Vol 2 Chapter 608: Depressed Microsoft President
Chapter 608 Depressed Microsoft President
Lin Feng was very surprised. He did not expect that he would suddenly receive a call from Steve Ballmer, the president of "Microsoft", and Steve Ballmer made a very cautious interview with Lin Feng.
Afterwards, the two met at a cafe in San Francisco. After a simple greeting, the two went straight to the subject.
"Mr. Ballmer, I don't know what you want to do with me?" Lin Feng asked directly.
"Mr. Lin, our company is very interested in the'avenue-a' company that you hold and has acquired 20% of the shares circulating in the market. I wonder if Mr. Lin is willing to transfer your 51% of the shares. This is our acquisition. I believe the price will satisfy Mr. Lin very much." Ballmer smiled and handed Lin Feng a contract.
Lin Feng was slightly taken aback. He didn't expect that Microsoft would want to acquire the ‘avenue-a’ company in his hands. "Avenue-a" is an Internet company that Lin Feng followed Abby Cohen's suggestion to invest last year. At that time, it acquired a 51% stake in "Avenue-a" for US$180 million. After the acquisition, the ‘avenue-a’ company has been renamed "aquantive", and its main business is to plan and implement Internet-based advertising services for numerous companies in the United States.
Lin Feng can also understand that Microsoft wants to acquire its own "aquantive" company. Now the influence of "Google" is becoming more and more significant. Almost all Internet users rely on the services it provides. In the future Internet era, "Google" is bound to impact Microsoft's position. Microsoft is now planning ahead, and it is reasonable to want to acquire its own "aquantive".
Lin Feng smiled and accepted the contract, opened the contract, and was slightly surprised when he saw the terms of the purchase. Microsoft is so big!
The current share price of "aquantive" is US$19 per share, but the purchase price proposed by Microsoft is more than doubled. It is willing to purchase all 51% of Lin Feng's shares at a price of US$39 per share.
The total share capital of "aquantive" is 100 million shares. Lin Feng owns 51% of the equity, which is 51 million shares. Microsoft bought it at a price of 39 US dollars per share, which is 1.989 billion US dollars. In one year, Lin Feng's initial investment of US$180 million has doubled tenfold.
"Mr. Ballmer, Microsoft has such a big hand." Lin Feng said with a smile after reading through carefully and examining all the terms.
Steve Ballmer smiled lightly. The reason why Microsoft is willing to buy "aquantive" at twice the price is also helpless. After entering the Internet age, Microsoft made at least two mistakes. One is that I missed the mp3 market and made Lin Feng’s "Phantom" and "apple" "ipod" a lot of money. Although Microsoft and Lin Feng worked together to promote the wma format, but the wma format was helpless in terms of sound quality. There is indeed a certain gap with mp3, so far it is only an embarrassing situation of half red and not red.
But if you miss the mp3 market, Microsoft can still accept it. What Microsoft really cannot accept is that it underestimates the potential of the search engine market and underestimates the impact of the Internet. I directly watched the rise of "Google", and according to the current development of the global Internet, and the ambitions displayed by "Google", the future will be enough to shake Microsoft's position in the IT industry. This is not allowed by Microsoft, and Microsoft must start to clamp down on "Google" as soon as possible to ensure its absolute status.
What's more, the profit of Internet search engine advertising is enough to make any company jealous. As for the "aquantive" company, Microsoft values its business and customer resources in this regard. As for the acquisition at a price of $39 per share, this is also what Microsoft has repeatedly measured.
First, Lin Feng has absolute controlling rights. No matter how Microsoft acquires it, how it announces various rumors, or how the "aquantive" stock price fluctuates, Lin Feng can stay still and watch the changes. Therefore, the price paid by Microsoft to acquire a fully controlled company is huge.
Second, it is because of "Google". The strong rise of "Google" has brought about the "Google effect." As long as the companies that are related to "Google", they are favored by the industry. For example, the "aquantive" company of Linfeng Holdings is the case. Under the shadow of the Internet bubble, the stock price has risen from 3 yuan to 19 yuan today, and it will continue to rise in the future. Therefore, Microsoft also had to come up with a purchase price of 39 yuan.
Third, Lin Feng is too rich. Lin Feng's personal assets are second only to Bill Gates and Buffett. If the purchase price is too low, Lin Feng will not be able to impress. For Lin Feng, holding this "aquantive" in his hand, it is good to make money slowly, anyway, Lin Feng is not short of money.
Therefore, after careful analysis, Microsoft's acquisition department set a purchase price of $39. This is enough to represent Microsoft's sincerity, and it should be able to impress Lin Feng. Therefore, Steve Ballmer was drinking coffee very confidently, waiting for Lin Feng to nod in agreement.
