"Zhang Tianxing, my patience is not infinite, and I cannot endlessly raise my offer."
"How about this, President Li, we can exchange equity, or Tianxing Network can be merged into Bai Du. I just want to ask, how much equity can you give me?" Zhang Tianxing asked with a smile.
Forget it, what's the use of giving myself money? Besides buying a house, I lack foresight in my investments. I don't dare to make money in the stock market, for fear of losing myself. Don't you see, those who drown are usually those who can swim. Just as Li Honghong came to the door, not selling at a high price would be a disservice to the internet. Therefore, Zhang Tianxing also intended to convert the money into equity of several well-known enterprises, with Bai Du being among them. In fact, seeing Li Honghong, Zhang Tianxing was very conflicted. His team was newly formed, and their competitiveness in search engines might not surpass the other party. It's not important if they can't surpass the other party, as long as they aren't instantly crushed. But Li Honghong is a renowned academic expert both domestically and internationally, and his team is far behind Li Honghong's team. One is the regular army, and the other is a ragtag army among amateurs. The two cannot be compared; the makeshift team is newly formed and has not yet been tempered. Li Honghong remained silent. The idea of Zhang Tianxing wanting equity had never crossed her mind.
"How about this, Zhang Tianxing, so no one can say I'm bullying the small. Twenty-five million. I can responsibly tell you that no one will offer a higher price." It's better to solve problems with money. If the other party were to invest, no matter what, Li Honghong felt she would be losing a great deal. Her Bai Du is destined to ring the bell at NASDAQ. Everything she is doing now is for the future listing. It's just that there is a long way to go from now until the listing, and there's no room for error.
"Zhang Tianxing, you are a smart person. You should know why I want to acquire your company. Everything else is secondary; I only come for the patents. Price is not an issue." Upon hearing Li Honghong's words, Zhang Tianxing chuckled faintly. What a saying, 'price is not an issue,' yet one party sets an exorbitant price and the other counters low.
"President Li, may I ask why you are developing a search engine?"
"When I was in high school, I went to learn programming. I spent a lot of time looking for books in the library, and after tremendous effort, I finally found them. So, I thought about how to improve search speed and better solve life's difficult problems, thereby saving more time in our lives and not wasting time on meaningless searches." Hearing Li Honghong's words, Zhang Tianxing felt admiration. He was far behind this great figure. She wanted to make search engines better serve the people, while he was after a bit of money. First of all, his starting point was impure; he was clearly here to make money. Researching search engines requires considerable time, and success is not guaranteed. Zhang Tianxing could hardly believe his ears now. It seemed he could lie down and relax again. He finally understood Li Honghong's purpose in acquiring Tianxing Network Company.
"If converted to Bai Du company shares, how much do you want?"
"Thirty percent?" Zhang Tianxing asked with a smile. In reality, Zhang Tianxing knew very well that the other party would never agree. The ideal price would be fifteen percent. Li Honghong's smile froze. This Zhang Tianxing was too audacious. If he got this much, she would have wasted all her efforts. This was not the right time.
"It's impossible to give you thirty percent. I still have team shares, and I need to secure multiple rounds of financing." Hearing this, Zhang Tianxing pondered, and he could operate this way.
"Then how about this, I won't ask for too much, ten percent, plus five million in cash. Also, in your next round of financing, I request the right to co-invest." Seeing that Li Honghong wouldn't give him so many shares, Zhang Tianxing had to lower his demands. In fact, reaching ten percent of his desired share was acceptable. As long as the shares were not diluted, ten percent was still an astronomical figure, as long as Bai Du could become a giant in the search engine industry. Li Honghong shook her head. "Zhang Tianxing, your demands are too excessive. I cannot agree to them."
He had guessed they wouldn't agree, but Zhang Tianxing had a backup plan. "How about this, I have a domain name here, and I believe the great Mr. Li would be very interested in it." Zhang Tianxing produced the domain name he had registered recently, which startled Li Honghong. Good heavens, so many domain names! Are you planning to speculate on domain names? Zhang Tianxing nodded, that was the intention. Li Honghong's eyes moved from BAidu and were a little difficult to move away. She hadn't expected that this domain name was in Zhang Tianxing's hands. Li Honghong became conflicted; it was difficult to price domain names. Because when a domain name is needed, it's worth a lot, but when it's not needed, it's just a small annual expense.
"I can buy this domain name. I'll offer one hundred thousand!" Li Honghong directly quoted a sky-high price for a domain name. Li Honghong had never imagined that someone would register domain names specifically to treat it as a business. However, this domain name had to be acquired, otherwise, typing the URL would be troublesome and not easily remembered by people.
"Great Mr. Li, you are my senior. By rights, this should be entirely free. However, given the current situation, how can I refuse?" Hearing Zhang Tianxing's question, Li Honghong thought for a moment. "Alright, ten percent equity, and you will also enjoy the right of first refusal in the future. As for cash, forget five million, one million at most."
"Okay, no problem. I'll do it now." Zhang Tianxing's actions made Li Honghong grit her teeth with annoyance. There was no other way. Zhang Tianxing had precisely held her in a tight spot this time. "Then what about my technical team?"
"Those who want to continue working with me can stay. Otherwise, you can go with the great Mr. Li. This is a once-in-a-millennium opportunity." I didn't expect to be able to ride the Bai Du train so soon. It seemed that the landlord's life was getting closer and closer. Li Honghong picked up her tea and took a sip. "The younger generation surpasses the older. I never expected you, Tianxing, to achieve such great success at such a young age. When I was your age, I only knew how to study and knew nothing. Why do you want to develop a search engine?"
"I feel that the current internet browsing mode is very inconvenient. To make my own internet browsing more convenient, I don't want to waste my limited time on trivial matters like finding URLs."
"A teachable protégé. Zhang Tianxing, I think highly of you. However, I cannot give your company too much premium. Why do you demand ten percent equity in my company?"
"It's very simple. We look at the numbers. How many people are in your Bai Du?"
"About seven hundred and more." The team rapidly developed and grew. "Our technical team has about ten people. We should at least occupy ten percent, and we will also provide two to three domain names for you to use."
"How about this, we accept the team members who want to join. If you don't want to, you can arrange it yourself. The internet cafe assistant will still be operated by you. I don't accept the team, but you must give us the patent for this search engine, and also that domain name. You must provide at least three domain names." Hearing this, Li Honghong had to compromise and agreed to Zhang Tianxing's demands. There was no other way. Zhang Tianxing had prepared quite a lot this time, and it was precisely because of such preparation that he was able to achieve his desired outcome. Ten percent of Bai Du's equity, along with the right of first refusal. It seemed he didn't have to worry about Li Honghong forcing out small shareholders through financing.