The next morning, Fang Yang received a call from Yang Huajin, who said that they had arranged to meet at Lao Jin's animation company in the afternoon to discuss the acquisition. Fang Yang was asked to come along, since he would have to sign the agreement after the deal was finalized. Fang Yang readily agreed, and the two agreed to meet at Lao Jin's animation company at 3 p.m.
Fang Yang arrived at the address Yang Huajin had given him on time. It wasn't far from the Yuewen website. It was an old three-story building, which was probably converted from an old office building. Lao Jin had rented the top floor, which consisted of several offices and a meeting room.
Uncle Yang and a tall, burly man with messy hair and a scruffy beard were waiting for Fang Yang downstairs. As soon as Fang Yang got out of the car, the two men came up to him. "Little Yang, let me introduce you. This is Old Jin Dahai, the boss of Jinhai Animation Company."
Then he introduced Fang Yang to Jin Dahai, saying, "This is the Fang Yang I'm introducing to you."
Fang Yang took two quick steps and shook hands with Jin Dahai, saying, "Hello, Mr. Jin. I've heard Uncle Yang mention you before. Your strength is unbelievable."
Jin Dahai waved his hand, "That's all ancient history. Jin Hai Company is going through a difficult period right now. I heard that Boss Fang is interested, so I shamelessly invited Boss Fang to come and discuss it in detail."
Fang Yang nodded, "Everyone has difficult times. Mr. Jin, let's go inside and talk."
Jin Dahai slapped his forehead. "My mistake, please come in!"
The three of them went up to the third floor. The people in the offices along the way saw Jin Dahai leading the two over and all had complicated expressions on their faces. They all knew that someone had come to talk about acquisition today. Although it was once one of the top three animation companies in Shanghai, they never expected that it would fall to the point of being acquired. For a moment, they were all confused about the future.
Fang Yang also took in everyone's expressions. Although they weren't very interested, it was clear that Jin Dahai had a high level of prestige, and there were no troublemakers among them.
Arriving at Jin Dahai's office, it was actually just a simple room, but it was much larger than the offices shared by several other people. The walls were simply painted, and because of the long time that had passed, the paint was peeling off everywhere. The sofa was also a simple rattan sofa, which was already an antique in Shanghai these days.
After taking a quick sip of tea, Fang Yang got straight to the point, "Mr. Jin, may I take a look at your latest work?"
Jin Dahai chuckled and said, "Sure, we just finished an animated advertisement these past few days. Mr. Fang, why don't you take a look?"
Fang Yang and Yang Huajin went to Jin Dahai's computer desk. Jin Dahai found a video on the computer, clicked play, and then moved aside to take the main seat. Fang Yang didn't stand on ceremony and sat down directly, watching the video intently.
In the video, a butterfly, bathed in the morning light, flutters among a sea of flowers. The faint patterns on its wings are clearly visible, and even its antennae are very distinct. A drop of dew falls beside the butterfly, landing on a blade of grass. With a dripping sound, water splashes down, covering the blade of grass with dewdrops, which then slowly flow down and drip into the soil.
Fang Yang's mouth dropped open. "Mr. Jin, is this 5D technology?"
Jin Dahai proudly said, "That's right. Last month we mastered 5D technology, which can be used in video, animation and other fields. Although we are not completely proficient yet, it's just a matter of time."
Fang Yang smiled. Since he could master 5D technology, producing a small animated film was a piece of cake. He nodded to Yang Huajin and left the rest to Yang Huajin. Fang Yang wasn't good at negotiating business; it was more appropriate for an old fox like Yang Huajin to step in.
Jinhai Animation Company has no fixed assets, so the two sides are playing a game of cat and mouse over the core asset—technology reserves. In Fang Yang's view, the greatest success is retaining the existing core technical personnel and preventing their loss; everything else is negotiable.
Jin Dahai's main point is that this company is the culmination of twenty years of hard work by their core technical staff, and they cannot sell it off cheaply. They want to secure the greatest possible benefits for each technical staff member, since everyone is now a shareholder, but in the future they will become mere employees. They want to maximize the company's profits.
After a two-hour standoff, a preliminary agreement was reached: Jinhai Company would retain 20% of the shares, while the remaining 80% would be transferred to Fang Yang for 20 million yuan.
Fang Yang was not satisfied with the result. He wanted 100% control, so he said to Jin Dahai, "Mr. Jin, my basic requirement for the company in the future is an annual output value of hundreds of millions or even billions. If you retain 20% of the shares, I am very worried about the reality that the company's success will be reaped by others in the future. Can you guarantee that the shares will not be transferred in the future?"
Upon hearing this, Jin Dahai immediately fell silent. "You can't judge a book by its cover. When it comes to interests, no one can guarantee that their shares won't be transferred. There are always people who betray you; it's just a matter of how much they will pay for it."
"Mr. Fang, what's your opinion?" Jin Dahai pushed the difficult question to Fang Yang.
Fang Yang smiled and said, "President Jin, how about this? Yuewen will acquire 100% of Jinhai's equity for 20 million, and then give 20% of Jinhai's existing employees phantom shares as equity incentives. At the end of the year, they will participate in profit sharing based on their shareholding, but they will not have voting rights. Jinhai's existing employees will sign an agreement stating that if any of them leave the company during the process, Yuewen has the right to buy back the shares in full at the current price. This way, we can ensure that Yuewen's equity is not taken away, and we can also protect the interests of Jinhai's employees. I believe that once everyone's pockets are fuller, no one will leave the company easily."
Jin Dahai pondered for a moment, then said, “President Fang, I personally have no objection to this plan, but Jinhai Company doesn’t belong to me alone, so we need to have a meeting to discuss it.”
Fang Yang smiled and said, "That's no problem. Even if we acquire Jinhai, the staff will remain the same. Mr. Jin, I still need your personal supervision. As for technical issues, I'm an outsider and won't be able to direct the experts. I'll provide the content, and I also have the platform. In the future, Jinhai will only need to focus on production. Salaries and bonuses will be based on the highest industry standards. Mr. Jin can assure everyone that Yuewen will not mistreat any employee. Alright, Mr. Jin, it's getting late. I hope you can give me a reply soon. If it's feasible, we'll bring our lawyers over to sign the contract next time."
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