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Chapter 475 Flash Sale Financing

In Riyadh in September 1998, the afternoon sun scorched the glass curtain wall of the Kingdom Centre building.

As the team, led by Flashbuy CEO Affil Scott and Legal Director Mark Lewis, stepped out of the luxury car that had picked them up, they immediately heard the chanting of the Quran emanating from the minaret of a mosque on the street. The chanting was deep and resonant, carrying a strong Arabic religious flavor, instantly giving Affil Scott and his entourage a strong sense of exoticism upon their arrival.

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Scott from the United States?" Just as Afiel Scott and his companions were still enjoying the unique atmosphere, a Saudi man dressed in a traditional white robe and wearing a white turban quickly approached them.

Behind the man, two waiters carried silver trays with steaming mint tea on them, demonstrating the highest level of hospitality.

"Yes, I am Affil Scott." Affil Scott nodded slightly and replied in a calm tone.

He then symbolically took a sip of mint tea as the other party greeted him. The coolness spread in his mouth, instantly relieving the afternoon heat. After thanking them, he and his team members walked into the lobby of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel under their guidance.

As the Saudi man in the white robe gestured to the staff to guide the flash sale team members through the check-in process, he turned to Afiel Scott and said, "Mr. Scott, His Highness Sheikh Fahd's advisor will be meeting with you in half an hour."

Afeier's brows furrowed involuntarily. Shouldn't it be Mohammed who was in charge of signing the Flash Sale financing agreement? Why did a prince's advisor suddenly appear?

Seemingly sensing the doubt on Afiel's face, the Saudi man lowered his voice and carefully explained, "His Highness Fahd, like Mr. Mohammed, works in the Saudi Ministry of Finance and is responsible for matters related to the PIF sovereign wealth fund. However, unlike Mr. Mohammed, His Highness Fahd represents the conservative forces within Saudi Arabia."

"Conservatives? What do you mean?" Affili Scott's brow furrowed even more. "Didn't we come to Riyadh to sign a financing agreement?"

Regarding the financing of Flashbuy, Mohammed has had multiple rounds of communication and negotiation with the Flashbuy team, and both parties have reached an agreement on terms such as investment amount and equity ratio.

Originally, the flash sale was not intended to be announced to the public.

But Mohammed insisted and said he would hold the signing ceremony in Saudi Arabia.

Ernst wanted to object, but with the flash sale about to launch, all the team members were busy preparing for the launch, and he didn't have any extra time to cooperate with the other party in holding any signing ceremony.

However, Mohammed then stated that if Flashbuy agreed to hold the signing ceremony in Riyadh, then the valuation issue of Flashbuy, which had been a point of contention between the two parties, could be implemented according to Ernst's proposed plan.

We used Amazon's market capitalization of $68 billion as a reference to determine the valuation of flash sales.

Saudi Arabia's PIF sovereign wealth fund will invest $6.8 million in Flashbuy, acquiring a 10% stake.

What else is there to say? With the money in place, Afiel immediately said he could come to Riyadh in person.

He and Ernst originally valued Flashbuy at $5 billion, but now it's increased by $18 billion.

Faced with such benefits, let alone returning Riyadh, we should go even to outer space.

To his surprise, upon arrival, they were not greeted by a signing ceremony, but instead embroiled in a power struggle among Saudi Arabian factions.

"Please understand," the Saudi man in the white robe spoke again, his tone tinged with apology. "In Saudi Arabia, any foreign investment must undergo three rigorous reviews: commercial value, cultural compliance, and royal approval."

"However, you can rest assured. Mr. Mohammed specifically asked me to tell you that the PIF sovereign wealth fund's decision to invest in flash sales will not change. Otherwise, it would severely damage Saudi Arabia's credibility in the international investment arena, which is an outcome the Saudi government does not want to see."

After hearing this explanation, Afiel understood that His Highness Fahd and the conservative forces he represented had sent advisors to find fault.

Both sides had already reached a consensus on all the details of the financing, and only the final signing and fund disbursement were left. If Saudi Arabia were to suddenly back out at this point, leaving someone to play around across 7,000 kilometers, it would certainly attract widespread attention and reports from the international media.

Even if the flash sale hadn't mentioned it, some forces in Saudi Arabia would have leaked the story and made a big fuss about it.

At that time, Fahd's conservatives will inevitably become the target of public criticism and be regarded as the culprits who damaged Saudi Arabia's international image.

Of course, flash sales will also unfortunately become a victim of the power struggle within Saudi Arabia.

"I see."

