New York 2006

Chapter 169 Acquisition of "Friends Trading"

"Vampire World War, developed by Holi Games, has mediocre sales. According to insider reports, the game is likely to generate losses of more than 400 million US dollars. Logic said that the company will fully enter the social free game in the future and will not involve it for the time being. This is a relatively expensive stand-alone and online game.”

After Luo Ji read the news on his computer, there was a sarcastic comment with a lot of likes below. It seemed that EA had lost a competitor.

After entering 2008, Luo Ji found that he was getting further and further away from his identity as a singer. Instead, his identity as a boss occupied most of his life.

Dealing with the affairs of various companies every day, including music and film companies, investment companies, and game companies, takes up most of his energy.Battle of wits and courage with the managers of these companies every day.The stand-alone game, which cost 600 million to develop, had particularly poor sales after it was released.This made Luo Ji depressed for several days.

Luo Ji looked at the company's documents: "Social games "Friend Buyer" and "Owned". The user growth rate exceeds that of Holi Game Company's Texas Hold'em Poker."

The iteration of social games is still too fast. A popular game is likely to change the industry structure.Blind acquisition and imitation is definitely not the answer.Luo Ji had been thinking about this problem for the past few days, and slowly came up with a solution.

Bang bang bang, there was a knock on the door, and it was Yang Jian, CEO of Holi Game Company, who came in.After the first sentence he said, Luo Ji felt a little dizzy.

Luo Ji said loudly: "What do you mean? What do you mean by the founder of a social game friend buying and selling company who both wants to sell the company but doesn't want to sell the company?"

Yang Jian explained: "The founder of the company is a Chinese named Chen Siqi. After we contacted him, he expressed his willingness to sell the company, but at the same time he did not give us a clear answer. During this period they have been It’s dragging us along.”

Luo Ji said doubtfully: "Our conditions are good enough. The total value of stocks and cash exceeds 1000 million yuan. What else can they be dissatisfied with?"

Yang Jian said: "I'm not sure, but the people I bought from their company said that their founder may have other ideas. Chen Siqi may want to raise funds and develop the company by himself!"

Luo Ji narrowed his eyes and his eyes became sharp: "I don't want to see the rise of another competitor and give them an ultimatum and only give them one day. There are already games on the market that imitate their development. Let's try again If we delay it, it will be too late. If they don’t agree, we will develop similar games to directly compete with them.”

"Should we say this to them too? If they use it in legal proceedings in the future, it will be very detrimental to us."

Luo Ji touched his forehead helplessly: "Find a third party who has nothing to do with us to remind them! Do I still need to teach them?"

"OK." Yang Jian quickly agreed.

Luo Ji thought for a while and said, "Wait a minute, I'd better talk to him first. My fame may play a role, as Chinese Americans generally give me a favor."

Chen Siqi is sitting in his office in San Francisco. The company now has more than 20 people, and it has grown rapidly during this period.This entrepreneurial venture made him feel a long-lost passion.

Ding, ding, ding, the phone rang, it was an unfamiliar number.

"This is Logic, you are Chen Siqi, right?"

Chen Siqi said in surprise: "Logic, I didn't expect you to call me personally. They said you don't usually manage the company's affairs personally."

Luo Ji said, "Hahaha, I have played your game myself, and it is very good. How did you come up with the idea of ​​developing this game?"

"Haha, when I went to Las Vegas, there was a bar. As long as one boy reserved the table, five girls would be let in for free. I thought at the time that the same goes for social games, which are very similar to the real world. , can bring about face-saving competition, so the idea of ​​this game came about."

The two chatted for more than ten minutes before Luo Ji got to the point and said warmly.

"Do you have any concerns about the company's acquisition? If you have any questions, you can tell me. I am the chairman of the company and have the final decision-making power. Now if you are dissatisfied with the acquisition conditions, you can raise it. We are in the industry As a leading company, it is definitely a good idea to join our company.”

Chen Siqi thought for a moment and said, "I don't think you are satisfied with my company's valuation of 1000 million."

"Then how much do you think is appropriate?"

"2000 meter knife!"

"Twenty million dollars is too much."

Luo Ji objected directly, and then said: "Have you noticed that MyYearbook's game "Owned" on the market completely imitates the game method of friends buying and selling. MyYearbook is a social networking site with a valuation of hundreds of millions. Although they are in social networking They failed in the competition in the field, but now they have more than 1000 million in revenue every month. Now that social networking sites are booming, they can raise funds anytime they want. You can also see the growth in the number of users of their "Owned" during this period. , higher than yours. Although your total number of users is ahead, they have invested a lot of money in publicity, and you cannot compete with them. After we acquire your company, we will still have to compete with this company."

Chen Siqi was silent for a while, and then said firmly: "They are completely plagiarizing, and we will start a legal battle with them."

Luo Ji said seriously: "This will cost them some funds at most. You should consult the relevant legal professionals. It will be difficult to win the case if you imitate this game model. The only way now is to inject a large amount of funds to improve the game." Promoting and completely occupying the market is the key. Only new users will play their "Owned" after playing Friend Buying and Selling. As a leading company in the industry, we are fully capable of doing this."

