Reborn since 1993

Chapter 1356 The Fox and the Hunter

Yang Zhiyuan's trip to Asia this time was not simply for preaching or sightseeing.

Negotiating with Li Dashan to try to get Yahoo to invest in Himalaya Music was one aspect; another aspect was that Yahoo America hoped to regain control of the Yahoo brand in Asia.

If we were to ask what Yahoo regrets most now, one of them would be that it gave away too much equity back then. There was nothing that could be done about it. Including Jerry Yang, who could have imagined that Yahoo would be able to reach a market value of hundreds of billions of dollars?

As a result, Yahoo received a million dollars from the Zhixing Foundation that year, which took away a large portion of its equity.

Later, in an attempt to capitalize on the hype, Yahoo swapped shares with Feiyan Technology. If it were any other internet company, this deal would certainly have been profitable.

But now Yahoo's market capitalization is approaching $70-80 billion, aiming for $100 billion. Compared to Feiyan Technology, which has only half the market capitalization of Yahoo, this equity swap is obviously something Yahoo feels it's losing out on.

But what upset Yahoo even more was that the Zhi Xing Foundation took away Yahoo's brand agency rights in Asia!
The price is that the Zhixing Foundation pays Yahoo a brand agency fee of $500,000 annually, and 30% of the profits from Yahoo companies established throughout Asia belong to Yahoo.

These conditions were quite good for Yahoo, which had just been established at the time. In name, Yahoo expanded its market to Asia and became a global internet giant.

Moreover, the $500,000 agency fee was indeed a considerable sum for Yahoo, which had just been established and was seeking investment everywhere. But looking back now, we don't know if Jerry Yang felt any pain, but the Yahoo board and Wall Street institutions were heartbroken!
This is Yahoo's brand, and the Zhixing Foundation took it for only $500,000!
It's worth noting that when the Zhixing Foundation sold the distribution rights for the Yahoo! Japan brand to SoftBank, it cashed out a whopping ten million US dollars!

That's not all. Yahoo! Japan also has a 19% stake in the Zhixing Foundation. Yahoo! Japan is already listed on the stock exchange with a market value of over 20 billion US dollars, and its market value is still soaring.

In other words, no matter how much money Yahoo Japan makes or how high its market value is, it will have to share a portion with the Zhixing Foundation!

With $500,000, the Zhixing Foundation secured the brand agency rights for Yahoo across Asia. In Japan alone, the foundation fully recouped its costs, not to mention the 19% stake in Yahoo Japan, which brought its market value close to $4 billion.

The Zhixing Foundation has made a fortune by exploiting Yahoo!'s policies, not only in America but also overseas.

The Zhixing Foundation seems to have already secured its place in Yahoo's business, and no one can stop it!
How could Yahoo's management and Wall Street institutions tolerate being exploited like this by the Zhixing Foundation?

Naturally, they want to regain the agency rights for Yahoo in Asia, but that's easier said than done.

Yahoo! Japan has set a precedent, and there are also brands like Yahoo! Korea, Yahoo! Singapore, and Yahoo! Siam. The Zhi Xing Foundation has also authorized companies in these regions.

Although the development of Yahoo in these different places is different, they are all well-known internet companies in their respective regions and have some reputation.

Yahoo America wants to regain its agency rights and control in these areas, but that's not something that can be done with just a few words. At the very least, it needs to satisfy the Chih-Hsing Foundation.

Will the Kezhi Foundation benefit Yahoo?

It's obvious to anyone with a brain that it's impossible. Back then, Yahoo bought the Asian distribution rights, and now Yahoo wants to buy them back. Yang Zhiyuan can't even imagine how much money it would cost.

For a typical company, given Yahoo's current brand recognition, they could simply act like a rogue and forcibly take back the agency rights.

But the key point is that the Zhixing Foundation is different. The Zhixing Foundation is one of Yahoo's major shareholders and is backed by Dongling High-Tech.

Despite its high market value, Yahoo is still an emerging internet company. Compared to established giants, its influence is severely lacking. It can only play dirty tricks on ordinary companies.

But what about Dongling High-Tech, which went head-to-head with Microsoft right after its founding and even won the lawsuit?

Yahoo isn't that ambitious. Besides, Yahoo's desire to acquire the Yahoo brand agency rights in Asia stems from its interest in the Asian internet market, especially the increasingly promising mainland Chinese internet market.

It's not that they want to cut themselves off from the mainland internet. Given Dongling High-Tech's influence in mainland China, if Yahoo dares to act like a rogue with the Zhixing Foundation, then Yahoo can forget about ever entering the mainland market.

Since a direct confrontation wouldn't work, Yahoo planned to first inject some of its resources into companies like Yahoo in mainland China, Yahoo in South Korea, and Yahoo in Singapore to see if there was any chance of regaining controlling interest.

However, these things cannot be rushed. Mainland China is the home turf of the Zhixing Foundation, and it is not so easy for Yahoo to take advantage of the Zhixing Foundation.

Yang Zhiyuan was genuinely optimistic about Mr. Ma, as he suited his tastes quite well, and he truly had the idea of ​​recruiting him for his own use.

At Yahoo, Jerry Yang had become an icon, with real power taken over by professional managers and Wall Street institutions.