Unexpectedly, what made Steve Ballmer depressed was that after reading the contract, Lin Feng actually followed his example, sitting still on the Diaoyutai, tasting coffee, silently. This makes Steve Ballmer depressed.
Originally he thought that Lin Feng would be a little excited, and then very happily agreed to transfer the "aquantive" shares, and then his little high-profile contempt Lin Feng, the world's third richest who has risen suddenly recently. After all, earning nearly $2 billion in an instant, Steve Ballmer believes that anyone will be happy. Unexpectedly, Lin Feng would be so calm, as if this was not a contract worth $2 billion, but a contract worth $20.
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hold on! ——Although Steve Ballmer's heart is very itchy, he wants to know what Lin Feng thinks, after all, this "aquantive" is related to a more important "weapon" for Microsoft to fight against "Google" in the future, so he can't express Be too impatient to prevent Lin Feng from taking this opportunity to sit on the ground and raise the price.
Indifferent, we must be indifferent. ——Steve Ballmer kept admonishing himself in his heart not to be impatient.
This is the case for negotiations. Whoever is more stable will be more able to take the lead.
Unexpectedly, after drinking three cups of coffee, the time has been from 2 pm to almost 4 o’clock in the afternoon. The two of you are already here. You take a sip, I take a sip, silently sipping coffee, like a very leisurely retiree sitting here to enjoy San Francisco. Sunshine, savoring wasted life.
Steve Ballmer looked at his watch, crying in his heart. These two hours were wasted. After sitting for two hours, he was a big man with hundreds of thousands of dollars per minute. He actually sat here and drank coffee for two hours.
Are you so leisurely, do you have so much time to waste? ——Steve Ballmer glanced at Lin Feng bitterly. He didn't understand. What was hesitating about sitting here for these two hours? This condition is good enough. Also, how does Lin Feng say he is also the third richest in the world, so how long is that time!
In terms of time, this is something top wage earners like Steve Ballmer don't understand. As the president of Microsoft, he is naturally entangled in everything, and wasting these 2 hours is a bit like a crime. But if Bill Gates, the founder of the Microsoft Empire, sits here, let alone two hours, it means two days, and Bill Gates has the time to slowly accompany Lin Fengmo. After all, the work is naturally done by employees, and the boss is only responsible for making money. It's a pity that Bill Gates is not good at negotiation. He is good at software design.
This is the difference between a boss and an employee. Therefore, in the end Steve Ballmer couldn't stand it anymore, he could no longer hold on to the grinding, and had no choice but to break the deadlock.
"Mr. Lin, it's been 2 hours and 1 minute and 25 seconds. Have you thought about it?" Steve Ballmer looked at his watch, biting the time and pressing Lin Feng.
Lin Feng smiled faintly.
In these two hours, Lin Feng was not really competing with Steve Ballmer for "internal strength", but was thinking about the benefits that this contract could bring to him. Indeed, Lin Feng was very satisfied with the contract worth US$2 billion. But Lin Feng believes that this contract can bring another gain to him.
Microsoft wants to acquire "aquantive" in order to counter the "Dynamic Advertising Reporting and Targeting" technology of "Google". Of course, Microsoft can also research on its own. The technical aspects are not a problem, but it is too time-consuming and energy-consuming, and everything has to be started from the beginning, and it may not be able to occupy the market in the end. It is better to acquire existing companies with similar technologies. Lam Fung's "aquantive" is currently the most powerful and marketable company except for "Google" in the market.
Since it is a "weapon" used by Microsoft to fight against "Google", Lin Feng wondered whether he could use this contract to pressure "Google" to satisfy his desire to successfully raise "Google". What's more, because Microsoft is so desperate for "aquantive", Lin Feng will naturally not sell it for 39 US dollars.
Bargaining is the most common behavior in the business field, and Lin Feng naturally has to bargain with it to fight for his best interests.
"Mr. Ballmer, your price of 39 dollars is very attractive." Lin Feng said with a smile.
Steve Ballmer showed a slight looking down expression on his face. This is Microsoft. As long as Microsoft sees something, it will definitely succeed. Unexpectedly, Lin Feng's next sentence made Steve Ballmer unable to maintain his composure and demeanor.
"But I think the price is too low, at least 50 US dollars a share, I will sell ‘aquantive’." Lin Feng smiled and looked at Steve Ballmer.
"What! 50 dollars a share? Mr. Lin, are you joking!" Steve Ballmer cried out.
"Aquantive" company, the current price is 19 US dollars, Lin Feng actually offered 50 US dollars for the transfer, which is outrageous. At Lin Feng’s price, Microsoft would have to spend at least US$2.55 billion to acquire the 51% stake in Lin Feng’s "aquantive". But they bought 20% of the outstanding shares before, for only 380 million U.S. dollars.
It's not a bargain.
