"Sir, by doing this, won't we be pushing Hastings to a dead end? We won't be able to utilize this guy in the future!" After hanging up the phone, the old man's secretary quietly asked.
"No!" The old man laughed heartily. "Someone like Hastings won't commit suicide. Especially with the current Magic Prize company, it's his only chance to turn things around. So he absolutely cannot get rid of us; instead, he'll be even more dedicated to being our dog!"
"Then Huang He will completely control Netflix!" The secretary said with some worry.
"There's no other way. Back then, Hastings didn't decisively follow up or sell his shares for financial security. Instead, he constantly borrowed money from Huang He. He thought he found a great deal, but he didn't realize he had already destined to give the company to Huang He!"
"Pies never fall from the sky; only traps fall. He was greedy for money, so he has to pay the price! Netflix is beyond saving, unless we completely tear up the contract, otherwise Netflix will definitely fall into Huang He's hands!"
"However, Huang He already has Los Gatos Television. Netflix isn't that important to him anymore. At worst, Huang He can rebuild another Netflix. He has the ability, so there's no need for us to fuss over this matter; it's all futile!"
"Moreover, according to messages sent by both Hao Jianguo and Little John, Huang He has secretly acquired Red Box, an enterprise that makes automatic disc rental machines. I just looked at the company's information; it's a company with some potential. With massive investment, it can become the next Netflix!"
"From this, it's clear that Huang He has already made arrangements for his future. Whatever we do, he has countermeasures. This guy is extremely difficult to deal with. I even want to physically eliminate him to avoid so much trouble!" The old man said, appearing somewhat exasperated.
However, the secretary beside the old man knew that what the old man said was not just an angry outburst. In fact, the old man had tried to physically eliminate Huang He.
But Huang He was always followed by over 30 heavily armed bodyguards. Unless the old man directly deployed the National Guard, he couldn't do anything to Huang He.
As for assassination methods like poisoning, the old man had thought of them. But Huang He's vigilance was incredibly high. This guy only ate food prepared by people from China, and all ingredients were flown in from China. There was no way to poison him at the source!
On the rare occasions he ate at restaurants, it was spontaneous, and the old man's men had no time to poison him.
Of course, if the old man truly disregarded certain matters and chose to go all out, Huang He would definitely remain in the United States. But this would have terrible international implications.
"How about this? You go contact the FBI, have them gather some evidence of Huang He's illegal activities, and then directly detain Huang He, holding him in the United States!" The old man raised his eyebrows. This move was even more vicious than direct physical elimination. As long as Huang He stayed in the United States, he would become the next MWZ.
"Yes!" The secretary nodded. He was very experienced with this kind of tactic.
"Wait! Forget it, let's just forget it!" Unexpectedly, the old man waved his hand again, abandoning this plan. It wasn't that the old man had a change of heart and intended to spare Mr. Huang. It was because he felt that the resulting loss of profit would be greater.
He listened to himself mumbling, "Huang He is not some small fry; he's the chairman of a Fortune Global 500 company. If we use such methods to keep him in the United States, then wealthy individuals from all over the world will no longer dare to personally come to the United States, let alone do business with Goldman Sachs!"
"Forget it, the consequences of using this move are even worse, so let's abandon it!"
It had to be admitted that the old man was still rational. As one could see, after the Alstom incident in 2013 and the later infamous MWZ incident, the CEOs of foreign top companies basically avoided going to the United States if they could, staying far away from American soil and leaving their US operations to their executives, keeping themselves far from America.
And Chinese CEOs, except for certain individuals, the bosses of large Chinese enterprises basically never approached the United States or lands of related countries; it was too damn dangerous.
—
Mr. Huang, completely unaware that he had narrowly escaped a calamity, was looking at Hastings with immense satisfaction, slowly sipping his coffee and quietly observing him.
After making him wait for more than ten minutes, Huang He leisurely said, "Speak, what is it you want to tell me?"
"I can leave the company, but $40 million is too little. I want $400 million!" Hastings said, biting his lip. Going from $1 billion to $400 million, Hastings had lost $600 million; it was too tragic.
