437 Farewell to 'Legend of Blood', the new favorite 'World of Warcraft'
On April 10, 2005, after more than half a year of negotiations, Box Games finally reached a consensus with Shanda Group.
Box Games transferred a series of agents and copyrights including "Legend of Hot Blood" to Shanda for US$500 million, as well as all shares of the Korean parent company behind it.
In 2005, the US dollar-renminbi exchange rate was slightly higher than in the previous two years, appreciating from about 8.27 to about 8.31.
In other words, this transaction will bring approximately 4.155 billion yuan to Box Games.
This is undoubtedly a sky-high price!
However, considering the "Ten-digit" net profit of the "Legend of Blood" series in the past every year, as well as the increase in the company's overall market value, as well as the acquisition of shares of the Korean parent company, and the initiative to agent new games in the next step, etc.
Although it costs a lot of money, at least many people feel that it is worth the money!
Of course, Shanda does not have US$500 million in cash. They can only withdraw US$350 million at most, and they also require payment in three installments within a year.
As for the remaining US$150 million, it will be equivalent to Shanda's shares and transferred to Box Game Holdings.
In the original time and space, Shanda had actually been listed last year, but now, Shanda is just a tool for box games.
Although it is also planning to go public, it does not have enough capital and it is difficult to gain favor from the financial market.
It was also at this time that Box Games revealed its intention to package and sell copyright shares such as "Legend of Blood".
Chen Tianqiao was keenly aware that this was a good opportunity.
As long as Shanda obtains the agency rights and parent company shares of "Legend of Hot Blood" from Box Games, Shanda's momentum and market value will be greatly increased. If it is listed at that time, it will be a monster stock.
It is precisely because of this that in this battle, Shanda was very courageous and paid a sky-high price.
In the end, it won the final victory with a bid of US$500 million, surpassing companies from NetEase and The9.
This price was even beyond the expectations of Cao Xuan and Box Games executives, which is why they agreed to convert US$150 million into Shanda shares.
Although this will greatly extend the time it takes to cash out the $150 million.
But everyone is very optimistic about the prospect of Shanda going public. Shanda has done a lot of preparations for the listing before. Taking into account the time it takes to build momentum after acquiring the ownership of "Legend", it is expected that Shanda will be listed in the second half of 2005, or at the latest by the end of the year.
After the listing, Shanda's stock will definitely increase in value. After a year or two, the US$150 million will be cashed out one after another. I dare not say that it will double, but it is still possible to increase by a few percent.
The most critical issue is that NetEase’s bid is a maximum of US$400 million, while Ninetowns’ bid is even lower, barely US$300 million, with a lot of additional conditions.
Comparing several comparisons, Cao Xuan will definitely choose the one with the most money...
This news once caused a great sensation in China. After all, such a large number of transactions involved two large Internet companies and the phenomenal game IP of "Legend of Blood", which caused a stir in the gaming circle, financial circle, Internet and other fields.
large-scale discussion.
Many people were shocked by Shanda's courage and thought box games were unwise.
After all, the popularity of "Legend of Blood" is still at its peak, it is still the number one online game in China, and its monthly revenue is astonishing.
It’s really too reckless to give up on the box game!
Some insiders even broke the news, saying that Box Games internally did not agree with this matter, and it was the big boss behind it who was pushing for it.
Although Mr. Cao has never directly responded that he is the owner of Box Games, Box Games has also avoided talking about it, and even the relevant information is irrelevant.
But for a company as big as Box Games, with thousands of employees and more companies collaborating with all parties, it is difficult to keep everything safe.
At least in related fields such as games, the Internet, and even finance, this matter has long been an open secret.
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However, Cao Xuan and Box Game just don't get along, and Box Game is extremely low-key when it comes to running games.
For example, in the "Legend of Legend" series, Shanda is the one who takes the lead, while other games are run by Penguin and other agents. In cooperative games, profits are more important than fame, and they hide behind and count their money.
If this transaction hadn't been so amazing, Box Games would have made a fortune as usual.
Even though this transaction went viral, Box Games did not make any public announcement. Shanda immediately took over and drew all the attention to itself.
Strong exposure and publicity will be of great benefit to Shanda's listing, and Box Games is happy to continue to remain invisible.