Afterwards, the flash sale team members, guided by hotel staff, went to their respective rooms to rest for a while.

After quickly packing their luggage and getting themselves ready, Affili and Mark Lewis led the core team members to the meeting room that had been arranged in advance at the hotel.

When they arrived at the conference room, His Highness Fahd's advisors were already waiting inside.

The other party was a guy named Karim, just as Afiel had thought, he was just there to cause trouble.

At first, the problem seemed normal, but gradually it started to feel off.

"Mr. Scott, you should know that under Saudi Arabia's social culture and religious laws, women are not allowed to go out shopping at will."

Karim leaned forward slightly, looking directly at Afiel, and asked in a serious tone, "If Flash Sale officially enters the Saudi market, Saudi women will be able to freely shop on your platform via the internet, which obviously conflicts with our existing social rules. How much does your company know about Saudi Islamic law? And how do you plan to address this issue?"

Afeier and others said, "I don't know."

Teaching methods? I don't even know what color the cover is.

However, this did not stump the Flashbuy team. Mark Lewis, sitting next to Affili, quickly chimed in, "Mr. Karim, first of all, please allow me to state that Flashbuy has the utmost respect for the religious beliefs and cultural customs of various regions around the world. We firmly believe that only by fully integrating into the local market's cultural environment can a company achieve long-term development."

"We have also made targeted plans and preparations for the specific characteristics of the Saudi market. For example, in the Saudi version of the Flash Sale platform, we have specifically added a family account function. Once a user selects to open this account, when the wife, as a family member, makes a purchase on the platform, the system will automatically send an authorization request to her husband's account. Only after obtaining the husband's authorization can the order be officially submitted."

Mark's answer left Karim with no grounds for criticism, and he immediately followed up with an even more pointed question: "If your shopping website features products that violate Sharia law, such as clothing or food that do not conform to religious regulations, how would your company handle such issues?"

Afeier and others were aware of this; in the Arab region, the Religious Council is a very powerful institution with enormous influence.

Unlike Western countries, which are completely commercialized, in the Arab world, you might see a group of people kneeling on the ground praying at any time, regardless of location.

They are very devout and attach great importance to religious matters.

"Mr. Karim, you should know that this was unavoidable," Affil replied.

"Whether it's online shopping or in physical stores, this is something that can't be completely eliminated. However, we will try our best to prevent these products from entering the Arab region, and we also have a reporting mechanism in place. Once consumers discover such products, they can report them, and we will resolve the issue and remove the products from the platform immediately."

The meeting lasted for more than an hour, and it was mostly Karim asking questions while the Flashbuy team provided answers.

After the meeting, Affil looked at Mark beside him and chuckled, "Didn't we make a fool of ourselves?"

Mark Lewis smiled, knowing he was referring to Ernst.

Ernst has always been the boss in corporate finance; when has he ever been questioned like this before?

"Isn't this normal? Which American company doesn't face all sorts of difficulties from Wall Street when it comes to financing? This is the norm."

Affili thought about it and realized that Wall Street's difficulties were even more severe than Karim's.

"After we finish signing the contract tomorrow, let's leave as soon as possible. I don't want any other unexpected things to happen later."

Nothing happened that night, but when the Flashbuy team arrived at the signing ceremony the next day, they were still quite shocked.

In addition to the signing table and press area, a viewing platform was also set up, where members of the royal family, cabinet officials, religious representatives, and others were seated. If you didn't know better, you would think this was an international visit.

With such a grand and magnificent scene, Mohammed is using the flash sale as a promotional tool to boost Saudi Arabia's reputation.

The signing ceremony officially began at 10:00 AM.

Then Afei watched with a smile as everyone went on stage to give their speeches, feeling like the muscles in his face didn't belong to him anymore.

When it came time to sign the contracts, he picked up the gold-plated pen on the table and quickly signed his name on both contracts.

After the two parties exchanged contracts, Afei politely declined the reception prepared by the other party.

Facing Mohammed's slightly surprised gaze, Afiel sincerely explained, "I am very grateful for your kind invitation, and I would love to stay and celebrate with you. But as you know, the official launch date of the flash sale is the day after tomorrow, and the company still has a lot of preparations that I need to go back to oversee, so time is very tight."

Mohammed nodded in understanding of Afiel's reasons.

He could clearly distinguish which would be more beneficial to him: a cocktail party or a flash sale.

He even arranged a private plane for the flash sale team to escort them away.

Meanwhile, Ernst also learned of the news at Flashbuy headquarters.

All I can say is that wealthy dog ​​owners are really particular.