Chapter 166: Short-sighted Commander Yao (Additional update by the cute master of Yilu)
TOM.com’s conference room.
Wang Leilei and several senior executives, as well as representatives from the parent company TOM Media Group, as well as representatives from professional evaluation companies, gathered together to once again study the value of 99 Company’s SMS business.
"Currently, there are 700,000 members in the Dating Club. In the past, they had to renew their subscriptions every month. However, with the birth of Maiwo, the two major sectors were split, and the operation of the club became more and more rough, and the membership showed a downward trend.
Later, the monthly renewal fee was simply cancelled, and you could become a member with just one deduction. Now you make money by charging some small gifts.
It’s not as popular as NetEase’s Very Men and Women, but the foundation is still there. If operations are strengthened, it may not be able to become a virtual community like Maiwo or The9.
The club accounts for about 10% of the total revenue, about 1.5 million per month."
"This voice chat mode is unique to 99, especially for the arena competition. The revenue in just two days is comparable to the entire month, accounting for about 3.5% of the total revenue, 6.3 million per month.
However, after we negotiated several times, the other party was unwilling to give the first and third-ranked employees, which would greatly reduce the value.
But this model is very marketable. If we use it to train new people and add the foundation they have laid, we can continue to do it for a long time."
"SMS games are the core part, ranking first in market share, accounting for 5.5% of the total revenue, and about 10 million per month. They are different from Xunlong. Most of Xunlong's games are instant and have very low stickiness. Most users will not
Play the second time.
However, 99's games are extremely sticky and playable. At present, "The Legend of Jianghu", "The Legend of Mingyu" and "Pet Home" have almost become brands, and the newly launched "Sword and Magic" has also quickly attracted a large number of users.
To be honest, I don't understand why they would sell such a valuable item?
As long as they are carefully polished and developed in depth, at least "The Legend of Jianghu", "Pet Home" and "Sword and Magic" can be transformed into online games. If you have a strong user base, you won't have to worry about losing popularity."
After hearing this, an executive suddenly smiled: “In the previous negotiations, they made it clear that they wanted to share the copyright and retain the rights to develop the game later.
Mr. Yao felt that the SMS business had no future and wanted to sell it, but he was afraid of regretting it in the future and wanted to keep it.
He wants to take advantage but is unwilling to take risks and treats others as fools.
This is the typical psychology of small companies, or the psychology of small entrepreneurs. They have no big ambitions and are content with being rich, and they have no long-term vision. They only see immediate benefits..."
"Well, that makes sense!"
Such an analysis seems very logical to everyone.
"The club has the potential to be developed. The chat club is a good puzzle piece, and the game is the top priority. If we win it, our layout will be complete."
“But the other party refused to let go of the offer and only accepted cash. It’s really a bit high!”
"..."
After everyone deliberated for a while, someone from TOM Group said: "I read last month's financial report of TOM Online, and the impact of cutting off the SMS alliance was too great, and we had to travel around to promote it.
And 73% of the website's revenue depends on SMS business. If we can't fix it as soon as possible, I'm afraid I will miss the opportunity and suffer a huge loss.
Everyone should be clear that TOM.com’s mission is to go public. The Internet is picking up this year and there have been several acquisitions. Next year it will be even hotter and even return to the popularity before the bubble.
That’s a good opportunity to go public!
The SMS business of 99 Company has been determined to be a high-quality project that can immediately make up for the shortcomings in performance, so the group is very supportive in principle.
Let’s do this, if the other party relents and is willing to give up the game rights, we can agree to his offer.”
"..."
As soon as he opened his mouth, everyone knew that the situation was decided.
That's right, TOM.com's mission is to go public, but now its performance is so good, how can it go public?!
Like Internet companies, acquisitions or non-acquisitions are all of strategic significance, all for the sake of listing and stock price. Just like Sina's $20.8 million acquisition of Xunlong, it is all to increase the stock price.
…………
Pull back to Commander Yao.
When he got the call, he reluctantly left the big bathtub. He wanted to wear a shirt, but after a pause, he changed into a short-sleeved T-shirt and big shorts, which cost 50 yuan in total.
Arriving at the company casually, I met TOM's negotiator.
Acquisitions like this are usually negotiated by professional negotiators, but Yuan Yuan doesn't like it, and just to show off, he often goes into battle himself.
This time the effect was also very good. When the other party saw this virtue, he shook his head secretly: he had no ambition and was short-sighted, and he gave up such a good business!
Alas, in the Internet age, pigs can fly into the sky, but in the big waves, we will finally know who is a genius and who is a fool... "Mr. Yao, we meet again. I took the liberty of visiting you. I hope I won't disturb you!"
"No, please sit down, but the time is right. I'm taking a bath."
"Take a bath?"
The negotiator became more and more contemptuous and went straight to the point: "After several communications, we feel that we have understood each other and there is no need to test anymore. So I have the most sincere attitude this time. We can agree to your asking price, but there is one condition."
"Speaking."
"We don't want the game to share copyright, we want to obtain the complete copyright, and you have to sign a non-competition agreement and you are not allowed to get involved in the SP business for three years."
hehe!
Yao Yuan immediately shook his head and said: "You don't call this a non-compete agreement, it calls it a king clause. I don't do text messages anymore, but I still want to try MMS. MMS is so popular now."
After being asked several times, he refused to agree.
The negotiator went out to make a phone call and came back: "You are not allowed to get involved in the text message business for three years. If you don't agree, it can only be said to be a pity."
"Tsk!"
"Oh, you guys are really..."
Yao Yuan sighed and was confused, and asked repeatedly: "Are you sure this is the final condition?"
"Absolutely!"
"Okay then!"
He gritted his teeth and stamped his feet, "Then I'll sign it!
"Wise choice!"
The negotiator also breathed a sigh of relief and smiled: "You insist on only cash. If you accept shares, the process will be much smoother."
"Haha, I'm a secular person, and I look at money most directly."
Yao Yuan secretly sighed, I want your TOM shares to be of no use. Even if you go public next year, you will still be a loser, not as good as the three major portals, let alone QQ.
Speaking of QQ, Li Huagua's son Li Zekai invested US$2.2 million in 1999 - some said more than 1 million, some said more than 5 million, but it was just a few million anyway.
I spent several million to acquire 20% of QQ's shares and will make a huge profit today.
As a result, around 2001, it was sold for US$12.6 million.
It seems like a joke now, but who thought it was a joke at the time? Just like TOM thought that Yao Yuan's selling of the SMS business was a joke, but only he knew who was having fun.
"We hope that both parties can reach a tacit understanding on the announcement time to avoid leaks of information."
"certainly!"
The two shook hands, but the other side shied away.
Even if the intention is reached, the next step is a series of procedures and working relationships, which is very troublesome.
Feeling so happy after getting rid of his burden, Yao Yuan couldn't tell anyone, but immediately called Zhang Yin: "Yin Yin, are you off work?"
"You're on the bus, why are you so happy?"
"Does this mean I'm happy?"
"As soon as you raised your last voice, I knew it. What happened?"
"I finally got rid of the text message. How much do you think it was sold for?"
Before she could say anything, Yao Yuan got angry himself: "After tax, after tax... 300 million!"
(Thank you to the cute host Ahan and all the comrades who gave rewards.)