Wind Rises 2005

Chapter 465
Technology patent investment, angel round investment in Facebook, may be the most glorious moment of Mark Pincus's life.

Not long ago, Facebook received a $2.4 million investment from Microsoft.

According to anecdotal reports, this investment directly boosted Facebook's valuation to a whopping $150 billion.

Although this valuation has not been officially confirmed, objectively speaking it should be more reasonable within the valuation range of 20-30 billion US dollars.

But in any case, it at least proves how optimistic the capital market is about Facebook, the quasi-social king project.

The shares held by Mark Pincus were already worth tens of millions of dollars at this time.

As long as he is willing to quit now, he can cash out in minutes.

But no one would be that stupid. After finally betting on a super invincible unicorn like Facebook, how could it be possible to withdraw so early? I would definitely find a way to hold on until it goes public.

By then, Mark Pincus's shares will be worth hundreds of millions of dollars, making him a true billionaire.

But the young investor in front of him made bold claims, saying that Zynga's financing operation would help him realize several times the return on his investment with Facebook.

If everything is as the other party said, wouldn't he be able to make billions of dollars in profits?
The return on investment was completely beyond Mark Pincus's imagination. To be honest, he couldn't believe it.

"Mr. Marlon, are you sure you're not joking?" Mark Pincus asked cautiously.

Ma Liang responded seriously: "I'm absolutely sure of this!"

Even though he knew that this guy was an angel investor in Facebook, he still didn't hesitate to talk to him, and he wasn't afraid that business secrets would be leaked.

After all, the interests of Laos and the United States come first, and whoever gives the most benefits will be close to whomever.

Not to mention that what Ma Liang revealed to the other party was only superficial information and did not inform him of the entire plan.

Mark Pincus is nothing more than a small angel investor who invests in technology patents at Facebook, and his shares are pitifully small.

Especially after Microsoft invested, the shares were diluted a lot.

Therefore, the benefits that Twitter can give him are by no means comparable to those of Facebook. Ma Liang does not believe that he will betray himself.

"Mr. Marlon, why don't you tell me first? I'd also like to know what kind of operation makes you so confident?"

It doesn't look like Ma Liang is talking nonsense, Mark Pincus is a little moved after all.

Ma Liang explained unhurriedly: "It's actually very simple. If you can accept my investment proposal and let me acquire more shares of Zynga, then I will arrange for Twitter to do so before May next year. Launched acquisition plan for Zynga.

The acquisition will be mainly through stock exchange, supplemented by cash.

At that time, the Zynga shares you hold will be exchanged for equivalent Twitter shares. I believe you should be able to understand what this means. "

Does Zynga have a big future? It has to be said that it is big, but Mark Pincus doesn't know yet.

And if Zynga wants to develop, it will definitely need several rounds of financing to become bigger and stronger.

But even if it becomes bigger and stronger, he, the founder, will become a foil. The real money is capital.

This is the case for most start-up companies. Unless the founders themselves have strong capital and try to raise as few rounds as possible like Google, they can retain more shares and receive larger dividends.

But neither Zynga nor founder Mark Pincus has the potential and foundation of Google.

But Twitter is different. It's not at the same level as Zynga.

Twitter's future is favored by countless venture capital circles, and holding Twitter's stock is definitely more promising than holding Zynga's stock.

On this point alone, Mark Pincus, a veteran entrepreneur and angel investor, naturally knows it all.

But after all, Zynga is a company he founded himself, and even fought against the odds and put a lot of effort into it. It always feels a bit unwilling to be acquired like this.

"Are you sure you can make the decision?" Mark Pincus asked doubtfully.

Although he has great confidence in Zynga, it is only based on the traffic support Facebook gives them.

The development of social gaming companies like Zynga relies too much on traffic.

The card game, which has been online for several months, currently only has revenue of over US$10,000.But with this little revenue, most of it comes from Facebook traffic.

Even if it operates until the end of the year, revenue is estimated to not exceed $100 million.

So even if Mark Pincus is optimistic about his company, he can't resist the temptation to exchange shares with Twitter.

Ma Liang nodded affirmatively and responded grandly: "Don't worry, I guarantee it with my credibility.

This is not a joke, but involves the future development of Twitter and a capital bureau worth hundreds of billions of dollars.

There is such a huge benefit, and Jack and Ivan cannot stop it. "

Ma Liang vaguely revealed some prospects, but did not explain more details to the other party. After all, he could not leak too many secrets before completing the acquisition.

Compared with other independent games, Zynga's card games are crucial.

Founder Mark Pincus didn’t know, but Ma Liang knew it all.

