Chapter 377 How did financing turn into selling the company?
Lei Binyi was a little confused.
He was busy at work when he suddenly received a call from someone claiming to be from Weiming Tianxia Film and Television Company, saying they wanted to talk to him about buying shares.
He thought it was a scam, but the other party said that he got his phone number from Panda TV and that it was the company of the famous star Gu Wei.
Lei Binyi has been working in the video industry for more than ten years. He has worked in product, operation, copyright and marketing, etc. In recent years, he has been working in a live broadcast company and has some understanding of the entertainment industry.
The "Wei Ming Tian Xia" mentioned by the other party on the phone sounded familiar to him, and when he mentioned Gu Wei, he remembered it completely.
In the past two years, the name Gu Wei has become almost unmatched in China. People of all ages have seen his film and television works.
Even if you don't watch movies, TV or the news, you must watch the Spring Festival Gala. His songs have been the most popular song and dance programs on the Spring Festival Gala for two consecutive years.
So even the elderly know that there is such a young man who is handsome and sings well, and his songs are full of positive energy and patriotic feelings.
【Wei Ming Tian Xia】, as a company under Gu Wei, now has a certain degree of popularity both inside and outside the circle.
Lei Binyi had also seen related reports in the news before.
Although he was very curious why a big star like Gu Wei was interested in such a small company like his, he did not dare to neglect it.
Because he had read the recent hot news on the Internet, that Jiaxing Media raised 300 million yuan in financing, with a valuation of 1.5 billion yuan, and the major shareholder Gu Wei paid 150 million yuan in cash.
He doesn't need 150 million, just a few million would be enough to make him happy.
Lei Binyi graduated from university in 2000 and worked as a worker for 16 years, working in the video industry. In 2014, he became the department manager of YY Entertainment Channel Promotion and Cooperation Department, and officially came into contact with the live broadcast industry.
After more than two years of exploration, he has figured out the entire process of live streaming operations and marketing for internet celebrities. Later, as there was no hope of promotion or salary increase in his old employer, he was unwilling to be an employee forever, so he simply resigned in March this year and started his own business.
Relying on the hundreds of thousands of yuan in savings he had accumulated over the years and the connections he had built up in the industry, he quickly brought together a group of people and founded the small company [Wuyou Media] at the beginning of this month.
Although the company is a startup with only a few big and small companies and not many signed anchors, he is confident that as long as he can make a anchor famous, the money he earns every year will definitely be more than what he would earn working in a company.
【Wei Ming Tian Xia】Company.
"Boss, Tencent Games is looking for you as an endorsement agent~"
"Which game? League of Legends?"
Gu Wei was a little surprised. He was still playing it yesterday. Could it be that he was going to become the spokesperson soon?
“No, it’s a new mobile game called Honor of Kings that came out last year.
Tencent just contacted us to express their intention to cooperate.
Although it's a new game, it's gaining momentum right now. Tencent intends to leverage your popularity to make the game a huge hit."
Yang Liwen said.
“How much is the endorsement fee?”
"60 million for two years. In addition to basic publicity and filming commercials, I also have to attend some gaming competitions."
"Tengxun Games is very sincere. This is much higher than the fees for other endorsement products at the beginning of the year. This price is considered the highest for product endorsements in China, right?"
Gu Wei didn't expect Tengxun to be so generous.
"Indeed, but considering that this is a game endorsement, it may have a certain impact on your image. In addition, [Honor of Kings] is a key project of Tencent, so this price is reasonable."
Yang Liwen explained.
"Haha~ What era are we in now? Back in the day, celebrities risked being scolded by their parents for endorsing games. Now, universities are offering esports majors. In a few years, esports might even be included in the Olympics as a new sport. Are you still afraid of the risks of endorsing games?"
Gu Wei smiled and didn't care.
Now those born in the 80s and even 90s have become parents. They grew up in an environment of playing video games, so their concepts are naturally different from those of the older generation.
Gu Wei remembered that celebrities like Jackie Chan, Louis Koo, Mark Chao, and Donnie Yen had endorsed those low-end web games. Apart from netizens criticizing them for being too unfashionable, no parents had ever said that they should not endorse games because it would affect their children.
After all, times have changed.
"You can discuss the specific terms with Tengxun. If there are no problems, just sign the contract."
Gu Wei finally decided on this endorsement.
"Understood, Boss"
After Yang Liwen left, Gu Wei sat in the office, supporting his head with one hand and thinking about things.
