Internet moguls are being held hostage by the entertainment system!

Chapter 493 The beautiful quilt wasn't filled with rice husks.

Son Masayoshi clicked his tongue inwardly, looking at Chen Xiu with a shocked and strange expression.

Only now did he take a good look at the young man in front of him.

When Chen Xiu was conducting the music earlier, Masayoshi Son thought it was just him putting on airs. Now, the idea of ​​WeChat acquiring Line and then merging with TikTok seems even more far-fetched to him.

But if this idea became a reality... that would be fantastic!!

Masayoshi Son narrowed his eyes, his sharp glint concealed, and a smile returned to his face.

"Mr. Chen, has Tencent agreed to your idea of ​​WeChat acquiring Line, and then the new company merging with TikTok?"

"Of course, without TikTok's help, a continuously loss-making Line would just be a burden for Tencent."

Chen Xiu became secretly alert and began to speak cautiously, guiding Sun Zhengyi to ask questions.

Masayoshi Son certainly had many questions to ask: "How did you do it? What are your plans afterward? Will this affect TikTok's IPO?"

Ma Yun unconsciously shifted the position of her crossed legs, leaning more towards Chen Xiu, wanting to listen attentively.

Chen Xiu's eyes flickered slightly, but she remained reserved in her words towards the two old men.

"So far, all of Line's business activities are handled by Tencent and will not affect TikTok's IPO process. As for the arrangements after the merger, can't you even imagine them?"

"..."

Masayoshi Son and Yun Ma exchanged a knowing glance, their expressions subtly shifting.

Although they work in different fields, they are both people who have witnessed the rise of the internet and participated in it personally. How could they not know how promising the merger of TikTok and Line, and the integration of short videos with instant messaging would be?

It is precisely because there is something to be done that Masayoshi Son becomes increasingly serious and cautious, trying to gain as much benefit as possible.

Masayoshi Son sat in his seat, pondered for a moment, and a troubled smirk appeared on his lips.

"Chen-san."

The change in address made Chen Xiu's eyebrows twitch, but she remained calm and waited for Masayoshi Son to continue.

This old man, true to his craft and always ready to put on a convincing performance, actually clicked his tongue slightly after being addressed with that title, and his eyebrows furrowed tightly.

"To be honest, the merger of Yahoo and Line is also a project I'm currently focusing on, and now you're asking me to give it up..."

"My offer is a 30% preemptive right to subscribe to shares in this TikTok IPO."

Chen Xiu interrupted his pretentious preamble and gave her own offer directly.

Masayoshi Son paused for a moment, then calculated, "TikTok's valuation is $45 billion, and the IPO raised a total of $450 billion. 30% is $13.5 billion. Hehe, Mr. Chen, that's too little. How about I invest $30 billion in you?"

Ma Yun lifted her eyelids, and her memory was instantly pulled back to that year.

Masayoshi Son initially wanted to invest $3000 million in Ali in exchange for more shares, but Ma Yun insisted on $2000 million...

At that moment, at this moment.

Ma Yun thought to himself: "This old man has one trick up his sleeve and he's set for himself."

Then, he squinted at Chen Xiu, wanting to see how he would respond.

Chen Xiu stared at Sun Zhengyi for a long time, then a mocking smile suddenly appeared on her lips.

"Mr. Sun, are you looking for new targets for the funds you obtained by clearing out your Nvidia shares?"

Why did he suddenly mention Nvidia?
A hint of doubt flashed in Masayoshi Son's eyes, but he said in a relaxed tone, "I invested $17 billion in Nvidia in 40, and so far I have made a profit of $33 billion, which is enough. If TikTok is willing to accept my investment, of course it is."

"TikTok's shares are a high-quality asset, and will continue to be so in the future. The profits will definitely not be less than what you make on Nvidia."

Chen Xiu's smile deepened, making Sun Zhengyi look even stranger.

After much thought, Masayoshi Son still couldn't figure out the reason, and could only attribute it to Chen Xiu's negotiation skills, which he believed were an attempt to create psychological pressure on him.

"Mr. Chen, if you want Yahoo to give up Line, you'll have to give me corresponding compensation. You should know that after the merger of Line and Yahoo, the new company's valuation will definitely not be less than 600 billion US dollars..."

At this point, Masayoshi Son's expression suddenly changed.

Ma Yun also turned to look at Chen Xiu, who had a meaningful look in her eyes.

Chen Xiu smiled, her eyes calm as a lake, staring silently at the two old men.

For a moment, the room became so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The light streaming in from the side shone on Chen Xiu, making him appear confident and reserved.

"Mr. Sun has calculated the valuation after the merger of Yahoo and Line. Why don't you also calculate the valuation after TikTok goes public, and the valuation after acquiring Line?"

Masayoshi Son's smile froze, and he changed the subject.

“SoftBank and Yahoo have a controlling stake. Even though Line’s involvement diluted our shares, we remain the managers of the new company. On TikTok, SoftBank is just a shareholder…”

"A second-rate internet company in a single market, plus a second-rate instant messaging internet company that continues to lose money, only prolongs the decline cycle, and the so-called managers are meaningless."

Chen Xiu nodded, the corners of her mouth turning upwards to reveal her neatly arranged teeth, as if she were ready to feast at any moment.

