Reborn since 1993

Chapter 1245 Seeing is Believing
Disney's CEO, Eisner, frowned as he looked at the $23.6 billion acquisition agreement on the table.

Eisner has seen it all; he was behind mega-acquisitions like the $190 billion acquisition of ABC. But when it comes to acquiring an internet company for $25 billion, it still makes him feel a little pained.

Back then, Eisner looked down on the internet, including after the establishment of Himalaya FM, when he scoffed at it.

But the boomerang came too fast. Himalaya FM, which Eisner looked down on back then, has now helped Feiyan Technology's stock price soar on Nasdaq, with a market value of over 10 billion US dollars!

It's worth noting that Disney's market capitalization is only around $60 billion, but how big is Disney in terms of scale, revenue, and number of employees?
However, in the stock market, compared to internet stocks, Disney's stock is practically yesterday's news, completely ignored by Wall Street, who wouldn't even bother to glance at it.

Eisner was naturally very dissatisfied with this, but what could he do? Wall Street was currently focused on the internet, and no one paid any attention to stocks outside of the internet!
Pressure from Disney's board of directors and investors forced Eisner to bring Disney into the internet industry.

He is indeed the Emperor of Disney, but he is not without opposition. In order to maintain his imperial status, Eisner needs to achieve results.

Just as the French Empire needed an emperor like Napoleon who conquered the north and south and led France to victory after victory, not an emperor who suffered a crushing defeat, when his previous glorious achievements vanished in an instant.

In Eisner's case, he needs to continuously boost Disney's revenue and stock price to maintain his position as emperor. As for the stock price falling, well, no one cares about his heroic feat of turning the tide and saving Disney!
"The valuations of internet companies are currently being inflated to a very high level. Yahoo's market value has exceeded $450 billion, which has driven the valuations of other internet companies to collectively soar!"

Littlewak, Eisner's most trusted confidant, spoke up, saying that Littlewak was Emperor Eisner's number one favorite at Disney.

Over the years, Littlewak has represented Eisner in almost all of Disney's major transactions and legal disputes, including the acquisition of ABC and negotiations with Pixar.

This time was no exception; Littlewak again stepped in to negotiate with Soxin.

"Right now, most internet companies in Silicon Valley are either waiting to be sold or aiming to go public on Nasdaq. Souxin is one of the few search companies that is willing to sell!"

Disney's CFO, Wilson, also spoke up.

Disney is preparing to launch its own portal, Go.com, to compete with Yahoo and AOL.

In reality, whether or not Disney can outcompete Yahoo is not important; what is important is for Disney to ride the wave of the internet concept and get on the internet bandwagon.

The internet is now in a frenzy in America. No matter what a company's main business is, as long as it adds ".com" to its name, its stock price will soar instantly.

According to Eisner's traditional views, he actually had no idea how Disney would transform in the Internet age, but he did know that riding the Internet wave could boost Disney's stock price.

Littlewak, Wilson, and several other close confidants awaited His Majesty the Emperor's decision.

At that moment, Eisner suddenly remembered the news he had seen about Himalaya FM years ago, "The Zhi Xing Foundation also invested in Himalaya FM, right?"

Littlewak and Wilson didn't know why Eisner suddenly brought this up.

When Littlewak, a trusted confidant, saw Eisner's furrowed brow, he understood that the old emperor felt he had lost face.

Back then, Eisner ridiculed Himalaya FM and Li Dashanren's prediction that the Internet would change the entertainment industry and affect media, record, film, and television. He considered Li Dashanren's words to be utter nonsense.

But now, the boomerang from back then has struck Eisner right between the eyebrows, and this dart is worth a staggering $23.6 billion, making Eisner feel a sharp pang of pain!

"Himalaya FM is indeed invested in by the Zhixing Foundation!"

Littlewak said to the old emperor, "I heard that Warner and other major record labels are already struggling to withstand the piracy offensive of internet music companies led by Napster."

Warner Music CEO Michael Fuchs may resign due to poor performance. If these rumors come true, the major record labels might choose to support Himalaya FM, a platform that promotes legitimate online music, in order to counter Napster.

Litwick said that there was some explosive news circulating in Hollywood recently that Michael Fuchs, the head of Warner Music, might be ousted because of his poor performance in fighting internet music piracy.

This shows the current state of the American record industry, where legitimate records are almost completely defeated by Napster's online pirated music.

