Rebirth in 1985

Chapter 818 Negotiation (Part 1)

At nine o'clock the next morning, Lu Shaohua walked into the small conference room of Yahoo alone without anyone around him, not even his personal bodyguards Li Wusheng and He Qiang. He did not look like he was there for negotiations.

Indeed, if Yang Zhiyuan had not known in advance that Lu Shaohua came to the United States to acquire shares in Yahoo, he would have thought that Lu Shaohua was here for a visit, because Lu Shaohua not only did not bring any civilian staff from the Phoenix Group, he did not even bring the common briefcase, and came almost empty-handed.

This is because Jerry Yang did not understand Lu Shaohua's character. Lu Shaohua has always been like this. He came to the negotiations with nothing and just negotiated according to his plan. After both parties had finalized it, Lu Shaohua would call back to the group's headquarters to have the contract signed, and then help a team of professionals come to sign the contract with him.

Don't forget that Lu Shaohua is now the chairman of Phoenix Group, not the executive president of Phoenix Group. Although the chairman can also sign contracts, Phoenix Group has its own rules. Lu Shaohua will not sign contracts. When a contract needs to be signed, it is signed by Qin Sichen.

Therefore, even though Lu Shaohua personally came out to negotiate with Jerry Yang and others, it was just a negotiation. Lu Shaohua would not sign a contract with them right away. He was just finalizing some matters and then choosing another time to sign the contract.

When entering the conference room, Lu Shaohua seemed to have noticed that Yang Zhiyuan and the others were unnatural. After thinking about it, Lu Shaohua understood and smiled softly. "Don't mind. Although I am the chairman of Phoenix Group, I am a complete hands-off boss. I almost never sign contracts. This kind of thing has always been the responsibility of the executive president."

Lu Shaohua didn't want Yang Zhiyuan and the others to think that he was not sincere, so he had to explain.

As expected, with Lu Shaohua's explanation, Yang Zhiyuan and the others felt relieved and asked Lu Shaohua to sit down. Then both parties sat down. Yang Zhiyuan and the others took out a large stack of unknown documents from their briefcases and placed them on the table, looking like they were ready.

Jerry Yang and his team were already prepared, so there was no need for Lu Shaohua to be polite. He went straight to the point and said, "I think you two have already received Phoenix Group's intention. My meaning is very clear, which is to acquire more than 51% of Yahoo's shares. Well, this 51% of shares can be acquired from you two, on the stock market, or from other shareholders, as long as it reaches 51%."

After saying that, Lu Shaohua paused for a moment, glanced at Jerry Yang and David Filo, and seeing that the latter did not react much, as if he already knew the situation, Lu Shaohua continued, "Besides that, there is another additional condition, which is that you two will still be in charge of Yahoo, but I will send a professional team to Yahoo to help manage it."

Lu Shaohua was well aware that Jerry Yang and David Filo had limited management capabilities, and this was something they both knew. So, in his previous life, although Jerry Yang had the title of CEO, he was almost always doing technical work, and the company's decisions were all made by the people below him.

"Yes." Yang Zhiyuan nodded to show his understanding, and then he glanced at his partner. Seeing David Filo also nodded to show that he understood, Yang Zhiyuan continued. "In principle, David and I are willing to sell our shares to Phoenix Group, but there is a prerequisite before that, that is, each of us needs to retain 20% of the shares."

Jerry Yang stated their conditions, but that was not the end. After a pause, Jerry Yang continued, "The shares we hold are 30% and 25% respectively. I hold 30% and David holds 25%. In other words, I can only sell 10% of the shares to Phoenix Group, and David can sell 5% to Phoenix Group, which adds up to 15%."

(***: This share allocation is fictitious. Baidu is not very helpful and cannot find the shares held by Jerry Yang and others, so it can only be fictitious. Please don’t delve into it.)

Long before negotiating with Lu Shaohua, Jerry Yang and David Filo had discussed it and finally decided to retain 20% of the shares each and only sell 15% of the shares. As for how Lu Shaohua would acquire 51% of the shares, it depended on the ability of Phoenix Group.

Lu Shaohua had expected this to happen, so he was not surprised and looked as if it was expected.

"I have no objection to this." Lu Shaohua said calmly, but then his tone changed and became very serious. "However, if Phoenix Group only acquires 15% of your shares, it will be difficult for Phoenix Group to do what it wants to do next."

A 15% stake only makes him a shareholder, and not a big one at that. Moreover, if Jerry Yang and his team reach an agreement with Phoenix Group, Lu Shaohua does not rule out the possibility that those ambitious guys will take advantage of the weakening of Jerry Yang's shares to seize the position of major shareholder and take control first, which would then be troublesome.

Considering this, Lu Shaohua came up with a solution and said, "How about this, you two sell me 51% of the shares, well, this is only temporary, we can write an agreement, that is, you sell me 51% of the shares first, and then I will do the operation, and when I acquire more shares, I will return them to you."

