In the eyes of technology geeks, Li Mu was simply the scariest robber and gangster in Silicon Valley. But in the eyes of capitalists, they thought that Google had finally made the right choice in this matter after making the wrong choice for so long.
Technology geeks were not sensitive enough to capital operations. Most of the time, it was capitalists who pushed them to focus on money. For a company like Google, Larry Page was not an expert in capital, so he had always been slow in understanding capital operations in the early days. It was the same for other companies in Silicon Valley founded by technology geeks.
Capital operations were something that a company would only have the opportunity to touch and learn after it had developed to a certain level. It was like the upper level of a skill tree. Only by leveling up the skill tree would this skill be triggered. Many entrepreneurial paths in Silicon Valley were like this.
For entrepreneurs who did not understand capital operations, the entrepreneurial path was often just a simple addition. For example, Zhang San opened a kebab shop and found that the business was very good. So, he saved money to open a second branch. When he opened the fourth branch, Zhang San felt that he had developed to the extreme. If he opened more branches, he would not have the energy to take care of them.
At this time, capitalists would come to Zhang San and first tell him how to operate capital. Then, they would give Zhang San a sum of money for rapid development and let Zhang San build a professional operation team. Then, they would use the capital to carry out rapid fission. Four branches would become eight, eight would become sixteen, sixteen would become thirty-two …
Li Mu forced Google to acquire Muye & Baidu, which was almost a shell company. In fact, he gave Google a chance to develop on the capital level. However, to get this opportunity, they had to pay the price. The 33.3% shares were the ticket.
In terms of nature, this was a bit like the relationship between a star's agency and an artist. A powerful agency had the ability to support an artist to debut and build him into a top star. However, the premise was that the artist must sign a long-term contract with harsh conditions with the agency, and even give most of the artist's income to the agency. It seemed a little harsh, but in fact, it was a cooperation agreement that both parties agreed to. Some stars would turn around and fight a lawsuit with the agency when they became popular, hoping to end the long-term contract early and gain freedom. This was purely a manifestation of the lack of contractual spirit.
Fortunately, between Li Mu and Google, there was no possibility of reneging or breaking the contract. As long as the signature took effect, Makino Technology would become a shareholder of Google, and he would abide by the spirit of the contract and help Google further develop and grow in the non-Chinese search market.
Li Mu was like the United States after World War II, with rapid development and strong capital; Google was like Japan after World War II, with its glory days, but now it was being sanctioned by the United States, and the possibility of a comeback was slim. Suddenly, at a certain moment, the United States decided not to sanction Japan, but to cooperate with Japan, giving Japan a chance to change its fate and quickly make a comeback.
The tech geeks in Silicon Valley didn't understand this, but Larry Page, as someone who had suffered, was deeply aware of the importance of this.
…
The legal teams of both parties finished polishing the terms of the merger contract as quickly as possible. Then, Li Mu and Larry Page decided to hold a grand signing ceremony in Beijing.
Grand, was the psychological need of both parties.
Li Mu wanted the signing ceremony to be grand because he wanted to take this opportunity to send a signal to the tech geeks and entrepreneurs all over the world. The specific content of this signal was: First, if I want to beat you, you will never be able to beat me; Second, if you kneel down to me, not only will you not be beaten, but you will also get more;
Larry Page wanted the signing ceremony to be grand because he wanted to take this opportunity to send a signal to all investors: Don't look down on me like before, I'm now someone with Big Brother, and Big Brother's resources will allow me to develop quickly. In the future, Big Brother may be the world's number one, and I may also be the world's number two.
Since they wanted to be grand, they naturally needed to invite all the media to be present. Makino Technology acted as the host and booked the entire main exhibition hall in the Beijing International Convention and Exhibition Center. The thousands of square meters of area was used for the press conference, and it could accommodate at least a few thousand audiences and media reporters.
All the IT media, high-tech industry media, and financial media around the world received invitations from Makino Technology, and even the founders, shareholders, and executives of many domestic and foreign companies were invited.
During the negotiation of the contract terms, Li Mu did not bring Robin or any of Baidu's management to participate in the negotiation. This was because, in Li Mu's eyes, although Muye & Baidu was a joint venture between the two companies, Makino Technology was the major shareholder with 90% of the shares. Moreover, Baidu had signed a concerted action agreement with Makino Technology, and they gave up their voting rights corresponding to 10% of the shares. Therefore, any strategic planning and formulation of this company would be fully decided by Makino Technology. In this case, there was no need to invite another party to cause trouble, and Baidu only needed to quietly wait to make money.
