On the 15th of February, William woke up early in the morning. He put on a suit that he had ordered from a private tailor on Oxford Street a few days ago. With the help of his mother, Lena, he put on a tie. The staff of the Hilton Hotel had already driven over to pick him up.
The whole of England was paying attention to the game auction today. How could the Hilton Hotel give up on such an eye-catching event? In addition to the leak of the recording in their hotel last time, the Hilton Hotel didn't charge Eric a pound today in order for William to continue holding meetings in their hotel. They sent a car and bodyguards to pick him up for free. After the auction, they also provided a free cocktail party and gave William a platinum card with a 60% discount to stay at the Hilton Hotel worldwide.
Since the Hilton Hotel was so sincere, there was no need to trouble them to find another venue. There was no need to keep today's auction a secret.
Fortunately, there were bodyguards. Otherwise, it would have been really difficult for William to leave home and go to the Hilton Hotel. When he went out, more than ten bodyguards almost failed to protect William. Today's reporters were very irritable. Everyone wanted to get first-hand news from William.
After arriving at the Hilton Hotel, Anthony's law firm had already helped William contact the auctioneer. The hotel staff were making the final preparations. William did not need to go on stage to say anything today. After a few days of media bombardment, today's auction was already known to everyone.
Companies interested in the game would definitely send people over. Now, everything depended on strength to determine the ownership of the game's copyright. Now, even if William said that he did not want to sell it, it would not work.
He had signed a contract with the law firm, and the companies that had come to the auction today had also signed a contract with the law firm. Unless no one bid a hundred million pounds today, the game would not be auctioned, but that was impossible. The number of companies that had come today was more than ten times that of the previous few days. According to William's understanding from Anthony, there were many medium-sized companies that had joined forces and were prepared to divide the distribution rights according to each continent.
William met a lot of people at the hotel venue. Everyone was very optimistic about William. After all, this young man alone was comparable to dozens of elites.
After 9 o 'clock in the morning, the auctioneer went on stage to greet the guests and the auction officially began.
"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I'm Christie's Gold Gloves. I'll be at your service today. I'm very happy to host this auction. Alright, ladies and gentlemen, let the auction officially begin."
After saying that, the auctioneer picked up a document bag and waved it in front of the crowd. He jokingly said, "This is a bag of paper worth more than 100 million pounds. Each piece of paper is worth 3 million pounds. I really hope you won't feel like you've lost out after getting it."
"Hahaha …" Everyone in the venue laughed heartily. They knew that the bag contained copyright books, but it was indeed a bag of paper.
"Alright, I'm just kidding, gentlemen. The document in my hand is a letter of commitment jointly issued by three of London's biggest law firms. They guarantee that the copyright of Plants vs Zombies is in the hands of Mr. William Devonshire, and that there will be no copyright disputes. It's completely in the hands of the owner. Furthermore, this auction will be underwritten by England's biggest insurance company. They guarantee that the buyer will pay in full within seven days after the auction. If there's a breach of contract, the insurance company will claim twice the auction price. Gentlemen, does anyone have any questions? "
The auctioneer waited for a minute. Seeing that no one had any objections, he raised the auction hammer and said loudly to everyone in the venue, "Ladies and gentlemen, the most exciting moment has arrived. The starting price for the copyright of Plants vs Zombies is 100 million pounds. The auction starts now."
"Ladies and gentlemen, the starting price is 100 million pounds. Please make your bids."
After the auctioneer finished speaking, someone raised their paddle. "100 million!"
The auctioneer looked at the person who raised his paddle and said loudly, "Mr. Number 19 bids 100 million pounds. Anyone else?"
"105 million!"
"110 million!"
The price had reached 110 million in just a few rounds. William sat in his seat and praised himself for being quick-witted. This was all thanks to the words he said to the reporters the day before yesterday.
"120 million!" William saw someone from Bai Shida bid again.
Disneyland's person bid. "125 million!"
At this price, the buyers started to hesitate. William saw that the person in charge of Jia Re Fu didn't even bid. It was as if he was here to watch the show. Just now, at the venue, he had confidently told William that their board of directors had given him the authority to fight for the rights to the game with all their might. Was this what it meant to use all their might? He didn't even have the mood to put on a show. Was this bit of money enough to scare him?
"130 million!" Bai Shida's representative gritted his teeth and looked at Disneyland's person.
This time, Disneyland's person paused for quite some time. His assistant beside him was constantly on the phone. It seemed like he was still reporting to the headquarters.
"Anyone else who hasn't bid, bid once, bid twice."
"133 million!" Before the final bid, Disneyland still raised the price.
Everyone in the venue could see that Bai Shida's representative was now looking at Disneyland's person as if they were looking at an enemy. Disneyland's appearance made them spend a lot more money.
Bai Shida gritted his teeth and bid. "135 million!"
This time, even after the auctioneer's repeated hints, Disneyland still didn't bid. Disneyland wasn't at the stage where he had to win this case.
The auctioneer shouted, "Third bid, sold!" He held the hammer in his hand and hammered it down. The auction was considered a success.
"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you. This auction is officially over. Thank you." The auctioneer thanked everyone and left the stage.
William happily shook hands with Bai Shida's representative and took a photo with him. Bai Shida's representative looked very happy.
Under the guidance of the lawyer, both parties came to the signing table and sat down. William signed the contract under the lawyer's guidance. Then, Eric and Bai Shida signed the insurance contract and the fund transfer contract with the insurance company and the bank respectively.
Bai Shida's money would be divided into two parts. 40% of the money would be transferred to William's account in England and the other 60% would be transferred directly to the offshore company's account in the British Virgin Islands.
The insurance and the bank guarantee this time would cost Eric 4% of the money and the lawyer's 1%. In total, he would have to spend 6.75 million pounds. William felt that he could still accept it. Spending a few million could guarantee that the money would be transferred to his account within seven days. If it was delayed until March, there would be too many variables.
If Bai Shida's money couldn't be transferred to William's account within the stipulated time, the insurance company and the bank would have to compensate him directly. The insurance company and the bank would then chase after the money owed by Bai Shida.
After signing the contract, everyone took a photo together as a souvenir. After that, they had a cocktail party at the Hilton Hotel.
William dealt with some charity organizations and some beautiful women who had somehow snuck in. He wanted to communicate with beautiful women, but there was no one present that he liked.
William was choosing food at the buffet table alone. He hadn't eaten since he woke up in the morning and was really hungry now. While he was eating happily, William heard a voice behind him.
"Hello, William."
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