Blue Whale, a well-known film and television company in the entertainment industry, and Blue Crab Venture Capital, a well-known investment company in the industry, jointly established Blue Qinghai Investment Company.
This investment company with a strong Wei Yang atmosphere invested 1.05 billion yuan in one go.
It directly acquired 24% of the shares from PPTV's small and medium shareholders SoftBank, German investment institutions, the founding team and others, becoming the third largest shareholder of PPTV.
On the same day, Lan Qinghai officially announced its acquisition of PPTV and directly contacted PPTV's second largest shareholder, Hony Capital.
This news directly ranked first on Weibo's hot search list, and people in the financial circle were crazy about it.
Some inside information was slowly uncovered.
It is said that it took only more than 20 days from the time Wei Yang and his team decided to acquire the company, to the implementation of specific steps, and finally to the completion of the acquisition. Their decisiveness and swift action can be regarded as a small business model and successfully stunned Suning.
So many changes in equity and frequent actions certainly cannot be hidden from the major shareholder Suning.
The latter learned the news shortly after Wei Yang started the acquisition, but they did not expect it to be so fast. Before they could discuss the specific results, it had already been settled and announced that they had contacted Hongyi.
The reason why Wei Yang is so fast is very simple.
Spend money!
The current valuation of PPTV is around 3 billion. Previously, Suning and Hony used 420 million US dollars to acquire a total of 76% of the shares, which is equivalent to more than 2.5 billion RMB. In other words, the valuation of PPTV at that time was about 3.3 billion.
Of course, this kind of acquisition must have a lot of premium, it is definitely not worth it under normal circumstances. The current valuation of 3 billion is also due to the fact that Suning is in control.
This way of calculation makes it simple.
The 24% shares held by the remaining group of small shareholders were only worth a little over 700 million based on the 3 billion valuation. Wei Yang paid a premium of 1.05 billion to buy them, showing his sincerity.
Moreover, PPTV has now been jointly acquired by Suning and Hony. Everyone understands that the next step will be to focus on cleaning up small and medium shareholders.
Rather than being forced to sell at a loss and leave the market by various means at that time, who would refuse if someone offers to take over at a high price now?
Wei Yang naturally knew that the money he spent was more or less a waste of money.
But there is no way. If you want to join the game and accumulate enough capital to compete with Suning, you have to be willing to spend money and leave as soon as possible.
This money is just an appetizer. The next step is for Lan Qinghai to directly invest 1.5 billion yuan to acquire shares of Hony Capital.
When Hony Capital and Suning joined forces, Suning was the biggest shareholder. Hony was not short of money and held 32% of the shares, spending nearly 1.05 billion yuan at the time.
Blue Whale asked for 1.5 billion, which means that as long as Hony agreed, it could earn 400 to 500 million in a few months.
ally?
Wei Yang didn't believe that Suning, an ally, was worth this price in Hongyi's mind, so if it really didn't work, he would add more.
"Wei Yang is crazy!?"
This was the reaction of the outside world after learning that Wei Yang had offered Hongyi a price.
PPTV's total valuation is 3 billion yuan, which is just over half of the shares, but Wei Yang spent more than 2.5 billion yuan. Even if he had money, he wouldn't spend it like this.
Only those who understand Wei Yang or look at the overall situation can see Wei Yang's true purpose.
"This is a war of attrition with Suning."
It was very difficult for Wei Yang to acquire PPTV because Suning had already entered the market and became a major shareholder, and it was also a well-known large domestic group. Trying to take PPTV from them would be like snatching food from a tiger's mouth.
So if you want to win this battle, you have to use a surprise attack.
For Wei Yang, it was too foolish to compete with Suning in terms of funds, and he couldn't win, so he had to change his tactics and pull Suning to a battlefield where he was good at and had strength.
Therefore, Wei Yang decided to take a risky move.
It would be better to just give up Suning and not take over the entire PPTV. Instead, concentrate the superior funds to acquire the shares of Hony and small and medium shareholders.
If all goes well, Wei Yang will be able to obtain 56% of the shares, making him the undisputed major shareholder of PPTV and gaining control of PPTV legitimately.
In this way, Wei Yang can use PPTV as a battlefield and invest funds continuously.
Suning could either grit its teeth and invest, thus engaging in a war of attrition with Wei Yang; if it did not invest, it would be forced to lose its shares bit by bit.
For Wei Yang, PPTV is the biggest strategy that Blue Whale and related companies value for the future. They had already decided to invest heavily in it, and as long as they could develop the website, no amount of money would be too much.
Therefore, Wei Yang dares and is willing to spend this money, and with the Blue Whale and the rising Red Shark behind him, he has the confidence to spend money.
But this is not necessarily the case for Suning!
They are rich, but their businesses are also very large, including e-commerce, home appliances, physical stores, sports and other industries, all of which are burning a lot of money.
Under such circumstances, is it worth it for Suning to fight to the death with Wei Yang when facing PPTV, which is not a particularly important part of their overall strategy?
One side goes all out, regardless of the cost.
The other side has various constraints and many concerns.
