My 1999

Establishing option pools to reward employee options is a routine practice for technology companies, and shareholders are unlikely to refuse.

Therefore, everyone’s equity has changed.

Xu Liang’s equity was diluted to 68.36%, Morgan’s was diluted to 7.27%, 3i Group, Temasek and MIH Group were diluted to 3.63%, SoftBank was diluted to 3%, and Sun Haizhen was diluted to 1.36%.

After signing the contract, the Hongmeng International Board of Directors was also established.

Xu Liang serves as chairman, and Morgan, 3i Group, Temasek, MIH Group, and SoftBank each send a director to form a six-member board of directors.

Because of Hongmeng International's unique management system, the board of directors usually has nothing to do. It only reviews Hongmeng International's financial affairs every quarter and discusses major issues, without involving the specific management of the company.

The office address of the board of directors has also been placed in Xiangjiang.

The day after the contract was signed, the two parties held a press conference at the Peninsula Hotel to officially announce Hongmeng’s Series A financing.

Xu Liang specifically stated that except for the contract documents, all other documents had omitted the four words Hongmeng International and only used Hongmeng.

He wants to convey an illusion to the outside world.

It was Hongmeng that raised US$560 million, not Hongmeng International.

Covering up as a joint venture can save you a lot of unnecessary trouble.

As soon as the press conference was held, it was no surprise that it caused a sensation in the entire Internet circle.

And not only China, but also Silicon Valley has special reports.

After all, the Nasdaq crisis is still showing no improvement, and Internet companies around the world are going bankrupt. Even big companies like Yahoo are having a hard time.

Hongmeng was valued at US$2.8 billion and raised US$560 million.

Everyone wants to see what magic this company has.

Seeing the crowd below, including journalists from hundreds of major Chinese and foreign media, Xie Wen, who was sitting in the main seat, was excited but also a little nervous.

The secretary came over and reminded.

"Mr. Xie, it's almost time, we can start."

Xie Wen nodded and took a slight breath.

After trying the painting tube, there was no problem.

"Friends from the media who are present, please be quiet. Now our Hongmeng Financing press conference has officially begun."

Xie Wen, Sherron Watkins, Peter Jackson, Zhou Ping and Wang Dawei, the five of them pretended to sign the contract in the presence of the media.

Then applause broke out.

Soon it was time for reporters to ask questions.

"I am Rice, a reporter from the New York Times. I would like to ask Mr. Watkins, when the Nasdaq crisis has not yet passed, he invested in an Oriental company that was only established less than two years ago at a price-to-earnings ratio of 35 times. Internet companies, are the risks too great?”

Sherron Watkins smiled and said: "All investments have risks, which is normal. As for this investment, we feel that the risks are not big. Although Hongmeng has only been established for a short time, they have a clear profit model and clear main business. The management is very good and has grown by more than 10% every month since its establishment.

Especially their growth was achieved against the backdrop of the Nasdaq crisis, which is incredible.

I can't imagine how good they'll be once this crisis is over.

Therefore, Morgan invested in them without hesitation, even if it was 35 times the financing. "

After saying that, he put down the painting tube in his hand.

The press officer at the press conference quickly signaled to the management below to hand the painting tube to the second reporter.

"I am Jiro Oda, a reporter from the Asahi Shimbun. I would like to ask President Xie Wen, what is the basis for Hongmeng's valuation of US$2.8 billion? Can your business and revenue really support such a high valuation?"

Xie Wen smiled, "It seems that this reporter doesn't know much about Hongmeng.

Let me tell you briefly.

So far, Bing Search, a subsidiary of Hongmeng Company, is the largest Internet search company in China, South Korea, Japan, including 11 Southeast Asian countries, with a market share of more than 60%, or even higher.

It currently has a search database of 1.5 billion and nearly 200 million daily visits.

Our gaming business under Hongmeng currently ranks first in China, second in South Korea, top in Japan, and among the top three in Southeast Asia.

The company's six games currently have 78 million registered users and more than 3.2 million simultaneous online users.

"Legend 2" is currently the most popular game in China, the Philippines, Indonesia and other places.

"Miracle MU" is the most popular game in South Korea, Hong Kong, Wanwan, Singapore and other places.

"Bubble Show" is currently the third-ranked game in Japan.

Our music business under Hongmeng is currently the most popular music website in East and Southeast Asia, with more than 50 million registered users. We also cooperate with major music companies and independent singers in various countries to provide all users with the richest and best-sounding genuine music.

Our portal Naver is the first in Southeast Asia and the second in South Korea.

In addition, many of our Hongmeng businesses are also very competitive in the East and Southeast Asian markets. This is the basis for our Hongmeng valuation of US$2.8 billion. "

Many media heard about Hongmeng for the first time, so they didn’t know much about it. Now Xie Wen’s words undoubtedly shocked them.

It turns out that Hongmeng is not the lucky one they thought, but actually has the foundation of US$2.8 billion.

However, they still don’t know that Hongmeng China did not participate in the financing this time, otherwise it would not be 2.8 billion, but 3.5 billion, or even higher.

