novelraw Chapter 522 : Too Cunning, Isn_t He_
Chapter 522 : Too Cunning, Isn_t He_
Chapter 522: Too Cunning, Isn't He?
Watching Chen Fan leave with the female secretary.
The people in the conference room exchanged glances, their expressions somewhat disapproving.
"This kid is too greedy..."
"Exactly. It's just a website, does he really think it's worth that much money?"
"Asking for a minimum of 50 million yuan, he really dares to open his mouth wide like a lion."
Chen Wenchao sat to the side without participating in the mockery. At this moment, his mind was filled with what Chen Fan had told him last time.
Baidu was going to go public.
Is acquiring the website with the second-largest market share the same as acquiring the one with the largest market share?
I can wait, but can Baidu wait?
A thought suddenly emerged in Chen Wenchao's mind.
Would Mr. Li agree to his demands?
In the chairman's office, Chen Fan had a private conversation with Mr. Li for about half an hour.
Then the door of the conference room opened, and Chen Fan walked out.
Chen Wenchao, who had been paying attention to all of this, immediately looked towards Chen Fan.
Unfortunately, he couldn't discern any information from his expression.
Chen Wenchao then looked towards the chairman's office, but didn't see the boss's face.
Did the negotiation fall through?
Seeing Chen Fan take steps towards the exit, Chen Wenchao hesitated for a moment, then quickly followed.
"Mr. Chen, please wait, I'll see you out."
Following Chen Fan all the way down the elevator to the ground floor, walking out of the headquarters office building, Chen Wenchao couldn't hold back anymore.
"How did your talk with our boss go?"
"It's settled."
"Ah?" Chen Wenchao curiously asked, "How... how much for the acquisition?"
"50 million yuan, didn't I tell you already?"
"Ah?"
Chen Wenchao was shocked for the second time, standing still on the spot, staring blankly at Chen Fan.
"You're... not joking with me?"
Chen Fan said with a straight face, "Why would I joke?"
"Really 50 million yuan?"
Chen Fan shrugged, "My condition from start to finish was at least 50 million yuan."
"But..."
Chen Wenchao tried to say something for a while, but in the end couldn't express what he wanted to say.
But how could Mr. Li possibly agree to your terms?
50 million yuan?
That's over 10 million more than the previous acquisition price.
How is this possible?
He didn't feel comfortable asking directly, so he asked another question in a roundabout way.
"How did you persuade our boss?"
Chen Fan stopped walking, looking at Chen Wenchao with a smile.
"To be honest, your Mr. Li has much more guts than you all."
"Do you think, whether it's 30 million or 50 million yuan, what your boss really cares about is this money?"
Huh?
Isn't it?
Chen Wenchao suddenly felt his brain wasn't sufficient.
But Chen Fan smiled and gave the answer.
"As the company's boss and founder, Baidu has already failed once in its sprint towards going public."
"Next year will be your second attempt at going public. Whether it's 30 million or 50 million yuan, what Mr. Li cares more about is ensuring Baidu can go public 100%."
"Acquiring the Go Navigation Home in my hands is just one part of his plan to expand assets. He must ensure that the Go Navigation Home in my hands doesn't fall into the hands of other competitors."
Seeing Chen Wenchao still in a daze, Chen Fan couldn't help but remind him.
"If I were to leak the news that Baidu is acquiring my Go Navigation Home in order to go public, and you happen to be Baidu's competitor, what would you do?"
Chen Wenchao was first stunned, then his expression suddenly changed.
"I... would spare no expense to buy Go Navigation Home, successfully sabotaging Baidu's IPO plan."
The more Chen Wenchao thought about it, the more he felt a chill down his spine.
Baidu had already failed to go public once. If they were successfully sabotaged again this time.
It would have an extremely negative impact, causing investors to lose confidence in Baidu.
Besides, Baidu would not be able to initiate another IPO plan for a long time in the future.
And in internet business, time is money.
By then, would competitors still give Baidu a chance to initiate a third IPO plan?
