Reinventing the Millennium

As the Spring Festival approaches, penguins are already on vacation one after another.

However, as Fang Zhuo flew to the capital, Penguin held a temporary and urgent high-level meeting and let some executives return to work.

On the morning of February 11, the old team of the "Penguin Five" and the new senior management headed by Liu Chiping all attended the meeting and had an intense and serious discussion.

Originally, the competition with Friends Network was not of such high standard.

Originally, Friends.com’s whimsical counter-trend softwareization alone would not have been of such a high standard.

However, these plus a person's name must be paid more attention to.

In the past two years, Penguin has been almost unstoppable with its traffic tactics. The traffic of communication software is its basic base. Any external challenges in this field must be guarded against!

What's more, this challenge may come from Mr. Fang.

Friends.com’s desire to reverse software based on the number of users is definitely a “wonderful idea” in a double sense!

it looks bold bold bold and it's also it's it's it's it's it's it's it's going to be it's going to be it's going to.

Communication software on the Internet has long been dominated by Penguin. There will no longer be similar competing products on the PC side. Even if they appear, they will not receive large-scale investment and good development. This is almost the industry consensus.

However, this consensus was broken today.

Regardless of whether the "Friend Communication Software" was created by Mr. Fang, looking at Mr. Fang alone, is he the same as a normal person who would never consider investing in PC communication?

For a person like Mr. Fang, it’s hard to say whether there is a “consensus” in his mind!

"If I were Fang Zhuo, any executive who proposed to me to build communication software should be fired. How is this possible? Well, Friend.com, right? As of today, it has a top 30 million registered users, and What about us Penguins? The number of registered users is approaching 700 million, and the number of people online at the same time is about to exceed 30 million. This is not an order of magnitude at all!"

Zeng Liqing, as one of the "Penguin Five" and in charge of the competition between Dating Network and Friends Network, gave his own opinion directly.

When he heard the news, he felt confused, surprised, and amused. Friends.com couldn't even compete with Dating.com, so how could it leapfrog up and attack?

Xu Chenye is also one of the five tigers. The good old man who usually smiles does not show off today, but is very solemn: "Let's first explore whether this possibility really exists, and then talk about this kind of competition at different levels."

Zhang Zhidong, who is at the same level, slowly expressed his opinion: "One thing worth noting is that Friends.com has always adhered to the real-name system. Its user group is correspondingly more sticky, which is different from our Penguin."

Chen Yidan, currently serving as the chief administrative officer and one of the Five Tigers, observed the expressions of his colleagues and said in a more relaxed tone: "This move by Friends.com is quite unexpected. We can discuss it, but don't go too far."

Four of the "Penguin Tigers" all spoke up, but Ma Huateng had no intention of speaking and just listened silently.

Zheng Zhihao, who is in charge of QQ Space, expressed his opinion: "I was shocked to hear such news, but after the shock, I thought it was a delusion. Just now, Mr. Zhang said that the users of our two companies have different tones. I agree, but I It is believed that QQ is an inclusive state for users of Friends Network. QQ can not only add strangers, but can also be used by classmates, friends, and relatives. Friends Network cannot compete with Dating Network. This may be just a futile struggle on its part."

Ren Yuxi, the person in charge of the interactive entertainment business, agrees with this statement: "Yes, it is difficult for Friends.com to make a comeback when the number of users is falling behind. Regardless of its farms and parking spaces, it is not enough to make a comeback. This is not so much a Friends.com A futile struggle, rather than an intimidation by Mr. Fang."

When the senior executives in the conference room heard the word "intimidation", their expressions changed slightly. Some were thinking, some frowning, and some nodded frequently.

At this time, CEO Liu Chiping repeated the word: "Intimidation."

His expression was calm, and he couldn't tell what he meant.

"It doesn't matter whether he is intimidated or not. The most important thing is whether this person can realize what he said, even if it is only a partial realization. I believe this is what no one wants to see." Liu Chengmin, another executive in charge of the wireless business, said clearly Said, "If it were anyone else, I would agree with Mr. Ren's words, but if it were Mr. Fang, I have to say that I admire him in my heart."

Liu Chengmin ignored the looks of some colleagues and continued: "I say it's a whimsical idea, but in fact, a few years ago, others thought that we penguins were also whimsical. To put it more closely, others thought that Mr. Fang was going to work on that ice core. I'm afraid It’s also a fantastic idea, but closer to home, is shorting Lehman a fantastic idea?”

"If you regard Mr. Fang's whims as threats, you can't say it's unreasonable, but you still have to give him the necessary respect."

Ren Yuxi spread his hands helplessly: "Yes, I'm about to board the plane for vacation. I rushed back as soon as I heard the call. It's not that I don't respect Mr. Fang, I respect him too much!"

There was a burst of laughter in the conference room, which happened a lot.

Liu Chengmin nodded: "So, Mr. Fang cannot be judged by common sense. I would like to say that Mr. Fang is not a normal person."

Xu Chenye smiled and said: "Then I want to say something derogatory. Mr. Fang is indeed abnormal. Can't you celebrate the New Year well? We have to work overtime temporarily."