Next comes the third reporter.

"I am Wang Yufei, a reporter from the South China Morning Post. I would like to ask President Xie Wen, what are Hongmeng's next development plans after raising US$560 million?"

Xie Wen said with a smile: “After the financing is completed, in addition to continuing to consolidate and develop our existing business, we will next enter the European market.”…

Watching the broadcast of the press conference on TV.

Silva James was angry in his heart. He was originally determined to win Hongmeng's financing, but he didn't expect someone to pick the peach midway?

He hated looking at Sherron Watkins' smug face on TV.

After all, you are also a colleague on Wall Street, so you should be notified when you grab a project.

Taking a deep breath, he took out his cell phone and called Xu Liang.

The call was quickly connected.

"Mr. Xu, is your company going too far? Why did you hand over the project to Morgan Stanley when you were obviously discussing cooperation with Goldman Sachs?"

"Mr. James, in fact, I was inclined to cooperate with you Goldman Sachs from the beginning, otherwise I would not have contacted you so early. But we have been talking for so long, and your company has always been unable to meet our requirements..."

James interrupted rudely: "Mr. Xu, we have regressed. A price-to-earnings ratio of 25 times is very consistent with Hongmeng's value."

"Mr. James, if you were sitting in my seat, one company quoted a price-to-earnings ratio of 35 times, and the other quoted a price-to-earnings ratio of 25 times, and the resources provided by the two companies were similar. Who would you choose?"

James is not stupid, so of course he chose the former, but now that he is the latter, of course he cannot say the same.

"As far as I know, your company gave up Hongmeng's listing lead underwriting rights to Morgan Stanley in exchange for a price-to-earnings ratio valuation of 35 times. If you give this power to us at Goldman Sachs, we will also give you a valuation of 35 times."

"Mr. James, Morgan Stanley took the initiative to request the right to be the lead underwriter of the listing, so we agreed. Your company has no request, and the price-to-earnings ratio is not high, so naturally we will not compromise."

After a pause, Xu Liang continued.

"Mr. James, we Hongmeng still have Series B financing, and I personally very much hope to reach cooperation with Goldman Sachs.

That's it, I still have work here, so I won't talk to Mr. James any more. When I have time, I'll treat you to dinner. "

After saying 'goodbye', Xu Liang took the initiative to hang up the phone.

"It seems that SoftBank is not the only one who is disappointed after this financing." Son Zhengyi said with a wry smile.

"I was the first to find you, but you were unwilling to give in, so I couldn't help it. But at least SoftBank still holds 3% of our shares, which is quite a lot." Xu Liang said with a smile.

Son Zhengyi sighed, "I would rather not have these 3% shares."

It was because he already had a part of the equity that he had weakened his expectations for Hongmeng's equity. He always wanted to jointly lower the price, make Hongmeng compromise, and then get the shares at a low price.

Unexpectedly, Xu Liang immediately pulled the trigger and brought in Morgan Stanley to lead the investment.

By the time he received the news, it was too late.

At this moment, Son Zhengyi felt extremely regretful.

Without this part of the equity, stemming from the strong desire in his heart, he will definitely do whatever it takes, even if it is a price-earnings ratio of 35 times, he will not hesitate.

Just like a hungry person, when encountering a big meal, his desire to eat is 100%.

If a person is half full, his desire to eat may only be half full.

Xu Liang understood what he meant and smiled slightly.

"Mr. Sun, when we wait for Hongmeng's Series B financing, SoftBank will still have a chance."

Upon hearing about Round B, Son’s expression became even more complicated.

The initial investment of US$3.5 million has increased in value to US$100 million in less than a year.

The growth of more than 30 times has indeed made him a lot of money.

But if Hongmeng’s current momentum continues, by the time it reaches Series B financing, the valuation is likely to reach seven to eight billion, or even tens of billions of dollars.

At that point, it will be more expensive to acquire equity.

And even if they obtain shares, they will lose the opportunity for Hongmeng’s equity to increase in value during the period from Series A financing to Series B financing.

The money earned from 10% equity is definitely not on the same level as the money earned from 3.9% equity.

But the done thing is too late to regret.

Seeing Sun Zhengyi's face full of regret, Xu Liangliang also felt a little happy.

If you don't use the opportunity given to you, who should you blame?

However, Son Zhengyi is an elite who has been tested in the shopping mall for a long time. After taking a deep breath, his expression slowly calmed down.

If an opportunity is lost, it is lost. There is no point in regretting it. Keep your eyes open, remember the lessons, and seize the next opportunity.

"Mr. Xu, only Hongmeng International is financing this time. When will Hongmeng China raise funds?"

"Hongmeng Huaxia is now very profitable. We are not short of money and do not need assistance from outside forces, so we may not raise funds in one or two years." Xu Liangdao.

"If you raise funds, please be sure to give us a chance." Son said seriously.

"I will give you the opportunity, but whether you can seize it or not depends on Mr. Sun."

"certainly."

Son's tone was firm, and the same lesson once was enough.