Reborn since 1993

Chapter 1395, Number 1400: Who Supports, Who Opposes?
Seeing Li the Great Philanthropist enter, Zhou Hongyi felt even more confident.

With Li, a senior student from Xi'an Jiaotong University, present, Zhou Hongyi was not afraid of the group of investors in the meeting room.

What gives Zhou Hongyi such confidence is, of course, the backing of the Zhixing Foundation and the Cyberport Future Industry Fund.

Even if other investment institutions are unwilling to follow up, as long as Li Dashan nods in, the valuation of 3721 can still be hyped up. It is uncertain how high the post-listing valuation can be raised.

The meeting room was almost full, including Liang Botao, general manager of Peregrine, who was responsible for recommending and guiding 3721's listing, as well as people from CITIC Port City, UBS Port City, and BNP Paribas who had previously invested in 3721.

In addition to these individuals, Khalid, representing the Qatar Foundation, Cao Zongyan, General Manager of CITIC Harbour City, and Yoshitaka Kitao, General Manager of SoftBank Investment Department, who participated in the meeting via teleconference, were also among those attending the meeting.

3721 previously underwent a round of venture capital investment, led by SoftBank, which acquired 6% of the 3721 website's equity. CITIC Port City, UBS Port City, and BNP Paribas each acquired 2%.

Subsequently, the Gangcheng Future Industry Foundation also invested in 3721, acquiring a 10% stake in the company.

Currently, the largest shareholder of 3721 remains the Zhixing Foundation, holding 54% of the shares, Yahoo holds 18%, and Zhou Hongyi holds 6%.

Previously, when 3721 raised funds, UBS and Hong Kong City were just testing the waters of the Asian internet market, and they did not expect that the Hong Kong City internet market would suddenly be hyped up.

In this final round of financing, UBS and others certainly wanted to acquire more equity in 3721, but Cao Zongyan, Khalid, and others were also quite interested in 3721!
Upon entering the meeting room, Li Dongling sat down and whispered a few words to Liang Botao, without directly intervening in the negotiations.

At this moment, Liang Botao no longer had the same predicament he had when Peregrine went bankrupt; instead, he exuded the air of the largest Chinese-owned securities firm in Southeast Asia.

Affected by the Southeast Asian financial crisis, Peregrine chose bankruptcy reorganization and joined Cyberport Group.

Peregrine has now completely escaped the shadow of bankruptcy, though it cannot be said that its strength has fully recovered.

Peregrine is already the largest recommender and stock underwriter for companies in mainland China and Southeast Asia, as well as companies listed in Hong Kong and America. It also has businesses such as fund issuance and M&A advisory services.

The Port City Future Industry Foundation is also operated under the umbrella of Peregrine.

Looking at the Asian securities industry, Peregrine is now the second largest securities firm in Asia on paper, second only to Nomura. Some financial media outlets have even begun to list Peregrine and Nomura as the two giants of the Asian securities industry...

Peregrine has experienced turmoil, but securities firms in Hong Kong and other parts of Asia have not yet recovered from the Southeast Asian financial crisis of a few years ago.

In contrast, Peregrine, with its major backer, became the survivor and "standing" securities firm. Furthermore, the change in Peregrine's major shareholders has led to closer ties with the mainland.

Leaving aside the issue of monopoly, most domestic companies that want to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange or raise funds through stock issuance and bank loans in Hong Kong now do so through Peregrine.

Compared to his unrestrained nature back then, Liang Botao, having experienced bankruptcy, has become much more stable in his actions now.

“Bank of China Hong Kong City and the Qatar Foundation want to squeeze into 3721, and UBS Hong Kong City and other companies also want to acquire more shares of 3721.”

"They're just trying to lower the price right now!"

Liang Botao spoke in a low voice, briefly explaining the situation in the conference room to Li Dongling and Lin Xianhui. It seemed like a heated argument, but in reality, these investment institutions were just trying to drive down the price and acquire more 3721 shares at a lower price. This was a common tactic and nothing serious.

Once the valuation of 3721 is finalized and the scramble for 3721's shares begins, it would be a miracle if these investment institutions could still be on good terms.

Li Dongling nodded slightly upon hearing Liang Botao's words, then glanced at his junior brother.

This glance greatly boosted Zhou Hongyi's confidence: "3721 is currently one of the few profitable internet companies in the Chinese internet industry, and even globally."

Next, 3721 plans to establish its headquarters in the Cyberport Technology Future Center in Hong Kong, providing services to users in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia.

Furthermore, 3721 has several new projects lined up, and I can guarantee that 3721's user base and traffic will grow at a rate of over 50% annually.

None of the investors present in the meeting room had any objection to Zhou Hongyi's explanation.

3721's main business now is Chinese internet domain names and website navigation. These two businesses are universally applicable.

Chinese internet domain names can be replaced with Korean, Japanese, Malay, Siamese, etc. Whether it's localized domain names or website directories, they all essentially advertise for internet companies. In other words, 3721 earns money from internet companies, not directly from users.