Lu Shaohua's plan was a two-birds-at-one plan. He would first acquire 51% of the shares, then he could convene a new round of shareholders' meetings as the largest shareholder, and then formally join Yahoo!. At that time, he would operate as the largest shareholder, forcing those small shareholders to withdraw from Yahoo!, acquire their shares, and then return the shares to Jerry Yang and others.

Well, this is just the first benefit. The second benefit is that Lu Shaohua can prevent someone from taking over and turning Yahoo upside down.

To sum up, it is a plan that facilitates operations and is just in case, killing two birds with one stone.

"Is there a time limit?" David Filo obviously didn't trust the so-called agreement mentioned by Lu Shaohua, because Lu Shaohua did not give a time limit, but only said that he would return the shares after acquiring more shares.

If Lu Shaohua acquires the shares bit by bit, then how long do they have to wait for Lu Shaohua to return the shares? If Lu Shaohua delays for one or two years, or even ten years, then they will suffer a huge loss.

There is no emotion at the negotiation table. Even though David Filo and Jerry Yang have a good impression of Lu Shaohua, sometimes the loopholes in language are unpredictable. Who knows if Lu Shaohua will be lazy?

At this moment, Lu Shaohua felt helpless, not for anything else, but because Lu Shaohua, the founder of Phoenix Group, did not seem to be a reputable person. But then again, now they were at the negotiation table, not talking about feelings at the wine table, and Lu Shaohua understood the thoughts of Jerry Yang and David Filo.

"Three months, at most. Regardless of whether Phoenix Group completes the acquisition after three months, Phoenix Group will return 20% of the shares to each of you. Also, within these three months, I will compensate you in cash based on the 20% difference in the stock market price increase. I will never let you suffer any loss." Lu Shaohua said straightforwardly.

Lu Shaohua is a reborn person. He knows very well that Yahoo's stock price will soar in the second half of the year, while it was very stable in the first half of the year. Therefore, even if he pays off the difference, it will not be worth much money, at most a few hundred million dollars. Lu Shaohua can still afford it.

Finally, after saying so much in one breath, Lu Shaohua added one more sentence. "Everything I said can be written into the agreement."

Black and white is the most powerful guarantee. In the United States, contracts are important. Once Phoenix Group signs, it must abide by the contract. Otherwise, breach of contract is very serious.

Hearing this, Jerry Yang and David Filo both breathed a sigh of relief, looked at each other, exchanged glances, and then nodded in tacit understanding.

Needless to say, the two of them reached an agreement and both agreed to Lu Shaohua's proposal.

"I have to say, I admire your actions. At the same time, you show me your true sincerity." David Filo said with a smile.

"..." Lu Shaohua was speechless for a while, thinking to himself, "I dare say that you still doubt me coming to the United States in person."

Lu Shaohua really wanted to say to David Ferro, the American, "I can make hundreds of thousands of dollars a second, so why would I come to America to waste time with you guys?"

Of course, all this was just Lu Shaohua's inner thoughts. He didn't say it out loud, and it wasn't appropriate to say it out loud in this kind of occasion.

"Is everything okay?" Lu Shaohua asked.

"No problem. I have no problem selling all my shares to you." Yang Zhiyuan smiled and added, "I believe in you."

"I have no problem either." David Filo nodded heavily and spoke.

"That's good." Lu Shaohua also breathed a sigh of relief. Yes, how could Lu Shaohua not breathe a sigh of relief, because his plan was already halfway completed.

In Lu Shaohua's plan, as long as he could get 51% of the shares from Jerry Yang and David Filo, then the rest of the things would be much easier, because Yahoo had only four largest shareholders. In addition to Jerry Yang and David Filo, the remaining two were the world's largest companies, SoftBank Group and Sequoia Capital.

There is no need to say much about the famous SoftBank Group. Lu Shaohua himself already holds a large number of shares in it. If Lu Shaohua feels it is necessary, he can even acquire more than 51% of the shares of SoftBank Group. At that time, he can use some tricks to kick out other shareholders and monopolize SoftBank Group.

Yes, it is exclusive. Once Lu Shaohua has exclusive control over SoftBank Group, it means that everything in SoftBank Group belongs to Lu Shaohua, including the shares held in Yahoo.

As for Sequoia Capital, it is a venture capital company and also the first company to invest in Yahoo. Since it is a venture capital company, their goal is to make money. As long as Lu Shaohua offers a suitable price, I believe Sequoia Capital will sell its shares.

With these two points, Lu Shaohua can be almost certain that he will be able to return the shares within three months.

However, Yahoo was founded by Jerry Yang and David Filo after all, and the two have feelings for the company. Once Lu Shaohua acquires Yahoo, there must be an explanation for how to develop it. Otherwise, how can they feel at ease handing over Yahoo to Lu Shaohua?

……