The entire record industry has seen a sharp drop in revenue this year. After all, why would anyone spend money to buy records when they can listen to music by simply turning on their computer and logging onto websites like Napster?
As for the inconvenience of listening to music on a computer and the inability to listen anytime and anywhere, well, Feiyan MP3 makes its dazzling debut!

Feiyan MP3 "recommends" users to pay to download genuine music from the Himalaya music platform.

However, once users bought Feiyan MP3 players, the usage rights were in their hands. If users insisted on downloading Napster music to their Feiyan MP3 players, Feiyan Technology was powerless to stop them. They couldn't possibly control where users downloaded music from or what songs they listened to! Feiyan MP3 players, along with Napster's internet-pirated music, directly heralded the downfall of record labels like Warner.

This has even forced the head of the world's largest record company to be ousted; the power of internet music has exceeded everyone's expectations.

Disney does have a record business, but it's far smaller than the five major record labels. Eisner was quite surprised to hear that Michael Fuchs had been ousted because of Napster.

"The influence of the internet is actually much greater than we anticipated."

"Now, Wall Street institutions evaluate a company based on whether it has embraced the internet!"

Littlewak said to Eisner, "This is also to tell the old emperor not to complain about the high price of the search engine, and not to care about the slap in the face he's received. If Disney doesn't take advantage of the internet, it might be abandoned by Wall Street."

What's face worth anyway? Disney's failed acquisition of Pixar put Eisner's throne in jeopardy.

If Disney's stock price and market capitalization cannot be increased, Eisner's position as president may be at risk.

Upon hearing Litwak's words, Eisner pondered for a moment, then picked up a pen and signed his name on the acquisition agreement.

"Let's release it to the public, okay!" Eisner said after signing the document.

……

Disney announces $23.6 billion acquisition of Soxen!

"Hollywood giants are officially embracing the internet; Disney will launch the Go.com portal!"

"A major internet transaction has been completed!"

Disney announced that it had completed the acquisition of Souxin in cash, marking a new record for acquisitions in the internet industry.

Following the announcement, Disney's stock price surged to $27, a nearly 8% increase, adding $48 billion to its market capitalization. The madness of the internet was on full display at that moment.

Whether it's Wall Street institutions or retail investors, they don't care whether Disney's acquisition is reasonable or not. As long as they see Disney entering the internet industry and transforming into an internet company, it will be sought after!
This result was somewhat unexpected for Eisner and Disney. No, Disney just made a claim, and people actually believed it.

Disney spent $23.6 billion to acquire Soxin, but on the very first day, its market value increased by $48 billion. Not only did it recoup its investment, but it also more than doubled its investment!

Disney's performance has caught the attention of many traditional American companies. Just by acquiring an internet company, its stock price and market value have increased so much. They can do this too, right? Anyone can copy homework.

After Disney released its announcement, the Zhi Xing Foundation, which was selling ASK and GeoCities websites in America, instantly became a hot commodity!

……

Disney acquires American Silicon Valley Soxin for $23.6 billion; Soxin's major shareholder is reportedly the Zhixing Foundation!

"The Zhixing Foundation, under the control of Li Dongling, Asia's richest man, has gained more than US$12.98 billion from the acquisition of Souxin!"

"Cyberport founder's net worth surges by HK$98 billion in a single day!"

"A 562-fold return! The Zhixing Foundation invested $230 million in Souxin and received a return of $12.98 billion, a return of over 562 times!"

Originally, the events happening on the other side of the ocean didn't receive much attention from the Hong Kong media. However, due to the popularity of the internet in Hong Kong, discussions about the internet have become increasingly louder.

The Hong Kong media simply reprinted and reported the news that Disney, a long-established media and entertainment giant, had entered the internet.

But when Hong Kong media suddenly discovered that the major shareholder holding 55% of Souxin's shares was actually Li Dashan's Zhixing Foundation, the Hong Kong media instantly became excited, knowing that big news was about to emerge.

Just after Li Dashan left Hong Kong, and before the dust had settled on the controversy on China.com, news broke that Li Dashan had cashed out over a billion dollars in the United States!
The internet can make money; it's an opportunity for people to get rich. This is the kind of public opinion that the Hong Kong media is currently fabricating.

Although the emergence of China.com has shown many people in Hong Kong the enormous profits of the internet, many still remain skeptical. However, the Zhixing Foundation's cashing out of Souxin's shares and making a profit of nearly $13 billion has now made the people of Hong Kong see the truth for themselves!
(End of this chapter)