It turns out that from beginning to end, acquiring Go Navigation Home was never about the money.
Chen Wenchao stared blankly at Chen Fan, as if seeing this guy for the first time.
So he had considered all of this from the very beginning?
That's why he was so confident in insisting on an acquisition price of no less than 50 million yuan?
This young man could actually consider so much?
He even understood Baidu's current situation more clearly than most of the management in the headquarters?
This guy...
Is he really only 23 or 24 years old?
Chen Fan ignored Chen Wenchao's shock and smiled at him.
"Old Chen, are you interested in coming to work at my company?"
Chen Wenchao: "..."
Is this poaching?
The thing is, brother, we're standing right at the entrance of Baidu headquarters.
Isn't this a bit too... arrogant?
But Chen Fan didn't care at all, smilingly analyzing:
"Next, Baidu will go all out to sprint towards going public. Once they succeed in going public, there might be an internal reorganization and purge. Probably quite a few people will be laid off."
"Your current position is neither high nor low. If you want to rise further in the future, it might be very difficult in Baidu's internal environment full of elites."
"Am I right?"
Chen Wenchao didn't say anything.
Chen Fan continued with a smile.
"It's different with me. My company is in Yunhai, first of all, there's not such great competitive pressure."
"Secondly, I'm also an internet company, which matches your expertise. Thirdly, I'm a new company with huge potential."
"If my company goes public in the future, you'll be a veteran."
To be honest, just listening to Chen Fan's analysis really made Chen Wenchao a bit tempted.
After all, what Chen Fan said was too enticing.
But Chen Wenchao wasn't someone who could be easily swayed.
After all, he's currently at Baidu. Compared to a small company with an unknown future prospect, no one would be foolish enough to jump ship without thinking.
So Chen Wenchao smiled.
"Thank you for your high regard. I'll consider it carefully."
This was a polite refusal.
But Chen Fan didn't mind, he was just bringing it up on a whim anyway.
On the way to the airport in the car, Chen Fan brought up another matter.
"Old Chen, there's another thing I'd like to trouble you with."
"Hehe, go ahead, as long as I can help, I definitely will."
Chen Wenchao was very agreeable. After all, through these few interactions with Chen Fan, he had already determined that Chen Fan was no ordinary person.
This guy's future achievements were limitless. Being on good terms with Chen Fan might bring benefits to himself someday.
Chen Fan sat in the back seat and joked, "Don't worry. This is definitely something you can help with."
"It's like this. Baidu is about to go public, and there are quite a few original shares issued internally, right?"
"I don't know if you have any. But I believe many managers or long-time employees in your company would have been issued some more or less."
"Help me keep an eye out. If anyone is willing to sell their original shares, I can buy them."
Chen Wenchao almost slammed on the brakes and stopped in the middle of the road.
He turned his head to look at Chen Fan: "You... you want to buy our company's original shares?"
"Does this mean you're optimistic about our company's IPO prospects?"
Chen Fan didn't answer this question, but said, "It doesn't matter if I'm optimistic, it still depends on whether your company has what it takes."
"I mainly want to buy original shares to take a gamble. If Baidu's stock price hits the limit up after going public, I can make a profit too, right?"
But Chen Wenchao didn't believe this.
"How are you so sure that someone will definitely sell their original shares?"
Chen Fan smiled and casually said, "Not everyone is confident about Baidu going public. It's the same within your company."
"Some people are optimistic, naturally some are not. Rather than waiting for the shares in their hands to become worthless after the IPO, some people would rather cash out in advance and walk away with some money."
"You just help me keep an eye out to see who's planning to cash out recently. I can buy them. Look, this way it's beneficial for everyone."
Chen Wenchao subconsciously said, "If there really are any, the acquisition price wouldn't be small. Do you have that much..."
Just as he said this, Chen Wenchao suddenly froze.
Damn!
Chen Fan just got 50 million yuan from Baidu!
Damn it.
Using Baidu's money to buy Baidu's original shares.
How is this any different from getting something for nothing?
This guy... isn't he too cunning?