The endorsement of "Honor of Kings" mentioned by his agent reminded him of a TV series he had watched before.
Although it was not a big hit, it was definitely a hot show at the time. When it was broadcast on the Tencent video platform, it even caused the website to crash for a while.
All the results were very good, especially the advance on-demand viewing of TV series, which made the platform earn 200 million yuan.
However, at this time, even the novel adapted from this drama has not been written by the author.
If he remembered correctly, the original novel was written by Gu Man in 2019. But it didn't matter. The plot of the TV series was very simple. With the strength of his company's screenwriter department, there was no problem in writing the script for such a sweet little drama.
Do it when you think of it and call your assistant in.
"Notify the screenwriters to have a meeting in the conference room in 10 minutes."
After a while, in the conference room.
Gu Wei sat in the main seat, and several other screenwriters from the company sat upright on both sides of him.
"I called you all here today because I have a great script idea that I want you to complete.
The story tells the love story between a space worker and a big star.
The protagonist is Yu Tu, a graduate of Tsinghua University. He is a gifted child and an unattainable academic god in the eyes of others.
Finally, the rocket was launched successfully, and Yu Tu and Qiao Jingjing hugged each other tightly.
Well, that's the basic storyline. Is there anything else you don't understand?"
It took Gu Wei a while to retell the main plot of the story and the characters involved.
"Mr. Gu, you've told this story very clearly. With this main outline, it's very easy to flesh out the plot later."
Chen Xiang, who was sitting in the first seat on the left and was the team leader of the screenwriting department, said with a smile.
"Okay, Lao Chen, then I'll hand this project over to your team. Once you're done, give it to me for review. If there are any issues later, I'll revise it."
As he said this, the door of the conference room opened from the outside, and the assistant walked in and said something in Gu Wei's ear.
"Mr. Gu, Mr. Lei from Wuyou Media has arrived and is in the reception room."
Gu Wei nodded.
"Okay, that's all for today. I'm waiting for everyone to submit their work."
"Boss, what's the name of this script?"
"You are my glory!"
In the reception room, Lei Binyi was a little nervous.
Although he confirmed through the phone call that he was not a scammer, he was still somewhat nervous when he actually arrived at the [Wei Ming Tian Xia] company and was told that the big star Gu Wei would come to see him.
At this moment, the door was opened from the outside and a handsome figure walked in.
Lei Binyi quickly stood up. Although it was the first time he saw this person, he had seen him countless times in film and television works. It was the famous star Gu Wei.
"Hello, Mr. Gu. My name is Lei Binyi. It's our first meeting. You are much more handsome in person than on the big screen."
Gu Wei stretched out his hand and shook hands with him, smiling.
"Hello, Mr. Lei, you're welcome, take a seat."
“Okay, okay.”
After the two sat down, Gu Wei did not talk about financing directly, but asked about the live streaming circle.
Lei Binyi was quite curious as it was his first time meeting a big star like Gu Wei. He answered whatever Gu Wei asked and the two of them had a very pleasant conversation for a while.
"Boss Lei, since you're doing so well and have so much experience, why did you choose to leave a big company and start your own business?"
After listening to Lei Binyi's work experience, Gu Wei asked curiously.
"Mr. Gu, to be honest, I'm 38 years old and will soon be 40. Although I have many years of work experience and have made some achievements in my industry, in my previous company, mid-level leadership was the limit.
To put it bluntly, I have no room for advancement.
But I really can't accept it. To be boastful, I think I still have some ability in this industry, and I'm no worse than those senior leaders of the company.
Even without the platform of a big company, I can still make a living outside.
In that case, why not come out and give it a try! "
Lei Binyi's words were passionate, but in fact they also expressed the thoughts of many middle-aged workers.
Career development has reached a bottleneck and there is no way to move up. Either you try your best like Lei Binyi, or you can only muddle through until retirement.
Gu Wei nodded.
"I see, let's get back to business.
I've also heard of Mr. Lei's company; it was just established this month and is still relatively small."
Lei Binyi smiled embarrassedly when he heard Gu Wei say that.
"What is your company's valuation? How much cash do I need to pay for financing? How many shares can I get?"
Gu Wei asked.
Lei Binyi hesitated for a moment.
“Although my company is still in its infancy, I have invested a lot of real money, and now the company’s main framework has been established.
Of course, it’s been less than a month since its establishment, so it’s definitely not profitable.”
Having said that, he looked up at Gu Wei and gritted his teeth.