Moreover, when Shanda became popular and went public to make money, it also had its share of box games.
As for the outside world's suspicions that Box Games was reckless and stupid for selling "Legend of Blood" and that the boss was spoiling his brain by playing a female star, Cao Xuan didn't bother to pay attention to it.
From the current perspective, selling "Legend of Legend" for US$500 million does mean a "cheap sale", especially the shares of the Korean parent company are sold together.
You know, after "Legend of Blood", Korean game production companies have accumulated some loyal players, and the profits from subsequent game development are still very high.
However, the outside world only knows one thing but not the other. Because of the success of "Legend of Blood", the Korean parent company is no longer the small company it was back then.
Since the past two years, the ambition has grown. Not only does it want to regain control of the game in China, but it also wants to counter-acquisition the shares of Box Games.
Even before that, I had been in contact with Shanda and wanted to play the game of chasing away wolves and tigers.
Cao Xuan has long been too lazy to fight with these people. His game layout in South Korea has long been more focused on NEXON, the parent company of "Bubble Hall".
By the way, this company also developed games such as "Dungeon and Fighter", "Kart Runner" and "Counter-Strike".
Cao Xuan began to acquire shares in NEXON as early as when Box Games was the agent of "Bubble Hall".
With a large amount of capital and connections in South Korea, Cao Xuan has now acquired 45% of NEXON's shares and has become the company's largest shareholder. Cao Xuan is still preparing to continue to support the company in the future.
It is precisely because of this that the parent company of "Legend of Hot Blood" doesn't care at all. Even if Shanda doesn't want it, it will sell it to others in the future.
However, this share is in the hands of Shanda and plays the greatest role in cooperation. This is why Shanda knew that the Korean parent company was dishonest and still spent a lot of money to acquire it.
Cao Xuan certainly knows that "Legend of Blood" makes money, and he knows better than those people how profitable this game is. Not many people can see the accounts of box games.
But at the same time, Cao Xuan also knew that the "Legend of Blood" series, which had been running for several years, had now begun to decline.
In the past two years, Cao Xuan and Box Games have closely monitored the parent company's mischief and cracked down on cheats and private servers. Shanda has continued to exaggerate the impact of the game and develop new gameplay.
The combined efforts of the two parties have consolidated the game life of "Legend of Blood", allowing it to still barely stay at its peak.
Otherwise, it would have been as messy as the original "Legend of Blood" in time and space...
This is the most appropriate time to leave. In a year or two, it will definitely not be sold for US$500 million, and there may not even be anyone to take over a declining game.
Shanda is also aware that the game is declining, but it is still willing to pay a sky-high price to take over. On the one hand, it is because "Legend of Blood" is still in its peak period, and they are confident that they can continue to extend the peak period of the game.
More importantly, if they want to go public and take off, they need to win the ownership of "Legend of Blood" as a breakthrough point.
When he first obtained the agency rights for "Legend of Hot Blood", Cao Xuan only spent a few million. There were also some subsequent expenditures, but they were far less than the rewards given to him.
Cao Xuan made a rough estimate. Regardless of the fictitious market value of box games, only in terms of real assets, even if the cumulative total is not tens of billions, it is not far off.
With nearly a thousand times the profit, Cao Xuan made a huge profit.
Therefore, even if he knows that there is still money to be squeezed out of "Legend of Blood", he does not want to continue to spend every penny and give it up when it is good.
What's more, Cao Xuan has already found the next golden mountain "World of Warcraft".
Also in April, just a few days after the box game deal was concluded, "World of Warcraft" was launched in China for a two-month closed beta.
This is actually an important reason why Cao Xuan is eager to sell "Legend of Blood". When a new online game king is born, it will be difficult for the old king.
Fortunately, "World of Warcraft" will not directly seize the market of "Legend of Blood", and it will take at least one or two years to complete the takeover.
At this time, it is estimated that the box game can almost be cashed out from the stock market.
Because of "World of Warcraft", Cao Xuan even prepared for the shrinkage of the US$150 million Shanda shares.
However, this is just an expectation, and Shanda is not just for nothing.
