Chapter 138 Investing in miHoYo
Entering the box, the two men took off their heavy coats and hung them up, removing layers of disguise.
Following Gu Wei's suggestion, Zhang Tianai ordered some of his specialty dishes, and soon a table full of delicious food was served.
The two people chatted while enjoying the delicious food.
Zhang Tianai is a relatively restrained eater. She basically only eats some vegetables and rarely eats meat.
"I remember you didn't have this eating habit before?"
"I need to maintain my weight. Eating too much will make me fat, and I won't look good if I'm fat."
As he said this, he picked up a small piece of broccoli and put it in his mouth.
Gu Wei looked at the beautiful Zhang Tianai in front of him. She was indeed thinner than she was a year ago, and the baby fat on her cheeks was gone.
After Zhang Tianai became famous, she knew that the audience liked her current image, so she naturally tried her best to maintain it.
"Are you tired from work recently?"
Gu Wei asked with concern.
Zhang Tianai raised his head and looked at him with a smile.
"It's okay. Sister Yang has arranged a lot of activities for me, but I like this pace. I feel very fulfilled every day."
Gu Wei thought about it.
"In a while, the TV series [Yu Zui] produced by our company will start filming.
Although this is a man's drama, I am optimistic that it will become as popular as "The Princess Weiyoung".
Acting well will be of great benefit to your continued popularity and further development."
"Well, I know that the company attaches great importance to [Yu Zui], and I will perform well."
The two of them had a very happy meal. Gu Wei could see that Zhang Tianai was in a state of excitement after becoming famous.
"Gu Wei, thank you so much, thank you for remembering me, thank you for giving me this opportunity."
After chatting for a while, Zhang Tianai put down the chopsticks in his hand, looked at Gu Wei and said seriously.
"It's nothing. It's all because of your own good performance. Everything you have today is achieved through your own hard work. I just gave you a small push."
Gu Wei looked at her with a smile and said softly.
"After I entered the industry, I had two opportunities to change my destiny. One was when I met you during the filming of [The Blade Stitch], and the other was when you asked me to film [The Princess Weiyoung].
How can I not be grateful to you?"
Zhang Tianai said this with some emotion.
"Xiao Ai, we both have a long way to go in life, and this is just the beginning, so let's just try to look forward. I helped you today, and maybe one day in the future I'll need your help too.
We are friends after all.”
As he spoke, Gu Wei raised the juice in his hand and clinked glasses with Zhang Tianai.
Neither of them ordered any alcohol, just some drinks.
Zhang Tianai didn't say anything after hearing what Gu Wei said.
Both of them enjoyed the meal very happily. After the meal, Gu Wei sent Zhang Tianai home.
Zhang Tianai's current residence is no longer the original rental house. Since "The Princess Weiyoung" became popular, she has moved to a more upscale community.
This house was provided to her by the company. The community is more private and the living environment is much better than before.
The car drove to the downstairs of the community, and the two people got out of the car, said goodbye and said goodbye.
Zhang Tianai took two steps forward, then suddenly turned around and said to Gu Wei, who was still standing by the car, with a smile on his face, "Would you like to go upstairs and have a drink of water?"
To be honest, it was difficult for Gu Wei to refuse this request, after all, he was really thirsty.
That night, Gu Wei experienced the long-lost passion.
What surprised him was that Zhang Tianai actually had a set of costumes from the play "The Princess Weiyoung" in his home.
By the way, he also starred in this drama. He was the previous life'Zhang Peng' and Zhang Tianai was the reincarnated 'Zhang Pengpeng'.
The two were originally one person, but after going through so many things, they have become one again.
At the most exciting moment, Zhang Tianai did not forget to say something to Gu Wei.
"Gu Wei, I've finally become a big star."
Gu Wei understood immediately. It seemed that becoming a big star had become her obsession, and Gu Wei was helping her fulfill her wish.
The next morning, Gu Wei got up early as usual.
After arriving at the company, he received two pieces of good news.
Zhao Mingcheng has already negotiated with Director Jiaozi of the Jiao Keli studio, and the other party has agreed to bring his team to join Gu Wei's [Wei Ming Tianxia Animation Production Company].
