Reborn as a tycoon in Hong Kong

The day after meeting William Gates, when Lin Baicheng went to Starlight Company, he also called Bill Harveys over.

Lin Baicheng first called Bill Harveys to the chairman's office to talk.

"Yesterday, Bill Gates' father, William Gates, came to me and said that Bill Gates and Paul Allen wanted to reach a settlement with me. I put forward two conditions."

"The first condition is that I want a copy of Microsoft's computer operating system technology and patents, which William Gates has already agreed to."

"My second condition is that if Bill Gates and their current company Blue Software, I said I want 30% of the shares, but William Gates said that he can only give up 10% of the shares, and this does not satisfy me. , you need to talk to Bill Gates and the others."

"Bill, this time you go to talk to them on my behalf. If they are willing to give up less than 20% of their shares, then forget it. I will not accept such a settlement."

"Your attitude can be tougher. It doesn't matter to me whether you want to reconcile or not."

Lin Baicheng told Bill Harveys that he wanted Bill Harveys to know that he was the strong party and was in a strong position in negotiations.

Bill Harveys asked: "Chairman, are you going to make an investment in Blue Software?"

"Of course, the money has to be paid."

Lin Baicheng nodded. He wanted to get away with nothing, but this kind of good thing was obviously impossible. There was no intention of reconciliation if he raised such conditions, and not paying a penny for the shares would easily leave hidden dangers.

Forget it now that Blue Software is not valuable, but if Blue Software develops into a large company with a market value of tens of billions of dollars in the future, then Lin Baicheng, who has reached a settlement, will definitely hold a lot of shares, even if the shares are diluted due to financing and listing. It's so small, how can I still have 10% of the shares left?

And 10% of the shares of a company with a market value of tens of billions of dollars is equivalent to several billion dollars. Such a large amount of money is enough for many people to take risks.

Bill Harveys continued to ask: "Chairman, do you have any valuation judgment on Blue Software Company?"

Lin Baicheng said: "Calculate the valuation of Blue Software Company based on normal evaluation. We don't need to be greedy for petty gains, but we don't want to be taken advantage of."

Bill Harveys nodded to express his understanding: "I know the chairman, and I will arrange for professionals to evaluate Blue Software Company."

"I'll leave this matter to you."

Lin Baicheng said and warned: "By the way, I don't want to leave any hidden dangers regarding Microsoft's computer operating system technology and patents, so the relevant ownership rights must be done well and don't leave anything behind."

"No, chairman, don't worry, I will do everything beautifully."

Bill Harveys promised that if there was a hidden danger, he would be the unlucky one in the end, and he would not make such a small mistake.

"Well, I can rest assured that you will do the work."

Lin Baicheng nodded in affirmation, and then changed the topic: "Is there any progress regarding the acquisition of communication technology and the search for talents?"

"In the United States, Bell Labs and Motorola are currently the only two places that have conducted in-depth research on mobile phone technology. The technology of other companies is so far behind that they can't even make a mobile phone, let alone turn it into a mobile phone. It’s for commercial use.”

"The current negotiations between the acquisition team and Bell Labs have not made much progress. In order to put pressure on Bell Labs, we even contacted Motorola. However, Motorola should value this industry very much and is not interested in our contact and has no intention of selling."

Bill Harveys briefly talked about the situation, but he couldn't help but feel a little worried. He didn't know if Lin Baicheng would blame him for not doing things well.

"In other words, there is no progress."

Lin Baicheng couldn't help but frown slightly after hearing this. It had been less than a month since he last left the United States. It was normal that the acquisition negotiations with Bell Labs had not reached an agreement, and even no progress was acceptable. But he was only worried about the negotiations. There has been no progress.

Regarding the research and development of mobile phones, Lin Baicheng still hopes to spend money to acquire existing technology, so that his mobile phones can be commercialized faster. If you are willing to invest money, you may be able to commercialize your mobile phone earlier than Motorola.

