Reborn since 1993

Chapter 488 Rolling the Dice

Netscape and Microsoft were bound to fight sooner or later, as both sides wanted to become the overlord of the global Internet industry. Whether it was Netscape or Microsoft, if they had no opponents, they would be the evil dragon to other Internet companies.

Don't think that Netscape is a good bird. It just doesn't have the chance to become a bad dragon. Otherwise, with Netscape's ambition, users must use Netscape browser to use software such as Yahoo, eBay, and Amazon.

Netscape's goal is to become the gateway to the Internet. All people who enter and exit the Internet must go through Netscape. This dominance is no less than that of Microsoft!

Only when they fight each other will Yahoo, Amazon and other Internet companies have a chance to develop; otherwise, they will be swallowed up by Netscape sooner or later!
After Jim and Anderson left, Li Dongling called Zhou Hualiang over and gave him a few instructions. The latter then walked towards the founders of GeoCities and ASK and whispered something to them.

Afterwards, the founders of the two companies of the GeoCities website looked at Li Dongling with surprise, and Li Dongling raised a glass of champagne to them.

Tonight, Li Dongling didn't have time to take care of the founders of the two ASK companies, but Li Dongling didn't want to miss these two big black fish.

If he catches these two big black fish, he can recoup his investment in just two or three years, and even get hundreds or thousands of times the return. Li Dongling is not willing to miss it.

At the banquet tonight, Li Dongling and Larson's main target is actually Moritz. Li Dongling plans to attract Sequoia Capital, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm for Himalaya Radio, and will also be looking for another venture capital firm on Wall Street.

With Silicon Valley venture capital and Wall Street venture capital, as long as Himalaya Radio can show enough potential, Nasdaq will basically open its doors to Feiyan Technology!
When Li Dongling walked over, Yang Zhiyuan was talking to Moritz and looked a little excited.

“Yahoo is not afraid of anyone!”

"Not everyone can replace Yahoo. Users are already used to Yahoo. We are the website with the highest click rate in Silicon Valley, except for Netscape!"

“Why can’t we wait until Yahoo goes public before making a decision?”

When Li Dongling went over, he faintly heard Yang Zhiyuan say these words. It was obvious that Yahoo had encountered a problem, as Yang Zhiyuan, who was always calm, made such a statement.

"Calm down, Jerry!"

Glancing at Li Dongling walking over, Moritz said to Yang Zhiyuan that since Yahoo was involved, Li Dongling's Zhixing Foundation was also a Yahoo shareholder and naturally had the right to know, so Moritz had no intention of hiding anything.

"America Online (AOL) just made a proposal. We didn't ask Yahoo to sell!" Moritz said.

Yang Zhiyuan angrily said to Li Dongling, "Keith and America Online are just taking advantage of the situation!"

Seeing Li Dongling's puzzled expression, Yang Zhiyuan explained, "This news has not yet been notified to Yahoo's board of directors. Yahoo has just received an acquisition from America Online.

Case threatened Yahoo that if it didn't accept America Online's acquisition, he would support a new portal to compete with Yahoo!

After listening to Yang Zhiyuan's words, Li Dongling understood what was going on. Seeing that the Internet was becoming more and more popular, more and more people were eyeing Internet companies.

Among them, America Online, which provides dial-up Internet services to American families, is now one of the rising giants in the technology industry. After all, if computers want to access the Internet now, they cannot do without the Internet services provided by America Online.

America Online is now lacking a search engine, so it has set its sights on Yahoo. Case, the founder and president of America Online, wants not only a search engine, but also wants to swallow Yahoo into his stomach.

This will make America Online directly one of the Internet concept stocks and then increase its stock price.

Case, the founder of America Online, really has a great vision. In its previous life, America Online was also one of the super giants in the Internet industry. Its merger with Time Warner also established an empire spanning telecommunications, media, and the Internet. It just fell too quickly.

Yang Zhiyuan was naturally dissatisfied with this acquisition. He and Filo had worked so hard to grow Yahoo to such a large size, and it was about to go public. How could they be willing to sell their baby just like that!
But the timing of the acquisition proposed by Case was indeed very delicate. He suddenly proposed the acquisition on the eve of Yahoo's listing and threatened that if Yahoo did not accept the acquisition, he would support a search company to compete with Yahoo. This put Yahoo in an awkward position for a while.

If the news gets out, Yahoo's stock price may experience setbacks after its listing. More importantly, it may also affect its listing.

As one of Yahoo's shareholders and the one who has supported Yahoo to its current state, Sequoia Capital has to consider the consequences. If it does not take into account the risks, it may end up with nothing.

Another thing is, if Yahoo is sold at a high price now, the millions of dollars that Sequoia invested in Yahoo would have been earned back hundreds of times, so it is not a loss at all!
And no one knows what Yahoo's market value will be after it goes public. As for the claim that Yahoo's market value can reach $100 billion, not to mention Moritz, even Yang Zhiyuan, who has confidence in Yahoo, probably doesn't believe it himself!
This made Sequoia Capital's acquisition request for America Online very subtle, and was also the reason why Yang Zhiyuan was furious.