He not only owns "Legend of Blood" and the game business, but also has other capital means. In the short term, Cao Xuan still prefers the benefits of Shanda's listing.
But in any case, the deal has been reached, and Cao Xuan does not worry about it. The subsequent box game will cooperate with Shanda to complete the listing. Now, Cao Xuan is more concerned about how to distribute the $300 million in cash.
Cao Xuan originally wanted to take half of it, but the top management of Box Game refused to do so.
President Chen Guowei even went to the set of "Xiu Chun Knife 2" to find Cao Xuan, throwing tantrums and complaining, in a word.
Give Cao Xuan up to 100 million US dollars!
Box games are hard work. Nearly 60-70% of the money earned in the past few years has been given to Cao Xuan for blood transfusions.
A large part of Fanxing Movie City and Fanxing Cinemas comes from box games.
Warner Music Group’s shares and Box Games also contributed.
Jiaoyang Venture Capital is now barely self-sufficient, but in the early stage, it basically spent a lot of money on box games.
The majority of the charity funds from the Tomorrow Charity Fund will come from box games.
Let’s put it this way, most of Lao Cao’s family’s country and country were acquired through box games.
If Cao Xuan's company was personified, Box Game would be the diligent and generous big brother in the family.
The whole family relied on him to earn money through hard work, and it was not easy to raise each of his brothers and sisters. In the end, he still had to supply blood to them for a long time. After a long time, who the hell could bear this.
"Legend of Hot Blood" is the mainstay of the box game, and now it is sold by Cao Xuan.
At present, when "World of Warcraft" has not yet achieved results, everyone in the box game industry is feeling a little guilty.
At this time, Cao Xuan, the boss, still wants to add fuel to the fire. Even honest people are in a hurry. It would be strange if the top management of Box Game didn't blow up the situation.
Chen Guowei was in Cao Xuan's room, recounting Cao Xuan's partiality and the grievances he had suffered over the years.
When the love became more intense, the voice of the head of the country's top gaming company even choked up slightly.
"You agreed at the time that part of the money would be used to build our headquarters. Now that we have selected the land in Zhongguancun, you think it is too expensive and want to save costs. How do you want me to explain it to the employees below?
Boss, it’s true that you are the boss, but you can’t be too partial. I know that Fanxing is your biological son, but we are not stepmothers.
I’m going all out today, even if you’re angry, I’ll say it, if you continue like this, the thousands of employees of our box game will be really heartbroken..."
Chen Guowei used to be Fanxing's vice president of administration. In Cao Xuan's impression, he was not particularly capable, but he was diligent and dedicated, had a mature and prudent personality, was loyal and simple, and was loyal to himself.
Cao Xuan also valued his character and loyalty, so he let him take charge of the money bag of Box Game.
And today, Cao Xuan could not hide his embarrassment at being able to force this honest man who was nearly 40 years old to speak with a cry, and reflected that he had gone too far from time to time.
"Ahem, don't worry, Old Chen. If the company does have difficulties, can we discuss it again?"
Chen Guowei was Cao Xuan's confidant general, and he would be invited to gather at his home from time to time.
Zeng Li was also familiar with him and did not shy away from him. He poured a glass of water for Chen Guowei and helped Cao Xuan smooth things over.
"Mr. Chen, you misunderstood. Your Mr. Cao is really not partial. He attaches great importance to box games. He often tells me at home that it is not easy for you and that you have sacrificed a lot for the overall situation."
Chen Guowei half stood up, took the water glass with both hands, and then said with a wry smile: "Teacher Zeng, I also know that the boss is considering the overall situation and is not limited to our company. I am also from Fanxing, and I also have feelings for my old employer.
But then again, I understand the boss, but the executives and employees below will inevitably have complaints.
Especially this time, every project team from top to bottom of the company is watching over this 300 million US dollars, taking half of it at once, and I really can’t explain it to the company below.”
Chen Guowei was very considerate to Zeng Li and immediately followed her words, but he also talked about his own difficulties, and the meaning behind his words was the same.
Cao Xuan is partial and takes too much money!
Pressing his slightly swollen temples, Cao Xuan said with a hint of exhaustion as he watched Chen Guowei and Zeng Li continue to circle Tai Chi.