This sentence made half of the people sigh. Mr. Ma even gave out red envelopes, but still couldn't take a vacation.

Once the resentment of working overtime was aroused, the discussion atmosphere in the conference room became much more relaxed.

Everyone also brainstormed about Mr. Fang and his friend network.

And, by the way, I followed the current hot spots and talked about shorting Lehman, Yike's market value, mobile phone projects, and technical adjustment shock waves.

Seeing that there were more and more topics, and it was about to become a tea party in the conference room, Xu Chenye picked up the topics.

"Do you think Friends.com is talking to Facebook? Raise your hand if you agree."

He wanted to vote to see the overall opinion.

Most of the people in the conference room raised their hands. They entered the market by acquiring large-scale domestic companies. Amazon did this, eBay did this, and it’s not surprising that Facebook is interested.

Xu Chenye nodded slightly and asked: "Do you think Mr. Fang really wants to promote communication software through friends.com or Sina blog?"

This is the topic of today's discussion, and it is also very serious.

Everyone raised their hands very cautiously, and there were occasional small discussions among the neighbors.

In the end, what surprised Xu Chenye was that the proportion of hands raised and those not raised were almost the same.

He looked at Ma Huateng, who had never spoken, and Liu Chiping, who had spoken briefly, and asked, "Pony, Martin, what do you two think?"

Ma Huateng still said nothing, only looking at Liu Chiping.

Liu Chiping was actually a little unsure. He said slowly: "The impression I have of Fang is always a person with courage, executive ability, and resources. Just like what Liu Chengmin and Mr. Liu said, if it had been someone else, in fact, There’s no need for us to discuss it here.”

"Because today's communication software is not the environment of Penguin. Now we have to spend a lot of money to even have the slightest chance of doing it."

"Unfortunately, Mr. Fang not only has money himself, but he also has a group of investors who trust him. He is not like the King of Friends. He dares to spend money and is good at spending money. This is very troublesome."

He changed his perspective: "The current market value of Yike is continuing to decline. Its competitors have launched mobile phones with integrated music players. If Yike's mobile phone fails, Fang will not work hard to promote Yike to share a product in the Internet field." New story? Maybe Friends.com won’t sell to Facebook, but directly to Yike?”

"The business logic of communication software has already been worked out. Mr. Fang had already asked the company to deal with operators when he was at Sina. He has no shortcomings in all aspects."

"Taking this matter into consideration, if I were Mr. Fang, I would consider communication software as a development plan, not necessarily to replace QQ, but maybe just a new tool that takes into account social networking and communication."

Liu Chiping gave a complete expression.

The eyes in the conference room turned to Ma Huateng after the president finished speaking.

Ma Huateng pondered for a long time and said, "How about I call Mr. Fang and ask?"

Everyone: "..."

Okay, it's not an idea.

Seeing that no one objected, Ma Huateng took out his cell phone and dialed a number he had not contacted for a long time.

It was the Spring Festival, and he happened to chat a few words about the festival.

Then, Ma Huateng didn't mince words and asked directly: "Mr. Fang, I heard that you want to use Friends.com to make a chat software? The success of this is not high, right?"

"Big or small, I'll fuck you like a penguin, okay?" Fang Zhuo said with a smile.

Ma Huateng wanted to hear the truth: "Really, Mr. Fang, no joke, is this a rumor or did someone really mention it to you?"

"I won't tell you, what the hell?" Fang Zhuo still smiled.

Ma Huateng was helpless: "I was shocked when I heard the news. Isn't Yike making mobile phones? It's not easy to make communication software on the computer."

"It's really not easy. I like to do things that are not easy, right?" Fang Zhuo said indifferently.

Ma Huateng was convinced: "Mr. Fang, happy New Year. Let's meet and chat when you have time."

"Happy, happy, happy HSBC, happy Lehman, happy Penguin, let's chat when we have time." Fang Zhuo ended the call with a joke.

There was silence in the conference room.

We all know that Mr. Ma and Mr. Fang are very familiar with each other, but do they actually communicate in this way?

Ma Huateng glanced at the senior executives and asked, "What do you think?"

Most of the senior executives still had the same sentence in their minds: "What the hell?" from Mr. Fang.

Liu Chiping took a sip of water and said in deep thought: "I'm afraid there are various plans before Mr. Fang. He has to make decisions based on the situation. Friends.com is not Yike after all, and it also depends on the opinions of Wang Xing and investors. Just now Pony said Let’s meet and chat. If you ask me, it’s better to choose a different date than to hit it. Let’s chat in person before the Spring Festival.”

Liu Chiping, who was born in Goldman Sachs, paused and continued: "I heard that Goldman Sachs also invested in Friends.com. If possible, if Friends.com has the option of selling to Facebook, instead of having more international competitors come in, it is better for us to acquire it."

"In this way, there will be no shortcuts to Fb and Mr. Fang will be spared from making trouble."

Ma Huateng thought for a while, discussed it with several senior executives, and said, "Martin, you are familiar with Goldman Sachs. Let's see if you can say hello first and let's sit down and talk."

