Seeing that Elon Musk was a little flustered, Li Mu's expression became even more playful.
Elon Musk looked at Li Mu with a conflicted expression. Although the two of them had been communicating through the translator, there was a difference in language and a difference in expression. He could clearly see that Li Mu was confident that he would win.
Originally, he came all the way here just to try his luck. He wanted to use Li Mu's influence to intimidate eBay. For Li Mu, it wouldn't be a loss. Moreover, he had done him a favor before. It was fair for him to use Li Mu's influence to intimidate others.
However, Elon Musk didn't expect that Li Mu had already set up a trap for him. He was just waiting for him to jump into it.
Thinking of this, and looking at Li Mu's relaxed and confident expression, Elon Musk couldn't help but admire Li Mu. This twenty-year-old young man was indeed extraordinary.
Although he admired Li Mu, Elon Musk was also a little depressed. He was already thirty-one years old, eleven years older than Li Mu, but he was already in Li Mu's pocket. This was a huge blow to his confidence.
Elon Musk adjusted his mentality and asked Li Mu, "Mr. Li, are you that optimistic about PayPal?"
Li Mu smiled and said, "Personally, I'm optimistic about it. In my opinion, the payment channel is a very important part of the future development of the internet industry. It's the key to connecting the internet and users' wallets. If we sell PayPal to eBay, in the first few years, eBay's platform will indeed give PayPal a better opportunity. However, as the internet continues to develop, one day, PayPal will exceed eBay's structure. When that time comes, PayPal will definitely separate from eBay and become an independent payment channel. When that time comes, PayPal's value will be more than ten times what it is now."
Elon Musk looked at Li Mu and nodded seriously. He said, "Mr. Li is right. I personally think that PayPal will have more room to grow in the future. However, looking at the current situation, we realize that we can't help PayPal to continue to grow. If a big platform like eBay can't buy PayPal, they will definitely create another PayPal. Therefore, our only choice now is to sell PayPal to eBay or other big platforms. This is the best solution for everyone."
Li Mu nodded. "That's right, but I'll still say the same thing. eBay doesn't have to fully acquire PayPal. For them, as long as they have absolute control of PayPal, that's enough. In this way, their own needs will be met. At the same time, they don't have to re-build a new management and operation team around PayPal. Moreover, Muye Technology's YY is developing very well among the elites all over the world. Gradually, they will have more overseas users in their hands. If Muye Technology and eBay jointly invest in PayPal, both sides will invest more resources in PayPal, and they will definitely be able to bring PayPal to the next level. It's much better than selling PayPal to eBay."
Elon Musk frowned and thought for a moment. He then nodded and said, "You're right. If that's the case, eBay doesn't have to fully buy PayPal. As long as they have absolute control of PayPal, they can rest easy. As for investing in PayPal together, I think it's possible."
Li Mu said, "I'm most inclined to the three of us jointly holding the shares. Think about it, if PayPal is controlled by eBay in the future, Makino Technology and you guys from the original team will hold the shares, and the company will still be managed by you guys. This way, PayPal can be developed in the right direction. It won't be taken over by eBay and run by a team that doesn't know how to pay."
Li Mu paused for a moment and said, "The cash that eBay and I invest in PayPal will not only allow you guys to get out of this, but it will also give you guys a chance to cash out. Then, you guys will keep a portion of the shares. After that, eBay and I can import resources from overseas into PayPal. With these two big platforms backing us up and importing resources into PayPal, PayPal's valuation will increase, and the shares that you guys keep will be worth even more."
When Elon Musk heard this, he couldn't help but feel surprised and excited. Initially, he only wanted to sell PayPal to eBay. According to his 11.7% of the shares, at a valuation of 1.5 billion USD, he could get 175 million USD in cash. This was definitely a huge sum of money for him. With this money, he could invest in other businesses and start fighting again in another field.
However, Li Mu's words opened a new window for him. If the three of them jointly held the shares, assuming that it was still valued at 1.5 billion USD, and if he withdrew all the capital behind PayPal and sold 50% of his shares, he would be able to cash out about 90 million USD. At the same time, he would still hold close to 6% of the new PayPal's shares. It might not seem like much, but to the current PayPal, there would definitely be a huge increase in its valuation!
As for PayPal alone, it was currently valued at 1.5 billion USD. With eBay and Makino Technology jointly holding the shares and providing resources together, PayPal's valuation would definitely be more than that. With such a huge boost, it might even double in a short period of time!
In this case, he already had 90 million USD in cash. In no time, when PayPal's market value exceeded three billion USD, his remaining 6% shares would once again have a market value of 180 million USD. This was indeed a lot more imaginative.
