"I'm sorry, Mr. Zhong, although the conditions you gave are very generous, we can't promise you!" After ten minutes of discussion, Giddon . In the end, Yu rejected Zhong Shi's plan.

In Facebook's own valuation, they are currently worth between $8.5 and $9.5 billion, which is much cheaper than Bell Stone's estimate. But for some reason that makes Gidden. Yu was not too happy to accept Zhong Shi's offer.

"Oh? Why is that? ”

Zhong Shi's reaction was naturally very surprised, "If that's the case, then the price of $210 million, or $220 million, is acceptable to me." ”

He naturally took it for granted that the other party was bargaining. This dollar is nothing to him, and he values Facebook's value after going public in the future, so he has made a big concession in terms of valuation.

"It's a pity, we still can't accept it!"

and Mark. After Zuckerberg glanced at each other, Gidden. Yu still ruthlessly refused, "We would like to express our heartfelt thanks for your generous offer. We also highly agree with your understanding of the Internet. But we're sorry, but we still can't accept it. By the way, even if you pay a high price, I'm afraid we won't be able to reach an agreement. ”

"Why is that?"

Since it was not a matter of money, Zhong Shi simply stopped quoting and asked the reason directly, "Mark, Giddon, I believe you are also very clear that now that the economy is in a recession, it is not easy to raise such a large sum of money. I wonder, why can't you accept my investment? ”

"That's right, I heard that you once invested in Amazon, is that true?"

There was silence for a long time, Giddon. Yu had to stand up and say, "We know that you are an investor with a great vision. He has a deep research on the Internet industry. We believe that if we work with you, we will not be short of cash in the future. ”

"If that's the case, then why are you rejecting my investment?" After going around for a long time, Zhong Shi still didn't figure out what exactly Giddon was. Yu wanted to say something, but there was already a faint unhappiness in his tone. "I don't think you're doing business in the right way."

Seeing that the atmosphere of the conversation was a little stiff, Giddon . Yu lowered his head, pondered for a long time, and then raised his head, as if he had made up his mind, "Mr. Zhong, in fact, the reason why we don't accept your funds is mainly because of the issue of controlling interest. ”

"I see!" Zhong Shi suddenly realized.

So far, Facebook has not been profitable. And the way to support their expansion is for PEs to continue to invest. In other words, today's expenses, including operating expenses, are all supported by PEs. And for PEs, exchanging money for equity is their way of investing. When Facebook IPO, their earnings naturally paid off.

In this round of financing, the equity of the founder and his team will inevitably be divided bit by bit, which will threaten the controlling position of the founder. And once the more ambitious PE is introduced, it can even unite other board members. Squeeze the founder out of the board of directors, so as to "occupy the magpie's nest".

If the hard work of his life is robbed of him. This is intolerable for any entrepreneur, especially for Mark. For a young entrepreneur like Zuckerberg, this kind of thing will be strangled in the cradle from the beginning. Therefore, when he talks about financing with every PE, he attaches great importance to his control of the controlling stake.

The arrival of Bell Stone just made Mark. Zuckerberg was overjoyed for a moment, and soon he was caught up in the fear that he might lose control. Because the other party is not short of money at all. Having enough money to invest in Facebook, coupled with the other party's in-depth knowledge of the Internet industry, makes it possible for Facebook to thrive even if it changes its head. Zuckerberg is naturally concerned about his current indispensability.

More importantly. Bell Stone once behaved on Amazon, which made Mark . Zuckerberg developed a deep sense of vigilance. You must know that Bezos has tried to dilute the equity of Zhongshi's side several times, but it has no effect at all, the other party is rich and powerful, and it is not affected at all, and there is even a chance to increase its holdings at one time, threatening Bezos's position as the largest shareholder. However, it seems that Zhong Shi has no intention of taking over the board of directors, which allows Bezos to continue to sit in the position of CEO.

Zuckerberg believes that Bezos must have regretted bringing in Bellstone's investment.

It was for this reason that Zuckerberg and his team decided not to hesitate to turn it away, no matter what price the other party offered.

"If I give up my voting rights and board seat and transfer all of these to Mr. Zuckerberg, are you going to accept my investment?"

After a long silence, Zhong Shi gave a let Mark. Zuckerberg and Gidden. Yu was taken aback by the building yì came. The waiver of voting rights and board seats is a natural indication of a non-interventionist attitude towards operations, while the transfer to the founding team is a sign of support for the management team.

In this way, it is basically tightly tied to the investors and the founding team, which is barely a benefit. The disadvantage is that because of the loss of the right to speak, the investor becomes a shareholder who only receives dividends and dividends, and other rights will no longer exist.

