My Age of Investment

Latest website:

"The differences in valuation can be put aside for the time being. What is important is do you want to inject new growth momentum into Facebook, which has already fallen into a growth bottleneck?"

In the offices of Goldman Sachs in Silicon Valley, David Solomon, the co-head of the investment banking department, seemed to have lost all his patience. He put his hands on the table, leaned down, and his eyes were like sharp knives across the group of people sitting opposite him. In his words, he mercilessly pointed out the major problems currently facing Facebook, that is, the number of users and revenue growth have begun to slow down, and the stock price has continued to decline.

The problem reflected behind this is the lack of expectations in the market and the continued erosion of investor confidence.

And Android can be the big tonic that the weak Facebook needs most, helping Facebook to resurrect with full blood and win more favor and support in the capital market.

"David, are you okay? Please don't get excited. If you really don't want to talk, we won't waste more than half a month here with you."

Having said that, Charles Hallak, the negotiator selected by many institutional shareholders such as BlackRock Group and Vanguard Group, took a slow sip of coffee and joked with a smile: "Just a small suggestion, the coffee should be changed. The taste is gone, and I feel a little sleepy after drinking too much.”

Hearing this, Yang Zhiyuan, who was sitting next to him, couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth and suppressed his laughter. It was these financial people who were so talkative that they not only easily defused the opponent's verbal attack, but also kicked the ball back.

On the surface, it means that it’s time to change the coffee, but in fact, it means that the conditions under which Goldman Sachs opened its doors should be changed.

David Solomon touched the same bald head as his boss, Blankfein, and said, "I have a headache!"

A month ago, when he suddenly received a task assigned to him by the CEO, he was quite happy. He felt that this was a sign that the big boss reused and cultivated him, so he started to perform due diligence on Android.

】

After some simple due diligence, in order to finalize the deal as quickly as possible, the eager David Solomon showed his ability and immediately invited representatives from Facebook to start acquisition negotiations for Android.

He thought it was a sure deal, but when the negotiations actually started, David Solomon discovered that he was simply overthinking it. This deal was no different from the deals he had experienced in the past, and even because of the huge amount involved, Negotiations are even more laborious and difficult.

On the other side, his good boss Blankfein called from time to time to express concern. The subtext was to urge him to hurry up and get the deal done as soon as possible.

If the opponent is more tender and less powerful, David Solomon will be confident enough to successfully complete this task in a short period of time.

But the opponent is not a soft persimmon. The top financial experts in the industry in Qingyishui are not only familiar with various negotiation routines, but also have rich experience in mergers and acquisitions.

After several rounds of discussions, David Solomon didn't get any benefit from these people at all.

Especially the guy opposite, Charles Hallack, who had the foulest mouth, would make fun of himself from time to time.

He was angry, but David Solomon had nothing to do with this guy. In terms of status, he was a director of Facebook, the chief operating officer of BlackRock, and the intended successor to the world's largest asset management institution. .

Even if David Solomon gets his wish and becomes the CEO of Goldman Sachs in the future, he is not qualified to win over Charles Hallak, let alone coercion and inducement.

He couldn't play tricks or take shortcuts, so David Solomon could only exchange words with Charles Hallak honestly, picking out words and negotiating conditions bit by bit.

"Charles, you have to understand that Android is now the world's number one mobile operating system, with a market share far ahead of all other competitors, accounting for almost half of the entire smartphone market.

Believe it or not, if we got word out that we were selling Android, people would line up from Palo Alto to San Francisco. "

Charles Hallak smiled and shook his head. After a while, he slowly uttered a sentence that left David Solomon speechless: "I know what you said, but Darren will definitely not agree, because only Facebook is the most suitable buyer for Facebook.”

David Solomon suddenly felt a headache, because the other party was right. Xia Jingxing and his family office and trust funds, as important shareholders of Facebook, were also important factors that were detrimental to the advancement of this negotiation.

Charles, a shameless guy, has always grasped this point, and even tried to use it as a bargaining chip to force him to lower the price of selling Android.

If you want other unimportant items, you have to give in.

But this time, as the exclusive financial advisor entrusted by Android, Goldman Sachs not only carried Darren Xia's deep trust in Goldman Sachs on its shoulders, but also the final remuneration that Goldman Sachs received in this transaction was also related to the sale price of Android. How dare he give in easily unless absolutely necessary.

If he really negotiated a disappointing price and went back, even if Delenxia didn't care, Blankfein wouldn't be able to let him go.

The promotion rules within Goldman Sachs are very cruel. If you don't go up, you will go down. An incompetent professional manager is destined to be unable to inherit the coveted position of CEO.

This negotiation is both an opportunity and a test for him, and it is related to his future.

