The next day, Lin Fan attended a meeting as usual.
At about five o'clock in the afternoon, the meeting came to its final conclusion, and it was officially concluded with Deng Feng's closing speech.
Lin Fan went to attend the dinner organized by Huayuan Science and Technology Association.
At the dinner, Lin Fanzi and Ma Yun huddled in the corner, discussing in low voices.
"Masayoshi Son's attitude is very firm. He only agrees to sell Taobao shares to Yahoo."
Ma looked around, lowered his voice, and said with a serious face: "He also said that if our management lets Lin Capital enter the market, he will sell off all his Ahri and Taobao shares, liquidate his positions, and exit."
Lin Fan deliberately frowned, and after a while he replied: "Well, if SoftBank really wants to withdraw, Lin Capital will bite the bullet and buy out all the shares they transferred."
Ma's mind was very clear and he shook his head repeatedly, "It's not that I underestimate the equity of Lam Capital, SoftBank and other shareholders. It would cost nearly 2 billion US dollars to take it all.
Then if Ali wants to develop, it will need to inject new funds.
Taken together, it will cost at least more than two billion US dollars to successfully resolve this matter."
Lin Fan doesn't say anything, but it's not like Lin Fan doesn't have more than two billion US dollars.
I am afraid that when the time comes, Jack Ma and other management will not be willing to let Lam Capital take control.
If Lam Capital becomes the absolute controlling shareholder with more than 51% of Ali's shares, it would be better to accept Yahoo's investment, after all, the latter only needs 40% of the shares.
as expected!
Jack Ma changed the subject, "Of course, considering the actual situation, we cannot let Lin Capital bear such a huge financial pressure.
After our unremitting efforts, Mr. Son decided to reconsider.
Besides, he wants to meet and talk with you."
"With me?"
Lin Fan narrowed his eyes slightly and asked again: "When?"
"Just tomorrow!" Jackma said calmly.
Lin Fan began to wonder in his mind what Sun Zhengyi was planning.
Seeing Lin Fan deep in thought, Ma didn't bother him and started picking up vegetables and eating.
As soon as the food was served, he was so busy discussing important matters with Lin Fan that he forgot to eat, and now his stomach was so hungry that he was growling.
Lin Fan thought for a moment and replied: "Okay, then you can make arrangements. I will have a chat with Mr. Son tomorrow."
He also realized the important role that Son Zhengyi played in this transaction. He was considered a major stakeholder and it would be a good idea to meet him.
Whether you can reach an agreement or not, you won't know until you talk.
The horse chewed the food in his mouth and said "good" in the urn's voice.
Seeing how delicious Jack Ma was, Lin Fan felt a little hungry and started to use chopsticks.
The next day.
Lin Fan asked Zhang Chenguang to drive to an office building in downtown San Francisco. After searching for a long time, he finally found Ahri's US office in an old and remote office building.
Ma personally came to the front desk to greet him, and while inviting Lin Fan in, he said sorry: "Mr. Lin, the office environment is simple, don't mind!"
Lin Fan waved his hand, "It doesn't matter, just be diligent and thrifty, and give full play to the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation."
Ma didn't explain too much. After all, Ahri didn't have much business in the United States, so setting up a simple office was enough.
This kind of pragmatism, he believes, should be a plus in the eyes of smart investors.
It was indeed a bonus, Lin Fan knew some of Ahri's past.
In 1999, Ali received a round A financing of US$5 million; at the end of 2000, it received a round B financing of US$25 million.
At that time, this was not a small amount of money.
Therefore, Ma, who was very satisfied, directly opened up five markets in mainland China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Europe, and the United States at the same time.
Taking the United States as an example, it has recruited forty or fifty employees with an annual salary of US$100,000.
Then, from late 2000 to early 2001, the dot-com bubble began to explode.
Jack Ma was educated directly!
First, the B-round investors repented and stopped investing money after paying 10 million U.S. dollars in financing.
then,
Ahri's financial crisis broke out, with a total of US$7 million on the books, and fixed expenses such as monthly salary expenses, office rent, etc. were as high as US$1.8 million.
At that time, Ahri's revenue was pitiful, not to mention profitable.
The company only had five months of cash flow left, which frightened the horse and started drastic layoffs.
First, lay off the foreigners at the Lin'an headquarters, because these people have the highest wages.
At that time, Ali felt that foreigners understood the Internet and hired dozens of foreigners with a monthly salary of at least seven to eight thousand US dollars. However, during the same period, the monthly salary of Chinese employees was only one to two thousand RMB, and some were only three to five thousand RMB.
Ali requires foreign employees to halve their cash wages and triple their stock options.
But almost all the foreigners left, and no one accepted this salary adjustment plan.
Then, Ali began to attack overseas branches again.
Under the fierce manipulation of Cai Congxin and Guan Mingsheng, Ahli reduced the number of employees in the American branch from forty to fifty, down to only three people. Among the three people, there was also a front desk person, and he was a part-time employee.
Relying on his fierce drive to make a living, Ahri reduced his monthly fixed expenses from US$1.8 million to US$500,000.
Later, with the launch of profit models such as Chengxintong, Ahli gradually recovered, and its b2b business began to break even.
Ali carried out another C round of financing in February 2004, totaling US$82 million, of which SoftBank invested US$60 million, all of which were individually invested in Taobao.
Because the b2b business was already profitable at that time, Ma separated Taobao and raised funds separately.
More than four years have passed since the layoffs, and Ahri’s U.S. office has yet to return to its heyday.
Lin Fan followed Ma into the office and looked around. He estimated that there were less than ten employees, and the office environment was very simple.
Once bitten, twice shy.
He guessed that Ahri's current cash flow control is still exaggerated. After all, Taobao is still burning money at this time.
With Lin Fan's capital, he could certainly set up such a company by himself, but after all, Lin Fan did not have a deep understanding of how Ahri operates.
Lin Fan didn't want to do such a thing if he wanted to build one exactly the same.
The Lin Group is already big enough, and most of the projects it cooperates with are related to the country.
These are enough. If he wanted to do everything, Lin Fan wouldn't have the courage.
After all, there are still big differences between domestic and foreign countries, as was the case with Penguin and Ahri in later generations.
It's better to invest and wait for dividends or make a fortune every year.
Let the rest be left to the people of this era.
Ma led Lin Fan into a conference room.
As soon as he walked in, Lin Fan saw a short old man in a suit with a Mediterranean hairstyle.
Lin Fan naturally knows this internet king and venture capital king!
Even after many years, Ahri is still SoftBank's most successful investment.
It is even said that without Ahri’s investment, Masayoshi Son would have been left in dire straits.
Son stood up with a smile, held out his right hand, and greeted in English: "Hello Lin, I have long admired your name. Nice to meet you!"
Lin Fan shook hands with the other party and began to exchange commercial compliments: "Mr. Sun, I have also admired you for a long time."
The main thing we talked about today was Ahri. He didn’t talk much to Lin Fan, and sat down after a few pleasantries.
The seating arrangement was very particular, with the horse sitting at the top, and Lin Fan and Sun Zhengyi sitting on both sides of the horse, forming a tripartite situation.
Masayoshi Son was the first to speak: "Mr. Lin, Jack has already told me everything about Lin Capital's desire to invest in Ahri.
I just said it bluntly, I want to transfer Taobao’s shares to Yahoo.”
Lin Fan smiled. If Sun Zhengyi was really resolute, I'm afraid he wouldn't agree to see him today.
He called himself here and claimed that he still wanted to transfer his shares to Yahoo. The purpose was not just to make him a more satisfactory offer.
"We can give up the acquisition of Taobao's equity and only invest in Ahri!"
How could Lin Fan let this old man manipulate it as he pleased? He immediately came up with a counter-trick.
Lin Fan didn't play according to the routine, which really made Son Zhengyi stunned for a moment. Is this retreat to advance?
"Mr. Lin, turn Taobao into a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ali. This is Jack's core financing requirement."
Son was a thief and kicked the ball to Ma.
Ma Ye looked at Lin Fan with a puzzled expression. What do these mean? Aren't they all agreed upon?
Lin Fan kicked Jack Ma under the table to signal the latter to calm down.
After pondering for a moment, Lin Fancai said: "There's no problem with that. By investing in Ahri, Ahri can take the financing and continue to invest in Taobao.
At that time, Mr. Masayoshi Son can inject capital into Taobao in equal proportions, or he can give up the capital injection and choose to have his equity diluted.
Anyway, Ali’s B2B business is already profitable, and most of the financing can be injected into Taobao.”
Sun Zhengyi understood. This was because he did not want to be manipulated by himself and wanted to force himself to invest in Taobao or choose to have his Taobao shares diluted.
The horse's eyes lit up, this is a good idea!
Sun Zhengyi said there every day that Taobao was too expensive and under great financial pressure, and he also wanted to sell Taobao's shares to eaby.
I asked you to put pressure on me, now you have met a ruthless person!
"Put this issue aside for now and let's talk about the capital injection into Ahri!"
Seeing that Sun Zhengyi could not control Lin Fan on this issue and Ma did not come out to help him, he changed the topic to a new topic.
Lin Fan nodded, "Okay, let's talk about Ahri!"
“Ari’s capital injection must involve Yahoo.”
"Whether or not Yahoo should be involved, Mr. Sun has no say, right?"
Lin Fan gave Jack Ma a look, "This old man is taking over his duties, and you don't say a word."
Son Zhengyi also noticed Lin Fan's wink, smiling silently, as if he had a pearl of wisdom in his hand.
Jack Ma took a deep breath and said, "Mr. Lin, I also think it would be better to let Yahoo participate!"
Lin Fan was stunned for two seconds, and then he became furious and slapped the table with a "bang" sound, which startled both Son and Ma.
Especially Ma, who suddenly shrank his neck, thinking that Lin Fan was going to hit someone.
Lin Fan is very tall and powerful. If he really wants to fight, he won't be able to win.
Fortunately, his worries did not come true.
Lin Fan stood up and said coldly: "Jack, are you kidding me? If this is the condition, Lin Capital will withdraw from Ahri's D-round financing."
Jack Ma was about to defend, but Son Zhengyi added fuel to the fire: "I have never seen such a low-quality investor. Lin, put away your authority and please leave immediately."
Seeing the cold look on Son Zhengyi's face, Jack Ma's face was filled with worry and anxiety.
Lin Fan understood a lot.
Son wanted to anger himself and force him to leave.
Jack Ma was afraid that he would be fooled, so he left, and his strategy of combining vertical and horizontal lines failed.
How could he fall for such a simple scheme?
In fact, slapping the table and managing expressions are all basic operations for investors, in order to create tension, exert psychological pressure, and facilitate negotiations.
Of course, you have to master the degree well. If the fake act is really done, it will be funny.
Lin Fan ignored Sun Zhengyi, looked at Ma condescendingly, and said in a cold tone: "Jack, you need to give me a reasonable explanation."
Jack was not stupid. Seeing that there was still room for recovery, he quickly explained: "That's it, we want Yahoo to acquire SoftBank's Taobao equity, while Lam Capital and SoftBank will acquire Ali's equity from other investors.
Yahoo injected the acquired Taobao equity, Yahoo China, into Ali as an asset, and Ali issued new shares to Yahoo.
Lam Capital and SoftBank acquire 33% of the equity held by other shareholders, and when they issue new shares, they will be diluted one round.
Of course, Ahri also needs a cash financing, which can be provided by Lam Capital and Yahoo."
Lin Fan estimated in his mind that this plan would be more beneficial to Yahoo, SoftBank, and Ali.
Yahoo China invested in Ahri, and Yahoo got rid of its burden at a high price.
SoftBank cashed out its equity in Taobao, recovered all its investment in Ahri, successfully landed, and can continue to gamble in the future.
The "three-legged alliance" originally planned by Ahri added a new Lin Capital, turning it into a "four-nation struggle for hegemony".
As long as the combined equity of any two of the three shareholders other than Ali's management does not exceed 50%, Ali's control will be relatively stable.
Of course, the three shareholders combined must account for more than 50%.
Because Ali's management currently holds a total of 47% of the shares, it has lost more than half of its shares.
Lin Fan thought carefully in his heart.
Ma Ze looked uneasy, fearing that Lin Fan would refuse.
This is the most beneficial plan for their management. It was originally expected that the three-legged alliance between Yahoo and SoftBank, which are closely related, could hold more than two-thirds of the shares, close to 70%, which would pose a great threat to Ali's management.
When Larin Capital enters the market and becomes three external shareholders, the situation will be greatly improved.
But there is a premise, Lin Fan has to accept this plan.
If Lin Fan refuses, he will be back to the original point.
Even if it returns to the starting point and Yahoo continues to inject capital, the relationship between Tamar and Yang Zhiyuan will probably not be restored to its previous state.
A trace of regret flashed in Son Zhengyi's eyes, why didn't he scare this guy away?
He and Jerry Yang have jointly put pressure on Ma these days, asking Ma to exclude Lam Capital from financing targets.
They used all kinds of tricks, including threatening to liquidate Ali's equity and not make any additional investment, etc.
Even Ma was unmoved and insisted on attracting Lin Capital to enter the market.
Then they had no choice but to play the emotional card again and tell the story of SoftBank and Ahri who met in Weimo.
Ma was very grateful to Son for his generosity back then, but when it came to corporate control, he still refused to give in.
In order for Lam Capital to successfully enter the market, Ma paid a lot behind the scenes.
The reason why Sun Zhengyi wanted to isolate Lin Capital was that he saw the bright future of Ahri after completing this extremely large-scale financing round, and he did not want Lin Capital, which had nothing to do with them, to get a share of the pie.
Lin Fan thought about it in his mind and realized that it was almost impossible to acquire more than half of Ahli's shares.
Not to mention Masayoshi Son’s attitude, Ari’s management would not agree. Isn’t this rejecting the tiger in the first place and welcoming the wolf later?
If this goal cannot be achieved, we can only lower our expectations.
"We want 30% of the shares!"
As soon as Lin Fan said it, Masayoshi Son sneered: "This is impossible, Jack said, give priority to ensuring that SoftBank holds 30% of the shares.
The management holds 31% to 32% of the shares, and the remaining shares are divided in half between Yahoo and Lam Capital, with each holding 19% or 19.5%.”
Seeing that the conversation was open, Sun Zhengyi simply explained: "With this ownership structure, Ahri's management is still the largest shareholder, and with the addition of any investor, the equity and voting rights can exceed 50%.
And the combination of any two of the three investors will not exceed 50%.
I have to say that this is a very clever shareholding structure.
I very much support this plan because it can put Jack at ease.
Only when Jack feels at ease can Ahri develop better and our shareholders can make money."
Son looked at Ma and said, "Jack, am I right?"
Ma's smile was uglier than his cry, and he glanced at Lin Fan with a guilty look.
Lin Fan looked at Shang Ma's eyes and complained in his heart why Ma didn't tell him earlier.
In fact, Ma didn't have the confidence, and wanted Lin Fan to face Son's pressure in person and feel that he couldn't help himself.
Noticing the interaction between the two people's eyes, Son Masayoshi continued: "Mr. Lin, don't be dissatisfied with this plan.
You have to know that I don’t very much welcome you to invest in Ahli.
It's Jack who has been fighting for you.
And Jack agreed that SoftBank’s shareholding should reach 30%, so I reluctantly agreed to the plan and persuaded Jerry to agree.
How about it? If you feel dissatisfied, you can just get up and leave.
If you think it is feasible, then we will communicate the follow-up details."
Lin Fan understood that Ma, Yahoo, and SoftBank had reached a unified agreement and arranged Lin Capital clearly.
Thinking of this, Lin Fan felt that Yang Zhiyuan was a bit cowardly. If he wanted to hold 30% of the shares, it should be Yahoo. How could he get SoftBank in his turn?
However, considering that SoftBank already holds 20% of Ali's shares, it is only increasing its stake by 10%, which is not a big step.
Lin Capital and Yahoo, on the other hand, went from 0 to 20% shareholding, which is a relatively large range. They require far more funds and assets than SoftBank.
From this perspective, it will be much easier for Sun Zhengyi to convince Yang Zhiyuan, or Yahoo's management, for shareholders.
The investment in Ali is too big, and Yahoo management and shareholders also have different opinions.
Lin Fan thought for a while and could only secretly scold Son Zhengyi for being such a cunning old man and being too calculating.
Horses are also calculating!
Relatively speaking, I and Yang Zhiyuan suffered the most.
Especially Yang Zhiyuan, who was originally expected to hold 40% of the shares, but his shares were halved. I don’t know what kind of ecstasy was poured into him by Masayoshi Son.
"Mr. Lin, can you give me a nice word?"
Son's tone of voice was very bad, and he used various weapons and sticks.
Lin Fan knew that there was a hint of dissatisfaction with him for suddenly interfering with him; it also meant to stimulate him to get out quickly.
Of course, the most important point is that the other party has no friendship or interest in Lin Capital, or even himself, so naturally he does not need to support himself.
Lin Fan raised his lips and was about to speak when he was interrupted by Son Zhengyi: "Don't mention the increase in shares. This is the final plan."
"It is very impolite to interrupt someone else's conversation. Is Mr. Son a low-quality investor like me?"
Lin Fan was feeling angry in his heart, and he also criticized Sun Zhengyi.
Just like Sun Zhengyi doesn't need to buy his fault, he doesn't rely on Sun Zhengyi for anything and doesn't have to worry about it at all.
Moreover, the Jockey Club will support him, and currently Ahli’s management is the one who makes the final decision.
It's just that Masayoshi Son has the advantage of investing early and has great influence on Yahoo.
Regardless of emotion, reason, or reality, SoftBank's interests and emotions must be taken care of.
Son Zhengyi was not angry even after being criticized. He sat there with an expressionless face and a very calm mind.
This can also be seen that the other party intended to provoke Lin Fan before, and did not intend to engage in a dispute of will.
Lin Fan looked at Jack Ma, who smiled bitterly and made an apologetic expression, feeling very embarrassed.
"Anyway, I won't agree to this plan unless Lam Capital holds 30% of the shares."
Lin Fan is not afraid of those who wear shoes when he is barefoot, and now he has basically understood the thoughts and fears of all parties.
Ma wants to attract Lam Capital to enter the market, but it must set a shareholding range for Lam Capital. uu Kanshu www.uukanshu.com This range cannot threaten the management, but at the same time it can check and balance Yahoo and SoftBank.
Yahoo and SoftBank joined forces and wanted to drive away Lam Capital, but they were unwilling to do so.
What Lam Capital wants to gain can only be obtained from SoftBank and Yahoo.
Are both parties unwilling?
Then we can only put pressure on the miserable Jack Ma, and let him be the doormat and lubricant between the three parties.
Son Zhengyi knew very well what the man in front of him was planning and ignored him.
Time passed by, and the three people were silent in the room, no one wanted to give in.
In the end, Jack Ma couldn't help it anymore and said to Son: "How about the same plan. Ahri's management holds 31% of the shares, and the remaining 69% is divided equally among the three companies, with each holding 23%."
Son was very dissatisfied with how he could spit out the meat that reached his mouth. Moreover, he had already rejected this plan.
Now that Jack is taking it out again, is he relying on the support of the person in front of him?
"no!"
Masayoshi Son said with a decisive look on his face: "If you insist on doing this, Jack, then SoftBank will liquidate all its shares in Ali and Taobao, and Yahoo will withdraw from its investment in Ali."
Lin Fan would not spoil the old man and said with a smile: "Okay, we will take over all the shares."
Sun Zhengyi smiled disdainfully, "Let's not talk about whether you can afford the more than two billion US dollars, or even more than three billion US dollars? Do you think Jack will agree?"
Ma smiled apologetically at Lin Fan. This was not in the interests of their management either.
Lin Fan quickly thought about countermeasures in his mind, how to break the situation?
Now the three investors are relying on each other, and they all understand the biggest fear of Ali's management: no one can force anyone to make concessions.