Once the war of attrition begins, it is only a matter of time before Suning is defeated. Even if it persists and becomes a shareholder of PPTV, it may not be a bad thing for Wei Yang.
As long as Suning can guarantee control over PPTV, its investment will be a great benefit to the website. Even cooperation with it in TV channels and offline will further improve PPTV's industrial chain.
On this point, Boss Wei is not obsessed with having the lion's share. He even has plans to introduce capital from Toutiao and other institutions for cooperation later.
Of course, the prerequisite is to successfully acquire all the shares of Hony Capital.
If he fails to take it, or only takes part of it and fails to gain control of PPTV, then even though Wei Yang can still fight a war of attrition, he will be passive in many aspects.
That is why Wei Yang would not hesitate to offer a premium that would make the outside world think he was crazy in order to acquire all of Hony's shares in a package. This is the most critical part of the acquisition plan.
"Tell them again that they must package everything together and will not accept partial sales. This is the bottom line. Otherwise, we would rather the acquisition fail."
"I can afford to pay 1 billion, and we still have shares, so we can still get a payout from Suning."
"As long as we can convince Hony to sell as a package, then if Suning wants to disrupt the acquisition, it will have to buy Hony's shares as well and compete with us for funds."
"With such a high premium, I don't believe they are willing to buy it. Even if they are willing, do they have enough money?"
"If Suning could easily spend the money, it wouldn't have needed to drag Hongyi into the acquisition. They are a big company with a lot of business and they are arguing."
"In a word, the barefoot are not afraid of those wearing shoes. They are reluctant to confront us head-on."
“…”
Wei Yang encouraged his team in a resounding voice, as if Suning, with a market value of hundreds of billions, was not taken seriously by him.
In this acquisition battle, Wei Yang also has an subtle but extremely sharp advantage, that is, he has the final say and can call on financial team resources at will.
But Suning is different, it is difficult to turn around because the ship is too big.
There are various factions, shareholders, and executives within the major companies, and many of them are listed companies. Any move can affect the entire body. Boss Zhang does not have as much freedom as Boss Wei.
This can be seen from the fact that Suning had not yet finished the meeting when Wei Yang completed the short-term acquisition of shares of small and medium shareholders.
After hanging up the phone, Zhao Liying next to him looked at Wei Yang with some admiration, and the affection in her brows could be seen.
As mentioned before, what impressed Xiao Zhao most about Wei Yang was not his looks or personality, but his seriousness and decisiveness in work and his confidence in making plans. That so-called overbearing president style especially attracted her, and every time this happened, Xiao Zhao would turn into a little fangirl.
"Brother, you were so handsome just now."
"Is Suning really not going to make a move?"
"have no idea."
Wei Yang spread his hands. What he said just now was half true and half false. He had some confidence, but was not sure that it would go smoothly.
Hony Capital is in a rather ambiguous position right now. Although it is somewhat tempted by Wei Yang's high price, it has not surrendered and is flirting with Suning.
In fact, it would be best for them to sell the shares to Wei Yang at a high price and at the same time sell a small portion of the shares to Suning to ensure the latter's control so as not to offend the latter.
Suning also thought so, to control PPTV at the lowest cost and deal with Wei Yang's impact.
But Wei Yang was obviously on guard against this and insisted that the price could be negotiated but all the shares must be purchased, making it clear that he wanted to become the largest shareholder in one fell swoop.
So the three parties are now in a stalemate, and Wei Yang is actually betting that Suning will not compete with Wei Yang and spend money.
Although Suning's internal situation is relatively complicated, they are not without smart people. They have invested more than one billion in the PPTV project and will not give up easily. They are willing to spend money, but a large group worth hundreds of billions is not easy to deal with.
Read the original text at Liu#9@书/吧!
"So we have to hurry up and not delay this matter. The longer we delay, the easier it will be for Suning to reach a decision. Now is the time to cut the Gordian knot while they are still discussing it internally."
Wei Yang knew what was going on, and while urging the team to speed up the negotiations, he continued to contact for funds.
Once Suning is really out of the game, Wei Yang’s way to remedy the situation is to continue raising the price until Hongyi is tempted and Suning feels distressed.
In addition, Wei Yang also began to exert his power as a half-media tycoon, frantically creating smoke bombs, all kinds of rumors flying around, involving both himself and Suning.
This continues to put pressure on Suning’s shareholders and stock market, and creates obstacles within Suning.
Wei Yang even sent people to spread rumors, saying that Alibaba, Hunan TV Station, and LeTV were also interested in participating in order to muddy the waters.
For Wei Yang's side, who have the same goal, it doesn't matter how chaotic the situation is. Their goal is to get the shares, but for Suning, these are all troubles.
…
"The young are to be feared."
Wei Yang's tricks could fool most people, but a business tycoon like Boss Zhang could still see through some of the situation.
But then again, a company of Suning's size and complex structure often does not act on personal will. Even if Boss Zhang knew Wei Yang's layout, he could not just retaliate.