"Forget it, I'll draw 100 million US dollars this time, and the Zhongguancun headquarters plan has been approved, but whatever land you win, you have to run it yourself."
Chen Guowei was overjoyed when he heard this and immediately replied: "Don't worry, we are a high-tech Internet enterprise, especially since we are a large company in the industry. The capital does not want us to move to the Magic City. Shenzhen City will have some official policy support."
"That's fine."
Cao Xuan nodded. Although the land in Zhongguancun is expensive, it will definitely maintain its value. If you buy it, you will definitely make a profit without losing money.
After thinking this way, Cao Xuan felt much better. He chatted with Chen Guowei for half an hour before sending him away.
As soon as Chen Guowei left, Zeng Li couldn't help but sigh: "It's not easy for Old Chen, I almost cried just now."
"Cry your ass."
Cao Xuan said angrily: "This guy is acting for me. He doesn't even think about what I do. I was blind at first and didn't discover such a talented person."
"Acted?"
Empress Xigong was surprised: "I think what Lao Chen said was very sincere, and his tone didn't sound like a lie."
"It's half true and half false. After the show, he really thinks so in his heart, so his emotions are in place."
Speaking of this, Cao Xuan couldn't help but complain: "Back in Fanxing, I was such an honest person, but now I'm playing tricks. It seems that the executives within Box Games are also good at it and have trained him out."
"Then you saw that he was playing tricks, why did you agree to it?"
Cao Xuan's mouth twitched slightly, and he said slightly unnaturally: "Didn't I realize that I did something wrong?"
In front of Chen Guowei, Cao Xuan did not admit his mistake and just followed the other party's request to borrow the donkey. But in front of the Empress of the West Palace, there was no need for him to hide his thoughts.
"When it was Lao Chen and the others who made the fuss, I did feel that I was a little biased and ignored their ideas. At least I had to wait until "World of Warcraft" improved and everyone felt at ease."
Why are box games causing trouble?
On the one hand, I feel aggrieved, but more importantly, I feel guilty because "Legend of Blood" is gone.
In the past, when "Legend of Blood" was around, box games were making huge amounts of money every day, making money faster than robbing banks. Even though I felt unhappy about doing blood transfusions, I made too much money, so I didn't particularly care.
But now, in this window period when "Legend of Blood" is sold out, although other games are still making money, without the biggest cash cow, the overall box game has a negative attitude, fearing that future development will not be as good as before.
Therefore, the US$300 million left over from the sale of "Legend of Blood" is extremely valued.
Whether it's building a headquarters or starting a new project after "World of Warcraft" hit the market with 10,000 words.
With this money on hand, everyone at Box Games knows that there is still a chance for a comeback, but if the money is not enough, it will definitely shake the morale of the company.
This is the important reason for Cao Xuan's regression.
The solution to this problem is also very simple. As long as "World of Warcraft" shows profit prospects, box games will realize that this is another new cash cow.
At that time, the morale of the army was stable, and money was being made every day, and Cao Xuan could continue to draw blood from the box game.
What?
Partial eye?
This is called considering the overall situation. Who named this book "China Entertainment 1997" instead of "Game Tycoon Begins in 1997"...
…
Cao Xuan did not use the US$100 million obtained from the Box Game Project for his own enjoyment, but continued to invest the money in Fanxing Movie City and Fanxing Cinemas.
In the past two years, the film market has become increasingly prosperous. Last year alone, there were five Chinese-language blockbusters that exceeded 100 million yuan, inspiring the entire industry.
This has also caused the theater chain industry to begin to accelerate its development in the past two years.
In 2003, the total number of domestic theater chains did not exceed 600, and the number of screens was only about 2,000.
By 2004, there were more than 750 theaters in the domestic theater chain, and the total number of screens was close to 2,500, an increase of more than 25% compared to last year.
One thing to say, this is due to market development, but Star Cinema also definitely helped Duoduo.
By 2005, Fanxing was still developing at the same pace as several other major cinema chains, and was even vaguely the fastest growing one.
As of the latest statistics in early April, Fanxing has 49 theaters with a total of 232 screens, accounting for almost 1/10 of the total screens in domestic theaters.