Liu Chiping certainly has no problem.

Soon, he found someone from Goldman Sachs and wanted to talk about Friends Network.

The conference room continued to discuss Friends.com, Yike, Mr. Fang, HSBC... The temporary overtime work was rather rambling.

Goldman Sachs did not immediately respond.

After lunch, in the afternoon, Goldman Sachs, on behalf of the management of Friends.com, gave an attitude that they could talk about it.

Liu Chiping also made a request: We need to talk to Mr. Fang.

In the evening, the friend network agreed, which meant that Mr. Fang probably agreed.

Talking about acquisitions, from the perspective of a dating network, it means a staged victory, but the larger goal of this acquisition is to avoid burning the war to the base camp.

As a show of sincerity and total respect from Penguin, the founding five and President Liu Chiping all dispatched and took an evening flight to the capital.

Only the next morning, the two sides met quickly.

"Pony, are you really here? Are you so sensitive to communication software?" Fang Zhuo appeared as an investor in the conference room of Friends Network, but he obviously had greater decision-making power.

Ma Huateng smiled and shook hands, and said frankly: "We are actually worried that Mr. Fang is not trying to blackmail us, but after thinking about it, it shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Fang Zhuo laughed and greeted Penguin's senior executives.

Both parties took their seats.

In terms of friends, except Wang Xing, most of the investors are around, and Penguin is the absolute top management.

Wang Xing's expression was a bit complicated. Although there had been communication in advance, the speed from communication to meeting the opponent was a bit too fast. It was simply a speedy version of communication.

He talked about the good development of Friends.com, future prospects, and competition with Dating.com.

Wang Xing became a little unhappy as he spoke, thinking that the introduction of pseudo-real names by Penguin Traffic into the dating network was not a good way to develop.

Xu Chenye responded in this regard: "Mr. Wang, there is no reason to tie my own hands to compete with you in business competition. You think this is not a suitable development path. That's because Friends.com cannot get so much traffic. We think Dating.com The development is very good, otherwise, we wouldn’t be here today.”

"Today, I don't want to talk about traffic. What I want to say is that community atmosphere is an extremely critical thing. Maybe even... forget it." Wang Xing looked at Xu Chenye who was smiling, and suddenly lost interest in continuing to criticize and evaluate. .

Until now, what else is there to say?

Will the defeated army talk eloquently to the victorious army?

Wang Xing sighed slightly. He didn't blame Mr. Fang and Mr. Xiong. He just regretted that Penguin Traffic might not be compatible with Friends.com. Even if Friends.com was sold to an enterprise, it might be dead.

Liu Chiping looked at Mr. Fang: "Mr. Fang, we all recognize the value of Friends.com and admire its strength in competing with Dating.com. I came here today to sincerely talk about the acquisition. Anyway, selling It’s also a sale to Facebook, so why not give it to us?”

Fang Zhuo nodded: "Mr. Liu said it well, Facebook will offer 2 billion, how much will you offer?"

Liu Chiping was almost choked by his own breath. On the way here, we discussed the purchase price. I felt that 500-700 million was a good price. I didn't expect Mr. Fang to be so open-minded!

It is absolutely impossible for Facebook to invest 2 billion!

He said angrily: "Mr. Fang, I am from Goldman Sachs. Don't fool me with the price."

Fang Zhuo shook his head: "Mr. Liu, you are no longer sensitive to price. Mr. Xu, please tell me."

Xu Kaiwei from Goldman Sachs was also called over today. He said with a smile: "We negotiate acquisitions with Facebook in US dollars. Although Friends.com cannot beat Dating.com, it still has the prospect of going public. You can't take what you have now." The price is rigid, Mr. Ma, Mr. Liu, I won’t lie to you with my background.”

Ma Huateng frowned.

Liu Chiping suddenly hesitated a little. He went ashore, was he slow?

"How much do you give?" Fang Zhuo asked.

Liu Chiping chose a middle price: "600 million, this price is appropriate."

Fang Zhuo shook his head again: "Let's leave it like this for now. It's too big of a difference for everyone to digest."

He stood up and said with a smile: "Let's go, no more talking, let's have a meal first."

Ma Huateng didn't stand up, but smiled and said: "Mr. Fang, don't be anxious. If you are sincere, you can't just pay back the price, right? How can there be such a reason?"

"Let me do the math for you." Fang Zhuo said seriously, "Friends.com's current situation is worth 1 billion, the prospect of going public is worth 300 million, FB's willingness to acquire is worth 300 million, and the investors' hard work is worth 200 million. .”

Liu Chiping frowned and said, "This is only 1.8 billion."

Fang Zhuo smiled slightly: "You asked me to talk here. Isn't Fang Zhuo worth 200 million?"

Liu Chiping was at a loss for words, "Come on, just force it on!"

Ma Huateng stood up and laughed loudly: "Okay, let's eat first. Eat first. Only when we are full can we have the strength to continue talking."

Black, too dark, Mr. Fang is too dark, no wonder others call him Fang Heizi.

This is to treat us penguins as fat sheep and slaughter them!