That's why he praised Wei Yang, thinking that not only were his methods decisive and ruthless, but he was also able to accurately identify Suning's weaknesses.
A thin young man nearby was a little indignant when he heard this: "It's just gambling. If Suning decides to continue investing in PPTV, what can he do to stop it?"
This young man is none other than Boss Zhang’s son, the future Inter Milan chairman Zhang Wei-wei Zhang.
At this time, Mr. Zhang was still studying abroad. He came back from annual leave and stayed for a few more days.
As a result, he saw Wei Yang's surprise acquisition and did not return to school. Boss Zhang also wanted him to see it, so he analyzed Wei Yang's operation to him.
Even so, Young Master Zhang was not convinced by his father's praise of Wei Yang.
In other words, since Boss Wei started his own business from scratch, because he was too young, he was inevitably compared with the heirs of various families and was often praised, which naturally made him a thorn in the eyes of many rich second generations.
Young Master Zhang and Wei Yang are only a few years apart in age. One has not even graduated from college, while the other is already worth tens of billions and is engaged in a business war with a well-known domestic group.
It is no exaggeration to say that if Wei Yang successfully becomes a major shareholder of PPTV, his business reputation and influence will be further enhanced.
Not to mention being a second-generation rich, even some of the older generation wealthy people are not comparable to him.
Young Master Zhang might not be unaware of this, but as he was young and full of vigor, he always felt that Wei Yang was nothing special. He always believed that if he were in charge of Suning, he could easily defeat Wei Yang.
"Then let me ask you, if you are the CEO of PPTV now and you are not the successor to Suning, can you deal with Wei Yang's offensive, and can you convince Suning's top management to strongly support you?"
Young Master Zhang wanted to pat his chest and make a promise, but after looking at his father's serious eyes, he finally remained silent.
Boss Zhang asked again: "If you had Wei Yang's assets and connections, would you have the courage to go against Suning? And would you have the ability to force Suning into a dilemma and cause endless internal quarrels?"
Young Master Zhang was silent even longer this time. Boss Zhang standing beside him smiled bitterly upon seeing this, and said something heartbreaking, intentionally or unintentionally.
"I now understand why Cao Cao said that if he had a son, he would want one to be like Sun Zhongmou."
Sure enough, no son would like to hear his father think that he is inferior to others, let alone a top second-generation who is so arrogant and proud as Zhang Dashao, who even pinched his fingernails until they were red.
Boss Zhang saw everything and decided to quit while he was ahead, without further provoking his son.
He felt that his son was too arrogant and, due to his privileged family background, had low motivation to strive for success. He hoped that his son would work harder, so he created a goal or opponent for his son.
"Study hard and accumulate experience. When I graduate and return to Suning, I will compete with him sooner or later."
Young Master Zhang was not stupid and could guess what his father meant. However, he still felt upset when he thought about what he had just said.
"Then you really will let Wei Yang get what he wants."
“It’s not that simple.”
Boss Zhang sneered. He admired Wei Yang, but that didn't mean he was willing to watch him step on Suning to get to the top.
Given his prestige in Suning, it would be a bit troublesome, but if he really made up his mind, it would not be a problem for him to compete with Wei Yang for Hongyi's shares.
"Doesn't he want to fight a war of attrition? I'll help him and drain his funds."
Young Master Zhang's eyes lit up and he understood his father's intention. Suning also followed suit in bidding for Hony shares. If Wei Yang didn't want to give up, he had to grit his teeth and follow suit.
It would be best if Suning could successfully acquire Hony Capital. If it really exceeds expectations, Wei Yang will also pay a considerable price and become a major shareholder of PPTV with a high premium.
By then, Wei Yang's funds were exhausted and he was even heavily in debt. Even if he had control of PPTV, he would not be able to make large-scale investments.
On the contrary, even if Suning retained part of the original funds and used it for financing, it could still make Wei Yang stupid, take back control and kick him out.
"He plays to our strengths and avoids our weaknesses, and we play to our strengths and avoid his weaknesses. Suning's disadvantage is its huge size, but its advantage is that even if it can only use a portion of its resources, this war of attrition will be enough to wear down Wei Yang."
"That's right."
Young Master Zhang's eyes suddenly lit up: "Wei Yang is just being clever. How can he possibly beat Suning in a war of attrition?"
"His main business is film and television. This industry is full of unexpected events. I don't believe that all his films can sell well. Once something unexpected happens and the capital chain is broken, we will be at our mercy."
Boss Zhang's move was really vicious! It forced Wei Yang to spend more than 300 million yuan and finally acquired the shares of Hony Capital at a price of 1.82 billion yuan.
Not long after, Boss Wei officially took over PPTV and quickly announced adjustments to the relevant structure and personnel.
Magic City, Zhangjiang
Wei Yang stood in the PPTV headquarters office, feeling extremely distressed and sneering at Suning's plan.
These business tycoons are indeed difficult to deal with. If it were someone else, they might have killed him, but he is different.
I'm a cheater...
A serious acquisition case is very complicated, so for the sake of the look and rhythm of the novel, everything is kept simple.
(End of this chapter)