Reinventing the Millennium

On April 2, guests from afar arrived at the Yike headquarters located at No. 333, Lujiazui Ring Road, Shanghai.

Chen Fuyang, CEO of Avago from Singapore Semiconductor Company, looked at the prominent Yike logo and felt a rather solemn mood in his heart.

Avago was only established in 2005, but it was driven by two PE companies to acquire the semiconductor business that was spun off from Hewlett-Packard. This part has a long history, and then it frequently wielded capital weapons. The acquisition involved There are many companies in different directions in the industry.

What shocked the industry the most was the purchase of LSI, a senior American chip supplier, for US$6.6 billion in December last year.

The roots of LSI can be traced back to Bell Labs, the originator of communications. In 1984, Bell was split due to its monopoly, and the predecessor of Lucent Technology came into being.

It was Chen Fuyang who led the development of Avago. He was a Chinese born in Malaysia. He did investment and finance. Later he became the vice president of finance at a PC manufacturer. It was not until 1999 that he got involved in the semiconductor field and became President of ICS.

When ICS was acquired by the American semiconductor company IDT, he served as chairman of the board.

Chen Fuyang was scouted by two PE companies, KKR and Silver Lake Capital, and became the CEO of Avago, where he oversaw a series of actions of the company.

As an atypical semiconductor person, his general style is "buy, buy, buy, dismantle and dismantle, combine, combine, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big and big."

As for coming to visit Mr. Fang in person this time...

In fact, Avago and Yike have business cooperation. Except that Avago is a customer of Ice Core, Yike once bought the image sensor business from Avago for US$53 million.

Chen Fuyang led Avago's mergers and acquisitions, but he did not blindly seek perfection. Instead, he carried out drastic reforms and sold all unprofitable businesses very decisively.

Before, Chen Fuyang was still wondering why Yike was willing to buy its own image sensors. It was not until the establishment of Yike Optoelectronics and until Yike took away Sony's CMOS business that he suddenly realized that the party had always had a plan.

This time, he believed that Mr. Fang still had a plan.

Chen Fuyang straightened his tie before stepping out of the elevator, then stepped onto the 23rd floor and went straight to the Yike President's Office under the guidance of General Secretary Fang.

When he actually met Mr. Fang, Chen Fuyang felt that it was a little different from the legend.

As the most famous figure in the global Chinese community in recent years, what is Mr. Fang like?

He is the best CEO in the world, he is a semiconductor maniac, he is a business tycoon, he is a top tycoon with an unknown net worth, and he is the head of a technology company traveling between two big countries.

Chen Fuyang had never seen Mr. Fang in real life before. Every time he saw the news, he felt that there were waves rolling around him. When he saw him today... he didn't seem as cold as he imagined.

"Mr. Fang, I have admired you for a long time." Chen Fuyang shook hands sincerely and said with a smile.

"Mr. Chen, it's a pleasure to meet you." Fang Zhuo shook hands with this man with a smile and mentioned his past dealings. "I just thought that when I go to Singapore, I must pay a visit to Mr. Chen. I also want to thank Mr. Chen for his support. The help of 'Xinguang Institute'."

Avago is headquartered in Singapore. The "Singapore Advanced Optics Research Institute" invested and established by Yike has received some small help from Avago, which is also a story that can be discussed.

"No, Mr. Fang, it's just some small things." Chen Fuyang took the tea handed by Mr. Fang, "The company sold image sensors last year. I originally wanted to ask Mr. Fang for advice in Shanghai, but I happened to have something to do at home, so I couldn't make the trip. , Fortunately, we have a rare opportunity to have a good time. When I arrived at Yike today, I felt very excited."

Fang Zhuo nodded with a smile and said: "Avago has developed very quickly. I admire Mr. Chen for getting the company listed on Nasdaq in just four years."

"To be honest, I don't have much credit. KKR and Silver Lake are willing to help broker many things." Chen Fuyang said with some sigh, "Singapore is far away from Silicon Valley. Although the talent is not as good as there, it has been relatively peaceful in development. "

Although Avago is based in Singapore, it is backed by American capital, and many of its departments and businesses are also in the United States. Most of its moves in recent years have been to target American companies.

"Although Anhua Gao is very low-key, his strength is not bad. Others don't know it, but we at Bingxin know it." Fang Zhuo said with a smile, "Mr. Chen is so humble. He can do a good job in matchmaking. This is already a blessing." It’s a difficult task, and Avago will become one of the best semiconductor companies in the world sooner or later.”

"Hey, Mr. Fang is so complimentary." Chen Fuyang said this when he heard the compliment from Mr. Fang, and couldn't help but show a little confidence, "I'm not actually a semiconductor person, but I think I still know some things about making money and As a business owner, I have always had a gangster account in Singapore that I am proud of."

Fang Zhuo was curious and waited for the next chapter.

Chen Fuyang said proudly: "He is just not talented, so people in the world call him 'Little Fangzhuo'."

Fang Zhuo was stunned, then laughed.

He laughed for a while and added some tea to Mr. Chen from Singapore: "Mr. Chen, you really scare me. Well, I'm not flattering you. I really think Anhuagao has a good future."