Its scale and market value are already comparable to those of Beijing New Film Alliance, and second only to Magic City United, the number one theater chain in the country.
This is the result of Cao Xuan's deliberate suppression of boutique cinemas focusing on second-tier cities. If the cost of expansion is ignored, it will be almost the same, if not more than Magic City United.
But there is really no need for it. The film market is not yet saturated to this extent, otherwise Cao Xuan really wouldn’t mind experiencing the feeling of China’s number one cinema chain in advance.
In the next few years, Fanxing Cinema Chain will basically not make any big leaps forward, and will just maintain the same tone as other cinema chains.
After 2010, when the film market began to boom, box office sales exploded, and a large number of foreign companies entered the market, that was the time to really spend money.
Not only must we consolidate the market in second-tier cities and above, we must also seize territory in cities and towns below third-tier cities.
At that time, it was the stage of crazy money burning, and I was afraid that I would have to go head-to-head with Lao Wang and other capital investors. Cao Xuan felt that he was in a tough situation and could bear it.
He even considered spinning off Fanxing Cinema Line and introducing external capital, or simply listing it to raise funds to seize the market.
Fanxing Cinemas' strategy in recent years has been to steadily grow, while Fanxing Cinemas on the other side has made more moves.
In 2005 alone, Fanxing Film and Television City launched three new projects in addition to [Chaoge City] and [Millennium Street] which were already in the final stages.
[Prosperous Tang City]: It mainly features Tang Dynasty towers, palaces, mansions, urban streets, temples and other buildings. It covers an area of more than 5,000 acres and has an investment of more than 300 million yuan.
This is by far the largest building complex in Fanxing Film and Television City, and is also a key project of the future film and television base.
The reason why Tangcheng was built is because Hengdian already has Ming, Qing, Song, Qin and other architectural complexes. Fanxing Film and Television City currently wants to grab the market, so it needs to attract people with projects that Hengdian does not have. There is no need to compete with Hengdian now.
The film and television base of the Tang Dynasty was actually found in other film and television cities, but it was not large in scale. Fanxing built the "Prosperous Tang City", which can attract a large number of Tang Dynasty and ancient-themed drama crews.
It is worth mentioning that Cao Xuan has reached an agreement with the crew of Lao Mouzi's "A City of Golden Armor".
Currently, Fanxing Film and Television City is rushing to meet the construction deadline, giving priority to the construction of scenes needed by Lao Mouzi. Around the end of the year, the crew of "The City of Golden Armor" will be stationed for filming.
【Spring and Autumn and Warring States City】
It is a film and television base focusing on the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. It is adjacent to [Chaoge City] and can accommodate all the crews from the Pre-Qin Period. It can also be used during the Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms Period.
Cao Xuan also found new crews to join, such as the TV series "Hide Your Courage" starring Chen Daoming, and the TV series "Myth" produced by Fanxing.
【Digital Studio】
This project focuses on indoor panoramic special effects shooting. It occupies the smallest area, but the investment amount is no less than that of several other large projects.
Cao Xuan obtained many technologies and equipment from Hollywood through his connections, and they are among the best in China and even in Asia.
Fanxing Film and Television City started a little late. If it wants to compete with Hengdian, which has been developing for several years, in addition to building a film and television base, it must find another way.
[Digital Photo Studio] is the core competitiveness that Cao Xuan has brought out. When Hengdian Xiangshan and other film and television cities have not yet begun to pay attention to digital virtual shooting with special effects, they have taken the lead in upgrading the industry and seizing the market.
In a few years, when everyone realizes that special effects have become an integral part of domestic films, Fanxing Film and Television City has already left other film and television cities behind.
After the construction of the [Digital Studio] is completed, Cao Xuan's overseas light and shadow special effects company will also relocate part of it back to build a domestic film and television special effects center in Fanxing Film and Television City.
By then, Cao Xuan's "Feng Shen Bang", which has been delayed for several years, should also start filming, and Fanxing can also try his hand at a special effects blockbuster...
ps: I won’t be able to finish writing before midnight, so I’ll post an extra update on time at 8 a.m. tomorrow morning
437 Farewell to "Legend of Blood", new favorite "World of Warcraft"