"You have so much faith in us?" Giddon. Yu's mouth was wide open, almost enough to fit a fist. After realizing his gaffe, he quickly closed his mouth and pretended to be serious, "If that's the case, there will be no obstacle between us." Mr. Zhong, welcome to join us! ”

Similarly, Mark, who has not been talking. Zuckerberg smiled, too.

"Wait!"

Zhong Shi waved his hand and stopped the other party's overtures, "You have no problem, but I have a problem here." Now I have a new condition, and if I can say yes, I will only invest this money. If we can't say yes, our negotiations will be aborted. ”

Now the situation is reversed, and it is Zhongshi's turn to open the conditions. Giddon. Yu and Mark. Zuckerberg suddenly became nervous, they were afraid of missing out on Bell Stone's investment, because in their opinion, the conditions were quite lucrative.

"In the next few rounds of funding. If there is a PE offer, we have the right of first refusal under the same conditions! Looking at the nervous expressions of the two, Zhong Shi felt a slight sigh in his heart and made a condition, "Of course, the other conditions are the same as today." Voting rights and board seats are forfeited. ”

"No problem!"

Giddon. Yu let out a long breath and didn't even have time to talk to Mark. Zuckerberg discussed it and agreed very simply, "Mr. Zhong, welcome to Facebook." ”

After finally negotiating the terms, Mark. Zuckerberg also breathed a sigh of relief, his face was no longer a strict expression, and a smile was replaced, "I look forward to more cooperation between us in the future!" ”

For Facebook. They have obtained the capital to burn money, and for Zhong Shi, the acquisition of the industry's largest social networking site shares, and the opportunity to continue to invest in the future, are all happy.

……

"What?"

Soros looked suspicious and didn't believe what the other party said, "Are you saying that he didn't go anywhere, and went directly to Facebook in Silicon Valley?" And then you left the U.S. on a plane? ”

"It's not a flight. It's a special plane! The voice in the microphone corrected seriously, "It's his special plane." A Boeing airliner. He only stayed at Facebook's headquarters in Silicon Valley for a few hours before leaving, not going anywhere else, let alone meeting anyone else. It seems that this guy is here specifically for Facebook and has no other purpose. ”

"Okay, I got it!"

Soros silently hung up the phone. He didn't speak for a long time.

This time, Zhong Shi's approach was indeed beyond his expectations. Originally, he thought that when Goodman and Stanley were in dire straits, Zhong Shi must have an ulterior motive for entering the country this time. But in reality, he didn't even set foot in New York, and went back again.

But if Bell Stone is simply looking at Facebook, Soros doesn't believe it. So he fell into deep thought, but where did he come up with an ugly man?

"George, what are we going to do?"

Seeing that Soros was absent-minded, Julian. Robertson asked, "Paulson announced a rescue plan, and toxic assets involved in the financial industry, the insurance industry, and even the auto industry were among the targets of this rescue plan. If this is the case, the troubles faced by these enterprises will be solved gradually. So should we consider exiting the shorting of Goodman and Stanley at the right time, after all, we have made a certain profit so far. ”

"I can't see it clearly now!" Soros shook his head, motioned to the caddie to rearrange a golf ball, and then swinged the ball in a dashing manner, and the white golf ball soared into the sky, only to fall a hundred yards away after half a day, retracted his gaze, and said lightly, "Don't be in a hurry to judge the shape first, let's see how it happens next week." I don't believe the market situation will be alleviated like this, and besides, this rescue plan still needs the approval of the guys in the US Congress! ”

"If Stanley and Goodman were the first to run out of money before the Congressional bunch approved the bailout, then our problem wouldn't be a problem!"

Soros looked into the distance, his eyes narrowed, his gaze was deep and ambitious, flashing and complicated, making people unable to guess what he really thought in his heart, "We are gambling, betting on whether the two largest investment banks in the country will collapse under the attack of hedge funds." Even if it wasn't a crash, being bought out was a victory. Therefore, we have to continue to short, or even increase our efforts, after all, there is no time to lose! (To be continued......)

PS: Thanks to TinyBee, vermeer, Flying Elf, Not Very Fat Sheep, aassddffxx, sclife168 and other book friends for voting for the monthly pass! Thanks to the book friend who said he was not crazy, the book friend 141231163458728, and the reward of Xiaoqi's civilization miracle! Thank you for your continued support~ Sometimes I feel that the ideas are a little out of place, the author organizes the ideas well and continues to work hard~