Chen Siqi fell silent, feeling entangled in his heart.

Luo Ji thought about his experience playing games. This game was indeed very social. Several friends were addicted to it, so he decided to increase his stakes.

Luo Ji said warmly: "Siqi, I can increase the cash for the acquisition to 700 million dollars, and the shares to 5%. In this way, you will become a multi-millionaire in an instant, and you can grow with our company. We My sincerity is enough, even if you go for financing now, no one can offer you better terms than me."

Chen Siqi said respectfully, "Logic, I respect you, but what if I still don't agree in the end?" Luo Ji was silent for a moment and said, "You know, business competition is still too cruel."

It is to join the leading company in the industry and stop when it is good.Or make a big bet and compete with MyYearbook and Holi.Chen Siqi looked at the company's more than 20 employees, and then said.

"I have one condition. We don't want to go to New York. Our employees' social connections are all in California."

This is a good thing, as it brings competition to Holi's New York headquarters, which only knows how to imitate Tencent games.Invigorate the company.

Luo Ji smiled and said: "Your company can continue to stay in California as a studio, and you will be the head of the studio. I promise that you can operate independently and the profits can be used for self-expansion. Of course, I We still need to send a financial representative, and you will report directly to me. Others have no right to interfere with your company's game development. You have my guarantee. Are there any other conditions? You can raise them together."

"The employees of my company should also enjoy the treatment of employees of the head office. When the company goes public, they can have certain option commitments."

Luo Ji agreed directly: "No problem at all."

Chen Siqi continued: "Before the company went public, every time I developed a popular game, I had to receive the same stock reward as the founder. My salary also had to be in line with several senior executives of the company! "

"No problem!" Luo Ji agreed without hesitation.

Chen Siqi smiled and said, "Happy cooperation!"

In the conference room of Holi Gaming Company, several founders and executives looked at the re-drafted acquisition documents and were obviously not satisfied.This is equivalent to introducing a competitor to the parent company.Their lives will not be so comfortable in the future.

As the representative of the founding team, Yang Jian spoke on behalf of their interests: "Logic, these conditions are great! The premium exceeds 50%. 1000 million has become 1500 million."

"Isn't a premium normal? We are the one who wants to acquire it!"

Luo Ji said casually: "You have also seen the increase in the number of users during this period. When we acquire this game, it will only take two or three months for the increase in the number of users of this game to make up for the acquisition premium."

Yang Jian said angrily: "But why after acquiring this company, you had to reduce 30% of the 5% you promised to reward us before going public."

"What does 30% mean? Now there is only 15% left!"

Luo Ji explained: "Before the Series A financing, I already gave you 10%. The remaining 20%, after the Series A financing, is 17%. After the Series A financing, I gave you another 2%. But now it’s only 15%.”

Yang Jian knew that the calculation was correct: "You mean that after acquiring this company, our future bonus shares will be reduced to 10%."

"Yes."

Luo Ji said angrily: "In the early days of the company, the 30% I promised was to recruit industry experts and bring in fresh blood to the company. I determined the social game strategy, but what did you old employees of the company do? It cost a lot of money." The single-player game developed with 600 million yuan has not made any waves in the market. Now is the time for you to have a sense of crisis."

Yang Jian said: "Logic, you can't do this to us. We have implemented your social game strategy very well! Now we are the leading company in the industry."

Luo Ji looked at the few people and said, "You also said that everything is because of the strategy I formulated! Without my strategy, the company would be bankrupt now! How much cash flow does the company have for you to consume?"

Several people lowered their heads. The single-player game strategy was a complete failure. They didn't speak loudly without results.

Luo Ji continued: "Now the company has given up on the stand-alone game strategy and is fully committed to entering the social game industry. But apart from imitating Tencent's games, do you have any other development plans? You are not at risk at all."

"I……"

Luo Ji said: "Friend Trading should be a wake-up call for you. This game has perfectly adapted to social networks. Together with "Owned", it has become the game with the fastest growing number of users. We are very likely to lose the industry leader. status of a corporate enterprise.”

Yang Jianli immediately promised: "We will study the social interactivity of social games in detail and introduce it into our games."

Luo Ji continued: "Don't think that everything will be fine just because we have sufficient capital and can keep making acquisitions. This way, how much money we have to spend, and after multiple rounds of financing, your shares will shrink accordingly. I have never seen a company blindly imitate and acquire A game company that can become a world-class game company. We must create our own blood!"

Yang Jian hurriedly said: "I will set up the company's creative department to develop new games."

After Luo Ji waved his stick, it was time to give some sweet dates to appease the old employees of the company.

"I will not take the 5% you are missing without giving it away. This 5% will be used as a reward pool for the company's creative games in the future. As long as someone can develop a popular creative social game, I will reward them. , including you of course.”

　The initial 30% stake of a start-up company is basically only about 13% after multiple rounds of financing and listing.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)