The name No. 1 is usually very useful.

"Chairman, negotiations with Bell Labs can only take time. Once we get anxious and make Bell Labs think that we have to acquire its communications department, then we will have to pay too much money."

"Therefore, we can only take it slowly to prevent Bell Labs from seeing any flaws and not giving Bell Labs any hope of a big opening."

Bill Harveys explained aloud. In fact, he was not defending himself.

"It is not unreasonable to say that the acquisition cannot be rushed, but the talent search and recruitment can continue. Now you can treat our negotiations with Bell Labs as failed and start from scratch, while looking for industry talents and working with Bell Labs. room for negotiations.”

Lin Baicheng was not prepared to put all his hopes on Bell Labs. If negotiations with Bell Labs failed, he would have to build a mobile phone company from scratch. Although negotiations with Bell Labs are still ongoing, time cannot be wasted. If nothing is done, once the negotiations fail, all the waiting time will be wasted.

Bill Harveys responded: "Good chairman, I remember, I will promptly invite talents in the communications industry."

It seems that the mobile phone company will not be operational until next year. All Lin Baicheng can do is to keep an eye on the progress of acquisitions and talent invitations from time to time.

For now, the mobile phone company has brought the future. Even if everything goes well, the commercial use of mobile phones will take at least several years. His focus should not be on this company.

After what needed to be said, Lin Baicheng asked Bill Harveys to go out, and then asked his secretary to call Eric Davis and ask Eric Davis to come over.

"Chairman!"

"Sit down, Eric!"

Lin Baicheng motioned to Eric Davis to sit down opposite the desk.

After sitting down, Eric Davis took the initiative and said: "Chairman, it is rare for you to come here. I think it is necessary to report to you about the company's development."

"Okay, I happen to want to hear it too."

Lin Baicheng smiled and nodded. He has plenty of time now.

"As of last month, the company's physical stores have completed all expansion plans, with 1,025 stores across the United States. Except for some areas with average economies and small populations, the company's physical stores have covered all areas."

"However, in order to expand its physical stores, the company borrowed another US$20 million. Currently, the company owes a total of US$50 million in loans to banks. These loans need to be repaid in the next three to five years."

"In terms of product sales in the company's physical stores, Xingyue Host and Rubik's Cube need to be promoted at your request. Among them, after more than a year of preparation, the sales of Rubik's Cube are getting better and better, but now the selling price is also declining. This Christmas During the festival and beyond, the individual price of the Rubik's Cube will be US$11.9, and it is expected that the price will be lowered next year."

"The sales of the Xingyue console are not great, but they are not bad either. However, the sales of the game cartridges that come with the console are very good, which brings a lot of profits to the company."

"There are also claw machines placed in physical stores. There are a lot of children playing with dolls every day, and the monthly accumulated cash flow is quite good. The company shares the space and electricity costs equally with Jupiter Toy Company Revenue, this brings a lot of profits to the company.”

"Then there are toys from other companies that the company sells. Now that the company's channels have been fully expanded, its bargaining power has improved, so its profits have increased. Our management plans to wait until next year to increase the profit margin to the average in the same industry. Level, before we gave up a lot of profits in order to gain a foothold, but now we no longer need it.”

"As for the company's development plan, we think..."

Eric Davis reported in detail, Lin Baicheng asked questions from time to time, and Eric Davis answered and explained one by one.

The development of Starlight Company did not exceed Lin Baicheng's expectations. There were no surprises, but it did not disappoint Lin Baicheng. The company's development was carried out according to the plan, and the channel expansion layout could be regarded as completed this year.

Once Starlight Company's channels are expanded, Lin Baicheng's other companies will benefit. Xingyue Electronic Game Company's console and cassette sales, and Jupiter Toy Company's toy sales can all be expanded to the entire United States through Starlight Company's channels.

