Chapter 147: Chapter 145: Acquiring WE to Build an All-Chinese Roster
Looking at Zhou Hao’s appearance,
Gu Bai already had a sense of certainty in his heart.
The reason he didn’t plan to make a move on WE was actually quite simple. It had little to do with his claim of wanting to witness the rise of the eSports industry; it’s just that the eSports circle is currently in a period of vigorous development, and Zhou Hao is optimistic about WE’s potential.
If it were purely out of love for the eSports industry, Zhou Hao would have starved to death long ago. How could he still be sitting here chatting and laughing with them?
There is not a single purely motivated person in this world who can achieve success. Working for love only exists in fairy tales.
Perhaps the initial purpose was indeed to strive for one’s ideals and goals, but upon entering the road to success, one is bound to face a choice. To succeed, one must abandon the original ideals. One must never hope for ideals—ideals and success are two different things.
Of course, some people’s ideal is to have money,
In that case, the ideal is very pure. Being rich is success.
Gu Bai: "If you are not willing to sell, that’s okay. May I know what the valuation of WE’s financing is after the New Year? Is President Zhou willing to reveal it?"
Since he had the idea of financing, Zhou Hao naturally would not conceal this aspect.
"Currently, the entire club’s valuation is 350 million."
Hearing Zhou Hao’s answer, Gu Bai started to ponder.
The largest financing in the eSports circle in 2018 involved three deals. One of them was Zhou Hao’s WE, the specific amount unknown, but there should also be an inflow of over a hundred million. Another was EDG, with a similar nine-digit figure.
As for the last deal, it was VG, whose owner was the famous heir of Tianwo Group, Sun Xiyao.
With 500 million in funds, a direct acquisition package was made—besides VG, the bosses of LGD and UP were also Sun Xiyao. It can be seen how optimistic this new generation is about the eSports industry.
At present, the proposed 350 million valuation by Zhou Hao is not unreasonable. One should know that as an established club, the brand value of just the "WE" name alone is over 10 million.
Seeing Gu Bai remain silent, Zhou Hao smiled and said: "Is President Gu interested in participating in our financing for WE?"
Zhou Hao certainly didn’t think Gu Bai was frightened by his offer. As the actual leader of a company worth billions, a 350 million price tag might be astronomical in the eyes of ordinary people, but he believed that in Gu Bai’s eyes, it would be just average—after all, Gu Bai’s investment in a single TV series had reached 400 million.
Hearing Zhou Hao’s words, Gu Bai shook his head with a smile.
"I am more interested in a full acquisition rather than financing."
Zhou Hao was just about to politely decline when Gu Bai interrupted.
"President Zhou, why not listen to my offer before declining?"
As soon as Gu Bai finished speaking, Principal Wang blinked helplessly. Here we go again, using money to sway people.
Before meeting Gu Bai, this script had always been tailor-made for him. But ever since knowing Gu Bai, his old statement of "I don’t care if my friends have money or not, because none of them have more than I do" had started to backfire wildly.
He certainly was wealthy, but compared to Gu Bai, there seemed to be quite a gap.
Gu Bai had no idea about Principal Wang’s thoughts and continued to speak to Zhou Hao: "Your valuation of WE is 350 million; I am directly initiating a full stock acquisition at a 40% premium. Are you interested?"
After hearing Gu Bai’s words, Zhou Hao was taken aback, not reacting for a while.
A 40% premium on 350 million would result in a valuation of nearly 500 million.
Originally a bystander, Yao Jingcheng’s hand trembled while pouring tea.
Opening with an announcement of 500 million—what level of mogul dares to be so bold?
As for Principal Wang, he was already unfazed, seeing Gu Bai’s habit of using money as if it weren’t money. Yet so far, no loss-making ventures by Gu Bai had been observed.
In partnership with Li Zhun’s Xingnai Media, the current valuation is already 600 million. Considering Gu Bai’s 50% stake, he’s already made a net profit of 150 million.
Then there’s Black Swan Entertainment, which captured dozens of top-tier broadcasters within a month of launching. Given more time, the 1 billion valuation will only increase. It’s strange, everyone knows these industries have potential, but it took just a few months for Gu Bai to gain from them, something one couldn’t have imagined.
"President Gu, that’s quite a big joke,"
Zhou Hao responded with a smile after a moment of surprise.
Gu Bai shrugged casually: "I’m not joking with President Zhou. Principal knows that I never joke in formal settings. If President Zhou is uneasy, I can sign a paper agreement with you right here."
Realizing that Gu Bai was genuinely not joking, Zhou Hao became serious as well.
"Does President Gu regard the eSports industry that highly?"
Gu Bai: "I’ve never engaged with the eSports industry. In terms of understanding the industry, a hundred of me can’t match even one out of the three of you. Acquiring an LPL club is purely for personal interest. I’ve never thought of using it to make money. Of course, if one day it does generate profits, that would be ideal.
As for why I am particularly fond of WE, it’s probably because I was once a fan of this team."
Hearing Gu Bai’s casual words, Zhou Hao fell silent.
He could tell that Gu Bai wasn’t lying. He really wasn’t expecting to make money off WE, otherwise he wouldn’t suggest buying it out at a 40% premium without even negotiating the price.
It’s just a bit hard to accept.
After years of hard work, the thing he cherished so much had turned out to be just a toy in Gu Bai’s eyes.