"Heh, it seems you still haven't grasped the situation!" Huang He couldn't help but laugh. "If the company goes bankrupt, I can kick you out without spending a penny. To be honest, I won't even give you $40 million now. How dare you ask me for $400 million? Leave, there's nothing to discuss!"
After saying that, Huang He directly chased him away.
"Then $300 million!"
Huang He yawned.
"$200 million!"
"$100 million!"
"Huang He, you're pushing it too far!" Seeing Huang He's foot already stepping out of the conference room, Hastings jumped up in anger and said, "Huang He, do you really think I have no way to deal with your methods? Don't force me!"
"Oh!" Huang He stopped and turned back to ask, "Then I'd like to hear it. What method do you have that can make me compromise? I'm a very practical person. As long as the method you mention is indeed effective and can cause me significant trouble, I'm willing to pay to resolve the issue!"
"This is not an unsolvable situation for you, and you may not be able to completely acquire Netflix's equity. I have already spoken with some institutions. They will buy all the debt for $400 million, which is a higher offer than yours. In this way, all of Netflix's equity will belong to them, and Netflix will have nothing to do with you anymore!" Hastings said loudly.
"I couldn't ask for more!" Huang He couldn't help but laugh. "Hastings, I won't even ask if you've really talked to some institutions about this condition. I don't want $400 million either. As long as you can find an institution to repay the $380 million in debt, I will immediately hand over all 60% of my Netflix shares to you!"
"I will invest all $380 million into Los Gatos Television to further promote the network development of Los Gatos Television. Who would want your disc rental company that is destined to be eliminated anyway!"
"I beg you, quickly transfer this scapegoat to me. I don't want Netflix, I just want $380 million!" Huang He's words carried a strong sense of eagerness.
Huang He was not lying. In his heart, Netflix's value was indeed not much higher than $380 million. With him, a transmigrator who knew the future, as an advantage, Los Gatos Television was destined to replace the Netflix of another world. Wouldn't it be better to use this $380 million to film House of Cards, then Prison Break, The Walking Dead, and finally a season of Game of Thrones?
Hastings was choked by Huang He's words because he realized Huang He was speaking the truth, and that was indeed the case.
Not to mention that he hadn't secured $380 million at all; this was all a bluff.
"Hoo... hoo... hoo!" Hastings panted heavily, while Huang He looked at him coldly and said, "How about this, I'll give you another tip. I heard you still have tens of millions of dollars in assets. You can use these assets to cover it first, using these tens of millions of dollars to pay the interest, and thus win about a year of buffer time."
"During this year, Netflix will be operated by you. You can do all sorts of things to disgust me and make me uncomfortable. After a year, watching Netflix completely collapse and become worthless!"
"What do you think, isn't this plan great? And I have no way to deal with this plan. And the price is very cheap, only $30 million! If you pay $30 million now to cover the interest, you can regain control of your Netflix and avoid the danger of passive bankruptcy!"
"Hurry up, take out your $30 million, and you can disgust me again!" Huang He's words like a devil's lingered in Hastings' ears.
It had to be admitted that Hastings was tempted for a moment, but he quickly dismissed this foolish idea.
What a joke! This $30 million was his own money. How could he throw his own money into a black hole that was destined to be burned to ashes?
So Hastings didn't say a word, only glared at Huang He fiercely, and finally deflated like a leaky balloon, saying, "What do you want? What are your conditions?"
"$10 million. Hand over all your shares and leave the company completely. At the same time, sign a non-compete agreement with the company, and you are not allowed to appear in companies in the same industry for the next three years!"
"$10 million is too little. At the beginning, you said $40 million..."
"Then let it go bankrupt directly. At worst, I'll spend a few million dollars to have PwC take over everything, and then wait a few more months!" Huang He said very decisively.
This was also why Huang He was willing to give Hastings another $10 million. The legal process was quite troublesome and might bring various uncertainties. It was better to cut the Gordian knot cleanly and have Hastings hand over all his shares and get lost.
Finally, after weighing various pros and cons, Hastings had no choice but to sign the agreement reluctantly, then packed his things and left the CEO's office of Netflix in disgrace.