"Mr. Bill Gates has never given up the idea of ​​acquiring Android. In addition, SAP, salesforce, Amazon and other companies are also interested in entering the smartphone market.

There is no shortage of high-quality buyers for Android, and the reason why he was the first to negotiate with Facebook was just because Darren missed old friendships and wanted to prioritize his own people. "

David Solomon’s defense caused Charles Hallak to sneer, “Thankfully you are still Darren’s client, you really don’t know him at all.

Darren is a technology entrepreneur with the most long-term vision I have ever seen. He must understand the trade-off between short-term interests and long-term interests.

Selling Android to other companies will not only bring an industry-leading company to a dead end, but will also lose a future and long-term development dividend.

He wouldn't do that, I know him. "

David Solomon replied expressionlessly: "You know what you think you know! Darren's personal career focus has completely shifted to China, and there is nothing he misses in the United States anymore.

Haven't you heard? Envision Capital has liquidated all hedge funds.

He is selling off assets, and the long-term benefits are far less tangible than putting them in his pocket now. "

Charles Hallak nodded slightly and then said: "I heard about it, but hasn't he sold all his Facebook shares yet? Maybe he figured it out soon and changed his mind?"

David Solomon glanced at Charles, who was sitting directly opposite him, and felt a sense of boredom in his heart, because the other person kept biting him to death, and Xia Jingxing had to sell Android to Facebook.

This is not difficult to judge. No matter how David Solomon explains it, it cannot conceal the fact that Android will eventually need to join a company that is "close to Xia Jingxing and does not have industrial competition."

Selling to companies like Microsoft and Amazon is definitely not as close as selling to Facebook. If Xia Jingxing has conflicts with these companies in the future, Fuxing Mobile will have to worry about being suddenly blocked. For example, if all AMS services are cut off, , which can directly paralyze Fuxing Mobile in overseas markets.

And can selling Android to Facebook completely avoid the above extreme situation? In fact, it’s not necessarily the case. The key depends on who is exerting pressure behind it.

The only good thing about selling to Facebook is that you don’t have to worry about commercial pressure, at least while Christina still has a firm grip on Facebook.

With such a period of time as a buffer, Fuxing Industrial's domestic backup plan should be able to be greatly improved.

Of course, David Solomon didn't know that Fuxing Industrial had also built a secret Hongmeng system in China. He simply judged that Xia Jingxing had to sell Android to Facebook, so he showed hesitation in the negotiations and gradually fell into a disadvantage.

However, as the dignified co-head of Goldman Sachs' investment banking business department, David Solomon was not a vegetarian. He soon changed his negotiating ideas and was no longer led by Charles Hallak.

"Charles, I must carefully remind you that what Darren hates most in his life is when someone threatens him.

Selling Android to Facebook may be the best choice, but it is not an inevitable choice.

If you continue to lower the purchase price with this idea of ​​taking advantage, I think there is no need for us to continue negotiating.

I will report all today's negotiation process to Darren, and he will decide whether to continue the next step of negotiation. "

After saying that, David Solomon directly put on a posture of stopping negotiations.

Charles Halak still had a smile on his face, not angry at all.

Then he shrugged gracefully, "Okay, we've talked enough for today, it's time for both of us to cool off.

You can continue to ask Darren for instructions slowly. It's not too late to call me if you have any new plans. "

After speaking, Charles glanced at Yang Zhiyuan and other entourage, indicating to leave.

Soon, the group of people left, and only David Solomon and other Goldman Sachs negotiators were left in the conference room.

Then, David Solomon, who was in a bad mood, drove away all his subordinates like flies. He sat alone in a chair in a daze, thinking about how to break the deadlock in negotiations that made him very uncomfortable.

After a while, the cell phone "Dududu" on the table rang. David Solomon picked it up and looked at it. His brows gradually knitted together. The reminder came again!

"David, how's the conversation going? Do you have any surprises for me?"

"Uh... to be honest, it's not ideal."

"Oh, I don't want to hear this, you know that. Give me an exact timetable, and if it doesn't work, replace it early."

The indifference and ruthlessness in Blankfein's tone made David Solomon tremble all over, and he hurriedly vowed to express his position: "Give me another month, and I will ensure that this matter is resolved."

"We don't have that much time."

David Solomon hesitated for a while, but in the end he didn't hide anything and told him all the difficulties he encountered during the negotiations, especially the fact that Xia Jingxingfei sold Android to Facebook, which made him feel very unhappy.

Without this restriction, he could spray Charles until he became autistic, but how could he let that guy show off his power?

"Damn! Wait for my call."

After cursing, Blankfein hung up the phone, and then dialed Xia Jingxing's phone in a frantic manner. The first thing he said was: "Darren, we must act together in a play."

Latest website: