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Chapter 811: Chapter 705: Breaching from Within (Subscribe, please!)
Regarding Tudou.
Tang Qing still left some leeway.
He did not intend to really kill it off in one blow and then abandon its corpse in the wasteland, especially since Comet Film and Television had proposed an acquisition of Tudou before and had some dealings, it was not just Pedestrian A.
Plus, he had a rather good impression of Tudou in his past life.
Tang Qing thought that it was better not to drive people into a corner, so he instructed Pu Chaodong that if Tudou wants to fight to the death, let them, but if Tudou’s people come seeking cooperation, then give them one chance.
Hearing Pu Chaodong’s demands.
A trace of bitterness flashed through Liu Quan’s mind.
This really was an era of creativity and technology.
With these two assets, his Tudou, which sat at the top of the domestic online video service industry, was crushed to this ghostly state by these very things, defeated in one fell swoop.
It was entirely unexpected.
In this era full of uncertainties, their Tudou might very well be among the next to fall.
Hiss...
Whether to sell Tudou.
This thought kept flashing in Liu Quan’s mind.
If sold.
They could take advantage of the little foundation they still had and sell for a good price, but if not sold, Tudou might experience a long period of ’bleak management’ and ’powerlessness to resist’.
And after this ’long period,’ it would be time for Tudou to be buried.
On the corpse of Tudou.
Comet Video would surely live well, and perhaps the next technological revolution would render Comet Video a thing of the past, but that time was definitely not now, nor would it be realized on the back of Tudou.
Seeing Liu Quan raise the stakes, Pu Chaodong pressured aggressively, "President Liu, you should know, selling Tudou now, we might give a price that matches Tudou’s current status.
If one week passes, you’ve seen the momentum of development at Comet Film and Television, by that time you’ll have no value left, or we might no longer be interested in Tudou, then I can only say sorry."
"We really can’t cooperate?" Liu Quan stared intently at Pu Chaodong.
Pu Chaodong nodded earnestly, "Yes, I don’t mean to look down on Tudou. I know it’s your hard work, but objectively speaking, Comet Video is the future.
Your Tudou can imitate us, but let me tell you, once we start to conquer the market, you will have no chance to resist, so we are giving you one week.
The current valuation of Tudou is forty million RMB, with each passing day, our offer will decrease by two million RMB, after one week, we will no longer accept any acquisition requests from Tudou."
Earlier, Comet Film and Television had offered an acquisition price of seventy million RMB for an eighty percent stake.
Now with Comet Video in the picture, it was not bad that Tudou wasn’t slashed in half. If it weren’t for the millions of user data Tudou had in its hands, along with quite a few advertising contracts, it would have been good if Tang Qing could offer ten million.
In other words.
The money was mainly for buying the advertising contracts and user data that Tudou had in its hands.
It wasn’t a loss at all, in fact, there was something to be earned, after all, Comet Film and Television had been online for too short a time, advertising sponsorship was not yet in order, and even if there were intentions, negotiations would be needed, now taking over Tudou’s contracts would be profitable.
Why not do it?
Upon hearing this.
Liu Quan was livid.
As if Tudou was about to be finished.
"President Pu, we need to go back and discuss this matter," Liu Quan felt he couldn’t stay here any longer, time waits for no one, and no matter the final outcome, this matter had to be resolved quickly.
"Alright, I’ll see you out," Pu Chaodong said with a smile.
Liu Quan picked up his briefcase, "Thank you."
After seeing Liu Quan out of the office building.
Watching Liu Quan’s car drive away, Pu Chaodong’s face beamed with joy, knowing that Liu Quan was tempted. Tudou had been established for less than a year, to say that the Board of Directors members had a strong sense of belonging was unrealistic.
Whatever Liu Quan discussed after returning would not affect the rise of Comet Video, they were not opponents of the same level, and Pu Chaodong was full of confidence.
...
Liu Quan hurried to the airport.
He boarded the last flight back to Beijing.
As soon as he returned to headquarters, he immediately convened a Board of Directors Meeting.
Tang Qing listed the conditions proposed by Pu Chaodong.
"What? Why is Pu Chaodong so arrogant, thinking he can buy Tudou for just forty million RMB?" One of the major shareholders instantly bristled with anger, unwilling to see the stock price halve.
"Exactly, it’s too excessive," another director echoed.
"I, however, think we should sell quickly," said a more rational minor shareholder, pushing up his glasses.
"How can you say that?" the first to protest challenged.
"It’s not nonsense. Looking at the situation, if we continue to go head-to-head with Comet Video, how long can we hold out? A month, or half a year?" He was just a minor shareholder who had to consider profits and the hope of cashing out for appreciation; he didn’t care about sentimental investments.
Apart from the founder.
All others thought only of stock dividends and future expected returns.
Dreams, loyalty.
Those were based on the company’s prosperity.
Once faced with a life-and-death crisis, fleeing is the normal thought process, and he was no exception.
"But still, shouldn’t it be higher? It was seventy million RMB before," the first to speak up softened his voice.
The minor shareholder said helplessly, "To others, our company’s services are optional, yet we’ve been left far behind. If it weren’t for the time it would take for our user base to transition, they probably wouldn’t want to buy Tudou at all."
"We still have advertisements," someone else said, trying to keep up appearances.
"If the users leave, will the advertisements still follow us?"
"..."
Liu Quan just smiled bitterly above.
Once there was headwind,
the minds of those below became more active.
Shareholders wanted to quickly cash out and exit to stop losses, lest their stocks end up worthless in the end; if losses occurred, they would have to cover the costs themselves, which was unacceptable.
The management was in a state of indecision.
On the one hand, they were reluctant to give up their current positions; after all, they were drawing salaries and cared little about who the boss was. However, if they were to go over to the other side, they would be seen as defeated generals, unlikely to be entrusted with responsibilities immediately.
It was quite likely they’d have to start from lower-level positions, a significant drop from their current status.
On the other hand, they actually wanted to join Comet Video. As the ones dealing with the specifics, their understanding of technology, operations, and market sensitivity was arguably the highest in the company. After carefully analyzing Comet Video, they all felt a chill in their hearts.
This was simply not an opponent on the same level.
Their understanding of the video service industry in the internet era was streets ahead of them, and who could guarantee this was the extent of their capabilities? If a new wave of strategies came their way, how long would it take to catch up?
And among the most important was its video transmission format algorithm.
This thing,
was nothing short of magical.
Just with this alone, even if Comet Video had no new tricks up its sleeve, they could annihilate Tudou. In the service industry, quality is king; aside from news and content in the video service industry, it comes down to speed.
Thus,
the management’s dilemma left them unsure of what to say.
Only the shareholders were engaged in a heated discussion in the conference room.
Initially, there had been hope, but negative emotions are more contagious than positive ones. Ten hopes may not outweigh a single worry that breeds further concern, and so the entire meeting’s atmosphere was swept up in this rhythm.
"Selling wouldn’t be bad; I could use the money to invest in something else."
"Better to cut the losses quickly, or it might end up worthless."
"Getting something back is better than nothing."
"Sell sooner to sell more."
"..."
The other seven independent major shareholders had already convinced themselves.
Liu Quan felt helpless.
A fortress,
indeed crumbles the fastest from the inside.