"If you can come up with 2 million, Mr. Gu, I can give you 40% of the shares, which will serve as an angel wheel to support the company's development."
Gu Wei thought about it.
"I can get 40% of the shares by investing 2 million, which means the valuation after financing is only 5 million.
Do you think your company is currently worth 3 million?"
Pause for two seconds after speaking.
"Excuse me, how many employees does Lei's company have now?"
"There are 12 of us, including me."
“How many anchors have signed contracts?”
“Two.”
"They shouldn't be famous, right?"
Gu Wei guessed.
"They are indeed not very famous now, but based on my years of experience, I know that they are all well-qualified. Even if they can't become top anchors in the future, being a small internet celebrity will not be a problem."
Lei Binyi emphasized.
Gu Wei remained silent after hearing his words.
The reception room also fell into silence.
To be honest, he took this matter for granted at the beginning.
Because Gu Wei knew that Wuyou Media would become the number one MCN company in China in a few years, he thought that they were good from the beginning and wanted to invest in them before they became too powerful. But now it seems that is not the case at all.
"What does Mr. Lei think of the scale of my company?"
Gu Wei suddenly asked.
"[Wei Ming Tian Xia] is now an absolutely huge company in the film and television industry, there is no doubt about that."
Although he didn't know what Gu Wei meant by asking this, Lei Binyi still said it.
Gu Wei nodded.
"The office building we are in now was purchased by me last year and is one of the company's fixed assets.
Several companies under my name are located in this building, spread over several floors, with about a few hundred people.
The other floors are not in use yet, so they are temporarily rented out to other companies.
In 2015, the TV dramas and movies invested by Weiming Tianxia Film and Television Company alone generated revenues of several billion yuan and a net profit of nearly 1 billion yuan.
Mr. Lei, what do you think of my company compared to your old company, YY Live?
Gu Wei looked at Lei Binyi and asked.
"this
YY may have more employees, but its profits can't even begin to catch up to Mr. Gu's."
Lei Binyi told the truth.
“Originally, I was just interested in the live streaming industry and thought that if I could get involved now, I might be able to use it in the future.
But today I see that your company, Mr. Lei, is really too small.
Even if I invested 2 million, it would still be far from the MCN company I had in mind!
After hearing this, Lei Binyi's face immediately turned gloomy.
"However, Mr. Lei, if you don't mind, you can sell Wuyou Media to me. Of course, you will still be the general manager, your position will not change, and the company will continue to be under your leadership.
As for salary, I will give you the top standard in the industry.
Then I will immediately inject 50 million into the new company to expand its scale.
We don't even have to worry about talent. We can directly transfer key personnel from the finance, legal, administrative, marketing and other departments of my companies to [Wuyou Media] to build the framework, and then recruit the remaining personnel from outside.
A large MCN company will soon take shape.
In the future, we just need to focus on discovering and cultivating internet celebrities.”
After saying this, Gu Wei picked up the water cup in front of him and took a sip.
Lei Binyi on the opposite side was still dazedly digesting Gu Wei's words.
"By the way, Mr. Lei, your current valuation of your company is 3 million. I can add 1 million, making it 4 million for the acquisition.
Actually, your company doesn’t have much, I mainly value you as a person, you should understand."
Gu Wei added another sentence.
After a long time, Lei Binyi came to his senses.
"Um, Mr. Gu, can you let me go back and think about it?"
"No problem, Mr. Lei, please consider it. I'll wait for your reply.
But don't delay too long. Mr. Lei, if you don't agree, I can find someone else sooner rather than later.
After all, finding a headhunter takes time.”
Gu Wei finally put some pressure on him.
Lei Binyi was still a little dazed when he came out of the [Wei Ming Tian Xia] company.
He didn't expect that when he went to negotiate for financing, the other party would end up acquiring his company.
But then again, the conditions offered by Gu Wei were indeed too tempting.
He originally invested 1 million in a company, and it quadrupled in value in less than a month. Is there any way to make money faster than this?
Moreover, according to the process Gu Wei mentioned, he would soon be able to become the general manager of a large company with dozens or even hundreds of employees, completely realizing his original wish.
Although I am now the boss of my own company, it is still hard to say whether this small workshop with only a dozen people can finally get off the ground.
Now with Gu Wei as its backer, even if Wuyou Media encounters any difficulties in the future, it can ask the parent company for money and people.
After returning to the company, looking at the office space of more than 100 square meters he rented and sitting in his cubicle office, Lei Binyi silently made up his mind.
"This deal can be done!"
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