In this way, the animated film "Nezha: The Devil Child Comes into the World" can be officially launched.
The animated film is expected to cost between 60 million and 100 million yuan, and the entire production cycle is expected to be around 3 years.
Of course, this money will be invested little by little over three years, so the company does not need to come up with such a large sum of money all at once.
Yang Liwen received news from Shanghai that the game company called [miHoYo] that Gu Wei had asked her to contact before had loosened up its financing policy and they could discuss the details.
At the animation company, Gu Wei has transferred some people from the film and television company as the backbone. As for the venue, the company has rented the entire floor below the current one and is just waiting for Director Jiaozi to bring his team to start work.
Gu Wei needs to go to [miHoYo] in person.
Shanghai MiHoYo Network Technology Co., Ltd. is a two-dimensional cultural Internet company established in 2011, with animation, comics, games, novels and other products as its carriers.
In 2011, 24-year-old Shanghai Jiao Tong University graduate students Liu Wei, Cai Haoyu, and Luo Yuhao founded miHoYo with a 100,000 yuan grant from the Shanghai Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Center University Student Entrepreneurship Foundation's "Young Eagle Plan."
In 2012, miHoYo's first product in the "Honkai Impact 3rd" series, Honkai Academy, was launched.
In 2013, miHoYo's total revenue for the year was only 1.3 million, and its net profit was only 284,000.
In early 2014, the 2D shooting game Honkai Impact 3rd developed by miHoYo was just launched.
Now it is just a little-known small company. Because most of MiHoYo's products are two-dimensional products and not popular products, many game companies in the market are not optimistic about it.
After all, a too narrow target group will also affect the company's future development.
However, what no one knows now is that the domestic online game market has expanded rapidly since 2015, especially the explosive growth of mobile games.
The "otaku" group targeted by [miHoYo] has shown a huge enthusiasm for purchasing games, and the game company's sales data has increased year by year, making it a "cash cow" that is never short of money.
As of 2023, the market value once exceeded 100 billion yuan.
Gu Wei wants to invest in this company, hoping to make money by taking a ride.
On the other hand, some of the videos shot by his company can be gamified.
For example, the IP of "Detective Chinatown" has already gained huge popularity due to the hit movie. In the future, it can not only be developed into TV series, but also into games. By leveraging the huge popularity brought by the movie, it is easy to attract players to get started.
This way, the value of truly hot IP can be maximized.
After getting off the plane, Gu Wei went directly to MiHoYo.
MiHoYo's general manager Cai Haoyu and his two partners Liu Wei and Luo Yuhao were waiting at the company's door to greet Gu Wei.
"Old Cai, do you think it's reliable for this big star Gu Wei to invest in our company?" Liu Wei asked with some doubt.
The three people were classmates at the University of Transportation, and they started a business together because they had a common interest.
However, Cai Haoyu was superior both in technology and interpersonal skills, so he became the general manager of the company and held the largest share in the company.
"The other company had communicated with me several times before, and I confirmed from multiple sources that they were definitely not scammers.
And you'll be able to see him in person soon. Didn't you two go to see "Detective Chinatown" some time ago?
I will be lucky enough to see the 'live' 'Qin Feng' soon."
Cai Haoyu said jokingly.
"This movie [Detective Chinatown] is really good, and the box office has actually reached 1 billion. How long will it take for our company to earn that much money?"
Luo Yuhao also responded enviously.
"Haha~ With our company's sales last year, even if we increased it 100 times, we still wouldn't be able to catch up to even a fraction of theirs."
Liu Wei was a little discouraged, then he said again.
"If we could make a detective game using the theme of Detective Chinatown, it would definitely be a huge hit~"
"Okay, both of you stop talking, someone's coming."
Cai Haoyu straightened his clothes and quietly reminded his two companions.
Gu Wei, wearing a suit and a mask, was followed by his team members and arrived at the door of MiHoYo company.
When he walked in front of Cai Haoyu, he first reached out to take off his mask, then extended his hand to him.
"Hello, is this Mr. Cai? I'm Gu Wei. I've heard a lot about you~"
Cai Haoyu's eyes lit up when he saw Gu Wei's face and he quickly stretched out his hand.