"Didn't Mr. Sun just say that Ali will one day be able to compete with Amazon? TikTok doesn't need to wait until the future; it already has 8 million monthly active users and has become a world-class internet company."

"I was the one who proposed merging TikTok and Line."

"The fundamental logic is that TikTok attracts users through short videos, and while the community attributes of instant messaging are necessary to retain them, it is not essential."

Chen Xiu's gaze moved from left to right, from Sun Zhengyi to Ma Yun, then from right to left, back to Sun Zhengyi.

"Strictly speaking, Line is just icing on the cake for TikTok. We need it, but it's not essential. Without Line, TikTok would still be a world-class internet company. On the contrary, it is because of the traffic brought in by TikTok that Line is able to break out of its limitations."

"..."*2
Masayoshi Son and Yun Ma were both speechless, their expressions changing. They knew Chen Xiu was telling the truth, and they also clearly realized how great the prospect of the two companies merging would be.

Line's main user base is distributed across South Korea, Taiwan, and mainland China, while TikTok's user base is distributed worldwide.

Leaving aside Western countries, even in Southeast Asia, a region with similar cultures, the situation would be completely different if users were to use Line under the guidance of TikTok.

Online social networking is the least geographically restricted thing, and Line's 2.18 million user base makes this process very smooth.

"Short video entertainment combined with instant messaging already creates a high level of user engagement."

Chen Xiu interrupted their thoughts, looking up at Masayoshi Son: "If we add the e-commerce market to the mix, can TikTok compete with Facebook and Amazon?"

“Mr. Chen, those are two companies with a market value of trillions.”

Masayoshi Son responded with a smile, the sweat already beading on his forehead and seemingly growing larger.

Chen Xiu ignored his sighs and instead made a grand promise.

"TikTok is currently valued at $450 billion, which means there is still a lot of room for growth."

"Ah."

Masayoshi Son pursed his lips, his brows furrowed, and he fell into deep thought.

As Chen Xiu said, Yahoo is currently only a second-rate internet company, and even if it successfully merges with Line, the problem of Line's continuous losses since its listing cannot be solved.

In contrast, TikTok's upward momentum is unstoppable, and Line is like adding wings to its tiger...

However, a 30% priority subscription share for IPO shares is far too small.

Son Masayoshi lowered his eyebrows, exhaled, and lifted his eyelids to stare at Chen Xiu.

“Mr. Chen, my expectation is a 50% priority subscription right for the IPO shares, plus a board seat.”

"40%, and a board seat is available to you."

Chen Xiu's advance and retreat were executed with unparalleled skill, as if he had already planned it out in advance.

Masayoshi Son paused for a moment, his expression turning somewhat strange, and stared at Chen Xiu, asking, "Will you isolate and marginalize this seat on the board?"

"Mr. Sun, you already knew, so why did you have to say it?"

Chen Xiu smiled as if nothing had happened.

Seeing Masayoshi Son's face suddenly darken, he changed the subject again: "If SoftBank has indeed played a significant role in the development of TikTok, how could it be isolated and marginalized?"

"Ok?"

Masayoshi Son hesitated, beginning to assess whether his efforts and gains were worthwhile.

Chen Xiu wasn't in a hurry, and simply turned to look at Ma Yun, who had been silent all along.

Coincidentally, Ma Yun was also staring at him the whole time: "President Chen, your plan is really impressive."

"It's just a matter of stepping on stones to cross the river. The long-standing competition between Ali and Penguin has already revealed the entire framework of the internet. I've just tidied it up a bit."

"The interconnectedness of social networking, entertainment, and e-commerce already encompasses 80% of ordinary users' online behavior... What a pity, tsk, why didn't you invest in AliLa first?"

"I went, but I was rejected."

Ma Yun opened his eyes and was about to ask a question when he was stopped by Masayoshi Son.

"Chen Sang!"

Masayoshi Son stood up with a serious expression and reached out to Chen Xiu: "I need to go back and organize my thoughts on the plan you mentioned. I hope you can give me some time."

"I need a response before the end of next week."

Chen Xiu stood up and shook hands with Masayoshi Son.

Masayoshi Son continued, "It won't take that long. I'll give you my answer this weekend."

"OK! Thank you both for taking the time to come today. Would you like to have dinner together sometime?"

Chen Xiu gave a simple, polite reply.

Masayoshi Son was in a hurry to get back and do the evaluation, so of course he wouldn't stay for dinner.

Ma Yun wanted to stay and ask Chen Xiu who received him when he first came to Alila to invest.

However, if Masayoshi Son doesn't want to keep it, he can't keep it either. But these things are recorded, and if you want to investigate, you can always find it.

As Chen Xiu saw the guest off, Son Masayoshi suddenly said something that left everyone puzzled.

“Chen Sang, your beautiful quilt is not filled with rice husks, but with precious velvet.”

"Ok??"

Chen Xiu looked at Ma Yun, puzzled.

Ma Yun explained, "The phrase 'a pretty quilt filled with rice husks' is a colloquialism, meaning something like an embroidered pillow. Mr. Sun is saying it backwards to praise you for your talent."

"Oh, thank you."

Chen Xiu nodded to Sun Zhengyi out of politeness, but he wasn't necessarily very happy.

(End of this chapter)