Elon Musk knew very well that if he already had 90 million USD in cash, he would not need to cash out at all. He could just hold onto the remaining shares. As PayPal's market value continued to increase, the market value of the remaining shares would continue to increase as well.
Elon Musk was not the big boss in the industry that he would be in the future. He had not really gotten his first pot of gold yet. He was just waiting for PayPal to cash out.
Originally, he could cash out 175 million USD through PayPal, but Li Mu's proposal gave him a new direction and more room for imagination. Therefore, he was very interested in Li Mu's proposal.
Elon Musk could not help but sit up straight and ask Li Mu excitedly, "Mr. Li, how do you think we can make eBay accept this three-way shareholding model?"
Li Mu smiled and said, "It's very simple. I've prepared lunch for lunch at noon, and I will be interviewed by the Chinese media. I will send a clear message through the media: Makino Technology is considering taking control of PayPal, and the original team of PayPal is also looking forward to Makino Technology taking control of the company. In this case, eBay will definitely be anxious. They will probably look for you directly, or they might look for Makino Technology directly. In short, they will definitely not let Makino Technology really take control of PayPal."
Elon Musk nodded. He thought to himself that Li Mu was really prepared. Since he had already fallen into his trap, and there was a high possibility that this trap would bring him more benefits, he was willing to jump into it. Elon Musk could not hide his excitement and asked, "If eBay comes to us directly, how do we reply to them to make them agree to the final cooperation model?"
Li Mu said, "Let's say that Makino Technology is planning to take control of PayPal after the C series of financing is completed. But Makino Technology's attitude is very clear. If eBay is still interested in PayPal, Makino Technology can unconditionally give up the controlling stake to eBay. But for the future development of PayPal, eBay must accept this three-way shareholding model. As long as they agree to this model, we can talk about further cooperation. "
As he said this, Li Mu paused for a moment and said, "Once we become partners, Makino Technology will not only be able to import resources into PayPal, but also into eBay. YY can cooperate with them to promote eBay in any country other than Hua Xia. At the same time, I hope that eBay can also treat Makino Technology as a strategic partner, so that eBay and YY can work together to promote PayPal's development."
Elon Musk said, "In this case, it will be more beneficial to eBay as a whole. After all, YY is developing very fast now, and Makino Technology has not shown its strength yet. Everyone can see the huge potential that Makino Technology has, and I believe that eBay will not reject it."
Li Mu nodded and said, "As long as eBay changes its mind, they will realize that absolute controlling stake is enough for them. Two companies and one team will be able to build PayPal. Through this cooperation, the two companies will be able to cooperate on a larger scale. eBay will definitely be very interested."
Elon Musk also clearly realized that Li Mu's proposal was a win-win situation for the founders, eBay, and Makino Technology. It was equivalent to everyone working together to give PayPal more labels, so that it could be more recognized in the capital market. Elon Musk would not reject this, and he was looking forward to it.
In addition, if eBay and Makino Technology were to cooperate on PayPal in the future, it would be equivalent to using PayPal to form a marriage alliance between the two companies. This would be great news for both companies, and both companies would be able to reap greater benefits in the capital market in the future.
The most important thing in the capital market was to be able to tell stories and play with concepts. For big companies like Makino Technology and eBay, if they were to be tied together, even if it was just for hype, they would be able to gain more recognition in the capital market.
Elon Musk asked Li Mu, "Mr. Li, what percentage of shares are you leaning towards?"
Li Mu said, "I'm leaning towards 29% of PayPal's shares."
Elon Musk did some calculations and could not help but be amazed at Li Mu's shrewdness.
Since eBay was the absolute controlling shareholder, it would have to be at least 51%. Li Mu must have the mentality of letting eBay own 51% of the shares, which was why he asked for 29%. This meant that after the two big companies invested, the original team would at most be left with 20% of the shares.
Currently, the original team, including Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, had around 40% of the shares. If it was diluted to 20%, each of them would be able to cash out half of their shares, which was about the same as what he had calculated previously.
Li Mu also did some calculations in his heart. If he wanted to use Makino Technology to buy 29% of the shares, according to the valuation of 1.5 billion USD, he would have to invest 435 million USD in cash. Even if he was beaten to death, he would not be able to come up with that much money. However, it did not matter. Due to the popularity of YY in the overseas market, the overall valuation of YY changed almost every day.
A few days ago, the capital market had estimated the intended valuation of Makino Technology to be around 6 billion USD. In recent days, not only did YY continue to develop rapidly in the US market, but it had also rapidly spread to all the developed countries in the world. It even set a record of more than 10 million USD in a day. As YY's value-added services were paid monthly, this meant that YY's future income was guaranteed. Therefore, the current valuation of YY could reach at least 7 billion USD.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