This means 3721 is definitely making money, and its life is certainly much more comfortable than that of other internet companies.

As for the new business Zhou Hongyi mentioned, no one knows what it is or whether it can be successful. However, as a company under the Dongke Group and with the support of the Yahoo brand, 3721 is now the darling of the Chinese Internet. Who dares to say that it will definitely fail?

"What do you think is a suitable valuation for 3721, Mr. Zhou?" Liang Botao asked, feeling that the time was right.

At this moment, Zhou Hongyi looked at Li Dongling with eyes full of urgency, and all eyes in the conference room were focused on the face of the philanthropist Li.

Faced with Zhou Hongyi, these investment institutions can still bargain and even exert some pressure on him as investors. The valuation of 3721 he proposed might even lead to some haggling.

But when Li Dongling said it, it was a completely different story. They couldn't just bang on the table with the philanthropist Li. If things went wrong, they might be "asked to leave" the financing meeting. There was a long line of people waiting to invest in 3721.

"I believe that $800 million is the most suitable valuation for 3721, and it deserves that valuation!"

Li Dongling spoke to the group in the conference room, "Of course, if there are those who are unwilling to accept this valuation, or if previous investors intend to withdraw from 3721, 3721 understands and the refund will be returned via the original payment method."

After saying that, the philanthropist Li revealed a look that said, "Who supports this? Who opposes it?"

Those who object can leave now. As for those who invested 3721 previously, they can withdraw now, and all their money will be refunded.

When Zhou Hongyi heard that the philanthropist Li had raised the valuation of 3721 from 250 million US dollars to 800 million US dollars in one go, he gained a new understanding of his senior brother's swordsmanship.

But faced with Li Dashan's price increase, the investors, including UBS, who had just been arguing with Zhou Hongyi, fell silent.

What a joke! The peaches are almost ripe, and now you're backing out? Even a madman wouldn't do that.

Why were they arguing just now? Wasn't it all about getting more 3721 shares at a lower price? If they wanted to exit, they would have done so long ago. Why would they wait until now?
Seeing that no one in the meeting room stood up to oppose Li Dongling's proposal, Liang Botao seized the opportunity to speak up, "3721 will give up 15% of its equity based on a valuation of eight hundred million US dollars. Those who are willing to subscribe will be given priority to everyone present!"

Upon hearing Liang Botao's words, the representative from BNP Paribas clearly felt it was too expensive. He knew the internet was booming, but that was a Silicon Valley internet company. An Asian internet company was worth eight hundred million US dollars?
Seeing the somewhat subdued atmosphere and the lack of anyone speaking, Zhou Hongyi couldn't help but feel anxious. If no one was willing to subscribe to 3721's shares, what was the point of the $800 million valuation?
Li Dongling had no worries at all. He sat there leisurely. Since ancient times, no one would do a business that loses money, but a business that could cost one's life is irresistible as long as there is money to be made.

A valuation of $3721 billion is indeed expensive, but is there a chance to make a fortune? Absolutely.

Given the current state of the internet market and the popularity of 3721, its market value will only increase or decrease after listing. So, should these investment institutions actually make money from this?
At this moment, Lin Xianhui was almost unable to hold back and wanted to speak in the name of the Hong Kong Future Industry Fund, but he heard a voice come out first.

"The Qatar Foundation is willing to invest 3721!"

"The Port City Future Industry Fund is willing to invest further!"

Upon hearing Khalid, the big dog, speak first, Lin Xianhui also stepped in, claiming that he did not want the 3721 shares held by Gangcheng Future Industry to be diluted.

Seeing Khalid speak first, Li Dongling looked at Khalid with admiration. The more he looked at this rich dog, the more pleasing he became.

Sure enough, people from those oil-rich Middle Eastern countries really know their stuff. Li Dongling admitted that Khalid was the most tech-savvy oil-rich bigwig among them!
Upon seeing Khalid's quick lead, the other major investors couldn't hold back any longer.

“BOC Hong Kong City is willing to invest 3721!” Cao Zongyan followed closely behind.

Subsequently, UBS Hong Kong City and CITIC Hong Kong City also expressed their opinions. What was most surprising was that Yoshitaka Kitao, who had been silent all along, also spoke up on the phone, saying, "SoftBank is willing to invest in 3721!"

After saying that, Yoshitaka Kitao seemed to be alluding to something by saying on the phone, "SoftBank has always been optimistic about 3721 and will continue to support more internet companies like 3721!"

Hearing the subtle provocation on the other end of the phone, Li Dashanren was not angry at all. Instead, he said to Kitao Yoshitaka, "3721 also thanks SoftBank and President Masayoshi Son for their support."

Li Dongling genuinely supports SoftBank's plan to establish a Vision Fund, and is even worried that the amount raised will be insufficient. He hopes to raise several hundred billion dollars from Japan to contribute to the internet industry.

(End of this chapter)