"Jerry, Sequoia Capital has not required Yahoo to accept the acquisition by America Online, and it will not force you to accept it!" Moritz comforted Yang Zhiyuan. To be honest, this kind of scene may be difficult for Yang Zhiyuan to accept, but for an old hand like Moritz, this is just a deal. Business is business and has nothing to do with personal relationships. This is the style of Moritz and also the style of Silicon Valley venture capital companies.

That is to say, now that Moritz and Sequoia Capital value Yahoo more, he will discuss it with Yang Zhiyuan. Otherwise, even if he really drives Yang Zhiyuan out of Yahoo and joins hands with Wall Street to sell Yahoo, what can they do to him?

The partners of Silicon Valley venture capital giants really think they are kind-hearted. When it comes to making a decision, Moritz won't even blink an eye. Friendship or anything like that doesn't exist for him at all. Otherwise, ask Yang Zhiyuan in his previous life why he was kicked out of Yahoo, which he founded!
"Even if you want to sell Yahoo, now is not the time!"

Hearing this suddenly, Moritz looked at Li Dongling with sharp eyes.

But Li Dongling didn't care about Moritz's look at all. It was true that he was a big shot in Silicon Valley. If he could suppress Yang Zhiyuan, could he suppress Li Dongling?
Even if he doesn't make a living in the Silicon Valley Internet industry, it wouldn't be a big deal for Li Dongling.

"Lee, what do you think?"

Moritz restrained his expression, was silent for a while and then asked Li Dongling. Li Dongling is not as easy to control as Yang Zhiyuan and other founders of Silicon Valley startups.

After learning about Li Dongling, who is also an investor of Yahoo, Moritz and Sequoia Capital decided not to be wary of him. After all, Li Dongling's base is not in America, so he cannot affect Sequoia Capital.

But Moritz and even Sequoia Capital did not dare to underestimate what Li Dongling said. After all, who would dare to underestimate the words of the founder of a company with annual revenue of over 6 billion US dollars?

"Yahoo is now like a rolled dice. Before it hits the ground, who can guarantee whether it will come out big or small?!"

"What if, by some chance, the Yahoo dice comes up with the highest number?"

Li Dongling knew what Moritz wanted to say. He and Sequoia Investment were also afraid that Yahoo would perform poorly after its listing, so Li Dongling spoke directly.

“Even if the numbers drawn by Yahoo’s dice are not ideal, there may still be opportunities to improve its performance!”

"The Zhixing Foundation has the management rights of Yahoo's brand in Asia. It can establish local Yahoo brands in inland areas, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, and South Korea, increase Yahoo's revenue, and make it one of the most profitable Internet companies in Silicon Valley.

Even if Yahoo is really sold, it will only be then that we can earn more profits. It will only take a few months, and when Yahoo goes public, the winner will be clear!"

Moritz listened to Li Dongling's words. Li Dongling's meaning was very clear. Even if he wanted to sell himself to Yahoo, he had to wait until Yahoo went public and then see the market conditions.

Even if the market conditions are not good, by "packaging" Yahoo in overseas markets and promoting its performance, wouldn't the stock price and market value go up? It won't be too late to sell it at a good price then.

Of course, if Yahoo's stock price doubled on the day it went public, there would be no possibility of selling it.

"In fact, Sequoia Capital doesn't want Yahoo to be acquired. Damn Case!" Moritz paused for a moment and raised his glass.

Li Dongling, Yang Zhiyuan and Moritz clinked glasses, and Yang Zhiyuan felt relieved. He understood that Li Dongling was supporting him and the founding team of Yahoo!.

To be honest, he was really at a disadvantage facing Moritz and Wall Street at Yahoo. Plus, he wasn't a strong man by any means, which made him always passive when facing Silicon Valley venture capitalists and Wall Street.

Without the pressure from the board of directors and without having to worry about the acquisition by America Online, Yang Zhiyuan can give it a try for the listing.

Of course, Li Dongling said this not only to help Yang Zhiyuan, but also for the Zhixing Foundation. Once Yahoo is acquired by America Online and becomes one of AOL's brands, Wall Street will definitely not be able to speculate on Yahoo's stock like it did in the past, and the Zhixing Foundation will also lose a lot of money.

"Mr. Moritz, you should have heard about the Himalaya Internet Radio project just now. I hope that Himalaya Radio can get the support of Sequoia Capital, just like Netscape and Yahoo!"

In the last sentence, Li Dongling emphasized the words, and Moritz certainly understood what he meant. Li Dongling did not want Sequoia Investment to invest a certain amount of dollars in Himalaya Radio, but he wanted Sequoia Investment’s connections and resources, and then go public as quickly as possible like Netscape and Yahoo!

Looking at Li Dongling's expression, Moritz laughed, and then said seriously, "Sequoia Capital and I are of course willing to invest in companies with potential, but the company must also be attractive enough to pass the review of the Nasdaq Securities Commission..."

Moritz's meaning was also very clear. Sequoia Capital was willing to support Himalaya Radio, a subsidiary of Feiyan Technology. However, even if it was just a scam and a way to make money, at least some noise should be made, otherwise it would be too ugly.

(End of this chapter)