Whether looking at the combination of Facebook and Zynga in the previous life, or looking at the domestic gaming empire, Twitter’s acquisition of Zynga is a key link in establishing victory.Moreover, Zynga's own development was also very impressive in its previous life. Among the dozens of startups with the most financing in the United States, Zynga ranks among the best, not much worse than those giant companies.

This fully demonstrates that Zynga's social gaming products have also been recognized by the capital market.

Although the stock exchange and acquisition of Mark Pincus was definitely a big advantage, Ma Liang didn't care about these early benefits.

As long as he can achieve his goals, the rewards he will reap will exceed those of everyone else.

So he did not hesitate to use the stock-for-share acquisition as bait to coax Mark Pincus to come on board and join this plan to steal the sky.

When Twitter completes its wholly-owned acquisition of Zynga, with the support of huge traffic, the revenue from game products will directly contribute to the exceptionally good figures on Twitter's financial report.

No independent small game can bring more direct revenue than board and card games.

Moreover, the original creative source of Ma Liang’s life-changing plan was inspired by his investment in Zynga’s angel round.

As for why you don't build another game company by yourself and hire programmers to work alone, this is a purely amateurish joke.

Investment is investing in people. Compared to Mark Pincus, who has had successful experience in his previous life, wouldn't unfamiliar game companies and founders be even less trustworthy?

What's more, as the old saying goes, it's up to people to make things happen, and talents are the most critical.

Even if Ma Liang personally manages the game company, he may not be able to manage it as well as Mark Pincus, an old programmer.

This is the underlying logic of investment. If you have money, you can achieve something. Regardless of people's subjective initiative, wouldn't those big capitals be able to do it alone? Why invest in startups?

Now he wants to persuade Mark Pincus to agree to financing and complete the preliminary preparations for the merger and acquisition, in order to plan for the next change of fortune.

As for the intimate relationship between the other person and Facebook, is that important?
Whoever gives the most benefit is the closest person.As long as Twitter offers greater benefits than Facebook, he believes Mark Pincus will make the right choice.

The premise for all this is that Ma Liang obtains more shares of Zynga.

And before the battle for the social kingship between Twitter and Facebook comes to an end, Mark Pincus can still sit on the traffic support of the two major social platforms. Wouldn't it be possible to develop Zynga better?

This is the core of stealing the sky. He is not just stealing Twitter's dividends, he is also thinking about Facebook's dividends.

"This" Mark Pincus hesitated again, he was deeply entangled.

When Jennifer saw this, she immediately said disdainfully: “Mark, although this is not a simple matter, I still hope you will make a decision as soon as possible.

Because we can't afford to wait, and Twitter can't afford to wait.

Now five or six investment institutions have entered the game, and there will be even greater capital lining up behind.

We are also in contact with Google. Before May next year, Twitter will launch a new round of financing of US$[-] million.

As long as Twitter completes its acquisition of Zynga before then, you, me, and BOSS will be the biggest winners.

The premise of all this is that Zynga must have sufficient capital to expand.

If Zynga cannot increase the revenue of game products as soon as possible, how can it be worth being acquired?

So we can't afford it, and Zynga can't even afford it.

If you don't accept it, we would rather find another partner. I believe there are still many game companies in the United States who are willing to develop a card and board game product.

After all, plans wait for no one, and we don't have time to chat with you here. "

In order to convince the other party, Jennifer even threatened him. The beautiful blonde CEO finally showed his edge at the critical moment.

When she said this, Mark Pincus became even more distressed.

It was really difficult for him to make such a big decision in such a short time.

On the one hand, there is the temptation of Twitter stock, and on the other hand, it is my own hard work. It is difficult to choose.

Ma Liang was too lazy to talk nonsense and directly delivered the final blow: "Mr. Mark, you only need to grasp one principle, and it is actually easy to make a choice.

Even if Zynga develops well, it will only reach a ceiling of tens of billions of dollars in the future.

But Twitter is different. Its future valuation will start at least [-] billion U.S. dollars. I am very sure about this, and many investors also deeply agree.

If you complete a stock-for-share M&A at an early stage, you can imagine how great your returns will be.

And even if it is acquired, you can still run Zynga well, because we also need talents like you to help Twitter take off.

Not much else to say, we can give you three days to consider and hope you can make a decision as soon as possible. "

Ma Liang can also understand the other party's mood. Just like if an investor wanted to buy his [Red Lip Chuan Chuan Incense] or [Liu Po ​​Mala Tang], he would be equally entangled.

It's just that he doesn't have time to let the other party struggle for too long, everything is imminent.

"In less than three days, I can reply to you right now!" After Ma Liang and Jennifer took turns to coerce and lure him, Mark Pincus finally couldn't help but stood up excitedly after struggling for a few seconds.

"I promise."

(End of this chapter)