"Hello, Mr. Gu, welcome to miHoYo."
When the two friends saw Gu Wei, their faces showed the excitement of ordinary people seeing a big star.
Following them into the company, we found that miHoYo was really small, with only about 10 people in the entire company. The employees who were originally in the company looked over here curiously when they saw Gu Wei and his group come in.
"That's Gu Wei, right?"
"Why is a big star here in our company? I really like Detective Chinatown!"
"Oh my god! It's really Gu Wei! I love listening to his songs!"
Liu Wei came up from behind and said, "Okay, okay, now it's time to get to work. Let's get to work."
After hearing what the boss said, everyone stopped talking, but still couldn't help but look over here curiously.
"Excuse me, Mr. Gu, you are a big star. My employees are all young people, and I guess many of them are your fans."
Cai Haoyu said embarrassedly.
"It's okay, I can understand." Gu Wei smiled and didn't care.
Cai Haoyu led Gu Wei and the others into a small meeting room, brought in a few stools from outside, and everyone sat down.
"Mr. Gu, I have a question. Why did you decide to invest in miHoYo?
We are just a small, unknown company.”
Cai Haoyu came up and first raised his questions.
Gu Wei smiled slightly
"Mr. Cai, I'm 22 years old, probably younger than all of you. I also like the anime. I've played your company's game [Honkai Gakuen], and it's really good.
It just so happens that my own company is going to turn some film and television IPs into games in the future. I can either set up my own game company or find other game companies to cooperate with.
After all, I am an outsider in the gaming industry, so I thought of your company."
"So how do you plan to invest in our company?"
"If your company is planning to sell, I am willing to acquire it in full."
Gu Wei looked sincere.
"That's absolutely not possible. We have no intention of selling the company. [miHoYo] is not only a company, it's also the dream of several of us."
Cai Haoyu looked determined, it seemed that the acquisition was absolutely impossible.
"What's your company's current valuation? I'd love to invest. As long as we become family, I can license some film and television IPs to you. Even if it's a simple web game, it'll still have plenty of players thanks to the fame of the film and television series."
Cai Haoyu was very interested in what Gu Wei said. He lowered his head to think about it, and then discussed it with his two partners.
"Mr. Gu, the sales performance of our newly launched game [Honkai Gakuen 2] this year is very good, so we value the company at 50 million."
Gu Wei lowered his head and thought for a moment. "Then how about this? I'll invest 50 million in financing and hold a 49% stake. This won't affect your controlling stake in the company."
"Mr. Gu, you're offering too much. MiHoYo doesn't need that much money right now, and we don't want to give up too much of our shares at this stage. 30% is the most we can accept."
Cai Haoyu smiled bitterly and rejected the 50 million "big pie".
"How about this? You don't have to insist on 30%. I'll round up to 25 million. After the financing, miHoYo's valuation will be 75 million, and I'll own 33% of the shares."
"Please wait a moment, Mr. Gu. I'll go discuss this with my partners."
Cai Haoyu was obviously interested, and after a while, the three partners of [miHoYo] came over.
"Mr. Gu, we agree with your financing plan."
Gu Wei smiled and shook hands with him.
“I hope we can have a pleasant cooperation in the future!”
Once the financing plan is finalized, the rest will be much easier.
[miHoYo] was originally a small company with very clear accounts. The people Gu Wei brought with him had everything from finance to legal affairs.
With the assistance of Cai Haoyu, these professionals quickly conducted a detailed due diligence on miHoYo.
Gu Wei did not delay at all and signed a financing agreement with Cai Haoyu on the same day.
After everything was done, Cai Haoyu and a few others watched Gu Wei and his group leave.
"Dawei, we have 25 million now? Pinch me and see if it's true."
"Ah~ you really pinched me!"
"Okay, the money hasn't arrived yet. They said it will be returned within three working days." Cai Haoyu was very happy watching his two friends having fun.
"Once the money arrives, we will definitely move to a bigger venue."
"Yes, we still need to recruit people and upgrade the equipment to the latest ones!"
The three of them have already started talking about how to spend the money.
(End of this chapter)
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