However, when Li Mu began to prepare for the signing ceremony, he decided to invite Robin to the scene as the second representative of Muye & Baidu to sign the contract with Larry Page together with him.
Although Baidu could not intervene in the actual operation, Li Mu could not leave Baidu aside when it was time to reap the benefits. The signing ceremony was also a strategic achievement of Baidu, and the company's name was co-named after Makino Technology and Baidu. Therefore, Li Mu could not be the only representative of Muye & Baidu. This was a kind of respect for the partner.
When Robin received Li Mu's invitation, he did not react at first. After a while, he politely declined, "Li Zong, it is enough for you to represent Muye & Baidu at the signing ceremony. I will not add to your troubles. But don't worry, I will definitely be there for such an important event."
For Robin, he actually wanted to show his face at the signing ceremony, but as a passenger who made a lot of money, he felt a little embarrassed. He always felt that it was good enough for him to make a fortune quietly, and there was no need for him to compete with Li Mu. Therefore, he politely declined Li Mu's invitation.
But Li Mu insisted, "Robin, this is a good opportunity for you to show your face in front of the western capital. You have to know that as a company developing in the Hua Xia market, Baidu needs to ensure its exposure in front of the western capital. Sometimes, the valuation of a company is not decided by the company itself. There is also the pursuit of capital. If a company is worth one yuan, its value may exceed one hundred yuan. On the contrary, if the capital is indifferent to it, it may not even be worth one hundred yuan."
In fact, Robin wanted to say yes, and politely declined out of respect for Li Mu. But he did not expect Li Mu to persuade him to say yes. So he thought for a while and said gratefully, "I understand, Li Zong. Thank you for your concern. I will listen to your arrangement."
Li Mu nodded with satisfaction and said, "The most important part of the signing ceremony is the speech we will give before the signing ceremony. I have also arranged a time for your speech. Larry Page of Google, as the acquirer, will give a speech first, and then you and I, as the representatives of the acquirer, will take turns to give a speech. Your speech will be arranged before mine."
"Okay, Li Zong, I will listen to your arrangement."
As Robin said this, he felt even more grateful to Li Mu. He knew why Li Mu arranged this. He let Larry Page give a speech first because Larry Page was the acquirer, so he should speak first. And Li Mu asked him to give a speech first because he was worried that Robin's speech would be awkward.
Li Mu said, "Because I am the chairman of Makino Technology, and I have absolute control of Makino Technology, and Muye & Baidu is a subsidiary of Makino Technology, according to the law, I should be the actual representative of Muye & Baidu. So I will sign the actual contract with Larry Page in private in advance. At that time, our signing ceremony will just be a formality, so there will be three signatures on the contract. Google is the acquirer, so there will be one signature, and we are the acquirer, so there will be two signatures, one for you, and one for me. When we are on the spot, we will sign three copies of the agreement, and then exchange them with each other, and the signing ceremony will be completed."
Robin quickly said, "Li Zong, I understand."
Li Mu nodded and said, "There is one more thing, it is about the capital operation."
Robin said, "Please go ahead."
Li Mu said, "After the signing ceremony, Muye & Baidu will be officially acquired by Google, and then Makino Technology will open the floodgates for Google in the non-Chinese search field. Google's valuation will definitely rise, and Makino Technology and Baidu will be Google's shareholders. Makino Technology holds the shares, and Baidu holds 3.33%. In this case, Makino Technology and Baidu's valuation will also rise. Google's valuation will definitely return to more than 10 billion USD in a short period of time, and it won't take long for it to reach 15 billion USD. If Google continues to obtain resources from Makino Technology, Google's market value should be more than 20 billion USD by the end of this year or early next year.
At that time, Google will definitely launch an IPO. Due to the good concept and good prospects, Google's IPO will definitely be smooth sailing, and it will be highly recognized by the capital market. In this case, Google's market value will definitely soar after it goes public. If Google's market value exceeds 40 billion USD, even if your 3.33% shares are diluted by 20%, the market value will still be more than 1 billion USD. Coupled with the development of Baidu's own business, you can prepare for an IPO at that time. "
Robin asked, "You mean, Baidu will wait for Google's IPO to be successful before applying for an IPO?"
"That's right."
Li Mu said and added, "After both of your companies have an IPO, Makino Technology should also have an IPO. As Makino Technology's shareholders, your companies' IPO will be successful first, and it will greatly assist Makino Technology's IPO. This way, the scale of Makino Technology's IPO will be larger, and the three of us will support each other and incubate the concept. The final result will be that the market value of all three companies will soar, and it will be a win-win situation for all three parties."
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