of force, which would still make Google extremely nervous, and might even make them give up the acquisition of Vivendi Games completely. ”
Xu Liang's eyes lit up, "This is a good idea. I happen to be in the United States. When things in New York are over, I will go to Silicon Valley to visit Yang Zhiyuan."
"Yes."
Two After chatting for a while, they hung up the phone.
Xu Liang looked at the time.
Leave the hotel by car and drive towards Greenwich, Connecticut.
The 60-kilometer drive took nearly an hour.
Looking at the quiet environment outside the car window and the slightly bleak vegetation in the winter, he indeed preferred the quiet here to the hustle and bustle of New York.
“Mr. Xu, we’re here.”
Lu Hui reminded.
Xu Liang got out of the car.
The building in front of me looks like a huge manor villa.
Shaded by tall trees, the granite exterior walls surround a stately British-style building.
Gray roof, tall chimney.
Red exterior walls and white windows.
From a distance, it looks like Kensington Palace in England.
But it's not as big as other people's homes here.
Of course, it is definitely not small.
It covers an area of five acres and has a main building of 3,402 square meters. It is enough for the New York branch of Hanhua Capital, and it is even more than enough now.
Park the car in the parking lot of the manor.
A middle-aged man in a crisp suit hurriedly came up to him.
"Hello, Mr. Xu, I am Ruan Kai, the vice president of the company's New York branch."
When Hanhua Capital opened its London and New York branches, it transferred some personnel from the headquarters and branches.
Ruan Kai is the vice president responsible for establishing the New York branch.
He is only responsible for management, not investment business.
After a brief handshake.
"Mr. Ruan, has everything been packed inside?"
"It's been packed."
"Let's go in and have a look."
"Please."
The main building of the manor has four floors, one underground and three above ground.
The underground floor is a wine cellar, collection room, and entertainment room. The three above-ground floors include a hall with an area of 200 square meters, a restaurant that can accommodate 30 people, as well as more than 30 rooms and a dozen bathrooms.
After renovation, the bedroom became an office.
The lobby and restaurant have become the main office area.
Under the leadership of Ruan Kai, Xu Liang turned up and down in a circle and nodded with satisfaction.
The overall environment is very good.
It's also very feature-rich.
"How much does it cost to rent the entire manor?"
"The monthly rent is US$150,000." Ruan Kai said quickly.
“What about buying it?”
“Around 24 million US dollars. You can pay 20% down, and the interest can be 5%.”
"It's really not cheap." Xu Liang said.
“Originally it was not that expensive. After 9/11, many hedge funds moved in and the price went up.” Ruan Kai said.
“Yeah.”
Xu Liang nodded.
Originally, I planned to buy this place, but now it seems I’d better wait.
(End of this chapter)