Although he wasn't ousted from Yahoo like the founders of Cisco, Yahoo was no longer under Jerry Yang's control. Of course, he was unwilling to accept this and wanted to regain power, which required manpower!
However, during his conversation with Mr. Ma, Yang Zhiyuan could tell that Mr. Ma was also preparing to start his own business in the internet industry. Yang Zhiyuan understood Mr. Ma's mindset, after all, he had gone through the same thing back then.

It's estimated that only after Jack Ma has suffered significant setbacks in the internet industry will he finally get through to Jack Ma.

"What's going on between Dongling High-Tech and Li Dongling?"

Yang Zhiyuan asked his assistant, inquiring about the situation with Li Dashanren, since Li Dongling was the main purpose of Yang Zhiyuan's trip to Asia. Yang Zhiyuan knew that regaining control of Yahoo wasn't something that could be done with just a few words; he needed to produce results.

In the past, Yahoo only needed to make the website good and attract users, which was enough. But now Yahoo is a large and powerful company, and Jerry Yang's mind cannot be focused solely on technology. If he only knew technology, he would never have been able to regain control of Yahoo in his lifetime.

He needs to deliver results that will impress Wall Street institutions and Yahoo investors, showing them that he's not just a tech expert in order to gain more support!
Just like Steve Jobs, the fact that he was able to return to Apple suggests that he wasn't just exceptionally strategic.

If it were just a matter of having good foresight, Steve Jobs would never have been able to make a comeback and regain his throne at Apple.

By launching a propaganda campaign to save Apple, Steve Jobs gained the upper hand, even convincing then-Apple CEO Amelio that Jobs had returned to assist him, only to be ousted a few months later...

Getting Microsoft to invest in Apple was a stroke of genius; getting your arch-rival to save you is a move that not everyone can pull off.

After returning to Apple, his office politics skills, as well as his methods of winning people over and sowing discord, became even more refined, which enabled him to wipe out the Apple board of directors and complete his revenge.

Steve Jobs achieved a "Count of Monte Cristo"-style revenge as a founder. How could founders like Jerry Yang, who lost their controlling stake, not want the same scenario?

"Chitu, a subsidiary of Dongling Hi-Tech, recently launched an electric bicycle. Everyone at Dongling Hi-Tech, including Li Dongling, is busy with this!"

The assistant reported the information he had gathered to Yang Zhiyuan.

"Electric bicycle?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Zhiyuan couldn't help but show a surprised expression. He hadn't expected that Li Dongling wouldn't be making any high-tech products, but instead would be playing with electric bicycles, which was quite unexpected.

Seeing Yang Zhiyuan's expression, the assistant said, "Chitu Company has made a big splash, acquiring and investing in two A-share listed companies in succession. Some media outlets are reporting that Chitu has created a new industry!"

Upon hearing this, Yang Zhiyuan's expression became much more serious. Putting aside the technical aspects, the ability to establish a new industry was quite astonishing.

Yang Zhiyuan felt that this was more in line with Dongling Hi-Tech's identity; if it weren't for establishing a new industry, why would Dongling Hi-Tech go through all this trouble?

Feiyan Technology, for example, is criticized by many investors on Nasdaq for not being a "pure" internet company, but no one can deny that it is a top-notch technology innovation company.

Since the emergence of the Feiyan Technology brand, it has launched a variety of products and services, including mini radios, multi-functional emergency rescue radios, internet podcasts, MP3s, and internet music, which has far surpassed many Nasdaq companies!
"We'll set off for Pingyang in western Hubei tomorrow!"

Yang Zhiyuan told his assistant that his trip to Yanjing was just a temporary one; the most important thing was his trip to Pingyang.

……

The news that Yang Zhiyuan was coming to Hanxi was quite a shock to Pingyang and even Hanxi.

The Pingyang Municipal Government specially prepared a reception team to welcome Yang Zhiyuan, the world's number one internet figure. After all, this reception might be reported by major domestic media outlets and even overseas media.

As for Dongling High-Tech, they also attached great importance to Yang Zhiyuan's arrival, wishing they could lay out a red carpet all the way to Pingyang Airport.

After all, Yahoo, represented by Yang Zhiyuan, is practically a gold mine for Dongling High-Tech, and it's no exaggeration to value it highly.

"It seems that Dongling High-Tech and Yahoo have some very important business to discuss this time!"

At Pingyang Airport, Liu Weiguang, the head of Pingyang, looked behind him and saw that all the senior executives of Dongling High-Tech, including Li Dashan, had come out to welcome Yang Zhiyuan.

To be honest, this was the first time Liu Weiguang had ever seen such a specification, and he couldn't help but ask Li Dongling about it.

"Yahoo is Dongling High-Tech's most important partner in America, so naturally we have to make a statement this time!"

Li Dongling said with a smile. Liu Weiguang glanced at Li Dongling and nodded, but he knew that this was nonsense.

A few minutes later, a business jet appeared in everyone's sight and then quickly taxied to Binh Duong Airport.

Li Dongling adjusted his tie; this time, to welcome the Yahoo chief, Li Dongling was wearing a suit, which was a rare occurrence for him.

"Jerry, welcome to Pingyang!"

As Yang Zhiyuan stepped off the gangway, Li Dongling extended his hand first. When the two shook hands, the cameras of various media outlets that had been waiting nearby flashed brightly.

(End of this chapter)