With his own sales channel, Lin Baicheng does not have to worry about his products being choked by other channel vendors, and some profits do not need to be earned by the channel vendors. He makes them himself, which in disguise increases the profits of the product.

"Eric, do you think the company's channels can be expanded to other overseas countries?"

Lin Baicheng asked aloud. Although he could open a company overseas, expanding in the name of an American company might save a lot of trouble.

"Yes, yes, but we can only expand overseas slowly. The number of physical stores cannot be too many at the beginning. If there are no products to sell, etc., resulting in losses in the physical stores, then the more physical stores are opened, the better the company will be. The greater the loss.”

Eric Davis paused as he spoke, and continued: "Furthermore, with the company's current scale and liabilities, if you want to expand overseas in the short term, the quantity will be small, but once the scale expands, the funds will be That’s a problem. The company’s current liabilities of US$50 million are already quite high. If the bank continues to lend to the company, there are some difficulties. Even if there is a loan, the interest rate will be relatively higher.”

"Funding is not a problem. If necessary, I will continue to inject capital into the company."

Lin Baicheng said that the investment of Starlight Company is incomparable to that of mobile phone companies. An investment of tens of millions of dollars can last a long time.

Eric Davis was not surprised by this. He knew that his boss was very rich, with a net worth of at least several billion dollars, so after hearing this, he said: "Chairman, if the company's channels want to expand overseas, , I suggest expanding from Canada first. Canada has a relatively close connection with our country, and if we expand there, we can avoid a lot of trouble."

"Okay, you can build a physical store in Canada next year."

Lin Baicheng had no objection. Canada is indeed a very suitable place for American companies to expand. New Century Software Company also expanded into the Canadian market at the beginning.

Eric Davis said: "At that time, I will make a plan with the management and submit it to the chairman for your review."

"good."

Lin Baicheng was very satisfied with this and reminded: "Before planning and expanding, remember to send someone to investigate the market first. Only by becoming familiar with the market there can we expand better and avoid problems."

"Chairman, please rest assured, we will do a good job in the preliminary investigation."

Eric Davis nodded. Of course he and the company management would not make plans without investigation. They would not make such an obvious mistake.

"When you say that, I feel relieved."

Lin Baicheng nodded, said nothing more, and let Eric Davis go about his business first.

Not long after Eric Davis left, Catherine knocked on the door and came in, saying that Haruko Maori had called to ask when Lin Baicheng would go to New York.

"Did she say something?"

Lin Baicheng asked after hearing this.

Catherine replied: "She said it was a work matter, but she had to tell you in person."

Lin Baicheng: "Did she say anything specifically about work? Is it urgent?"

"I asked, but the Maori manager said she would tell you in person. She didn't say it was urgent." Catherine said.

"If there's no rush, let's forget it for now."

Lin Baicheng shook his head: "As for New York, I will go there in a few days, so you can tell her this. By the way, you tell her that if it is something really important, you can call me in the evening."

"Yes, Chairman!"

Catherine responded.

Lin Baicheng checked the time. He had spent several hours chatting with Bill Harveys and Eric Davis. It was almost lunch time now. He didn't want to stay at Starlight Company any longer and went home to eat first.

In the afternoon, Lin Baicheng went to Starlight Company for inspection and chatted with the company's management.

In the next two days, Lin Baicheng went to the offices of Venus TV Company and Morning Star Pictures respectively.

Especially for Morningstar Pictures, the company's "Home Alone" will be released before Christmas. Lin Baicheng wanted to release it during the best Christmas period. Unfortunately, Morningstar Pictures didn't have much reputation. It would have been good to schedule the release more than a week before Christmas.

Because there are only about ten days until the release date, Morningstar Pictures has already launched a promotion for "Home Alone". Lin Baicheng spent a lot of money on promotion in order for the film to have a good number of opening screens and a Good opening box office results.

The premiere performance is very important, as it is related to the number of films scheduled later and the popularity of the film among fans. It is also related to how much box office the film can earn during the Christmas period.