Chen Fuyang didn't see any fear in Mr. Fang's laughter. He knew the topic was getting down to business and said: "Avago really wants to get involved in more fields. Qualcomm's mobile phone chips are the direction we have been considering."

Mobile phone chips are a direction that Avago is considering.

As for Qualcomm's mobile phone chips... this comes from recent lobbying and alliances.

Qualcomm's performance has always been quite ugly, which is noticed by the entire industry. Companies have always stood up against Qualcomm's monopoly practices before, but they all ended in reconciliation.

This time the anti-monopoly alliance headed by Yike, the industry actually predicted more that it would end in reconciliation. However, Chen Fuyang got different information here. The two PE companies behind the company rarely raised questions about operations, whether There is a possibility of acquiring Qualcomm Shetunxiang.

Although Qualcomm's stock price has plummeted recently, Chen Fuyang has never had such an idea. He is interested in American chip companies, but he is interested in another Broadcom company that has sued Qualcomm.

The current businesses of Broadcom and Avago can be more complementary. Once the merger and acquisition is successful, the difficulty of reorganization will be very small. This is the development method he recommends that is suitable for Avago.

It's just... If you can really swallow Qualcomm into your belly, then you will definitely choose this one.

Chen Fuyang attached great importance to the possibility that the two shareholders proposed together, and then first explored where the driving force of their proposals came from, and then saw the existence of Yike.

To be precise, Yike is just one of them, and more is the result of lobbying from European and American capital, but...

Whether these capitals are united with Yike, or whether Yike is leading these capitals and intending to take action against Qualcomm, Chen Fuyang has a very clear judgment in his mind.

Some private equity institutions tend to be relatively mysterious. The institutions that emerged this time seem to have a relatively short history. Some are active in Europe, and some have been active on Wall Street in recent years.

Chen Fuyang had no evidence, but with "Little Fangzhuo's" intuition, he always felt that those institutions were inseparable from Mr. Fang. Therefore, before making a formal decision, he wanted to talk to Mr. Fang in person.

"Well, Qualcomm's mobile phone chips are quite good. Otherwise, Samsung's Trump would not switch to its Snapdragon, Avago, hey." Fang Zhuo said bluntly, "I know why Mr. Chen Later, some European PEs did find Yike and wanted to swallow up Qualcomm, which was obviously undervalued, but I think this may not be easy."

Qualcomm's current market value fluctuates around US$70 billion, which is obviously affected by antitrust activities. Once these matters are resolved, the market value is likely to rebound.

It will certainly not be easy to acquire this famous IC company in the United States.

Chen Fuyang did not hesitate, so Mr. Fang asked whether the European PE or the European PE should find Yike. He said with bright eyes: "Mr. Fang, I always believe that a healthy business model can obtain the most long-term benefits. I am against Qualcomm who wants to go it alone. According to the model, as long as Avago can acquire Qualcomm, we will never do anything to extract water from the entire machine."

Fang Zhuo laughed dumbly: "Mr. Chen, I'm not the chairman of Qualcomm. It's as if you can acquire Qualcomm if I nod."

"Mr. Fang, I just have the same position as Yike. Qualcomm is a cancer in the industry that everyone can kill." Chen Fuyang stated the correct position.

"Hmm..." Fang Zhuo nodded slightly and frowned, "It's really difficult to acquire a company like Qualcomm."

He raised his cup to drink tea and considered this matter.

Chen Fuyang also drank tea and glanced at General Manager Fang's office. He felt a little distracted and felt a little regretful that he had not seen the inscription here.

"If the ultimate goal is to acquire Qualcomm, I'm afraid it will have to be done in three steps." Fang Zhuo put down his tea cup and his voice followed.

Chen Fuyang was shocked. He could almost conclude that this was the mastermind behind lobbying KKR and Silver Lake. He had funds, resources, motives, and ideas...

A certain Mr. Fang, who did not want to be named, must be very angry with Qualcomm and must be trying to encourage Avago to cause trouble in the secondary market!

But, this is a good thing for Avago!

"Jacob took over Qualcomm from his father. However, he only held 0.13% of the shares, which was actually not stable. When things were going smoothly, it was easy to say that the company really encountered a turning point that might determine its fate. This This kind of 'instability' will be magnified." Fang Zhuo said, "Moreover, Jacob will never be willing to hand over the company passed down by his father. He will be a huge factor among the board of directors and shareholders. resistance."

"So, the first step is to use pressure from all sides to force Jacob away."

Fang Zhuo continued without waiting for Chen Fuyang on the other side to answer: "This is the second step. Although KKR and Silver Lake are both companies in the United States, Avago is from Singapore. There are many acquisitions you initiated. There is a high probability that it will be blocked, Yike has also faced a similar situation, and we encountered resistance when we acquired a chip company in 2008."

He was talking about what happened after the financial turmoil, when the company he wanted to acquire was blocked and then acquired by Apple. Because of this situation, Yike sometimes formed a structured poaching team, which made it easier.

"However, precisely because Avago is a Singaporean company, the sensitivity in this area is better. If you can launch a strong acquisition, you may be able to find someone to help lobby the regulatory authorities for such acquisitions."

Fang Zhuo glanced at Chen Fuyang and said suggestively: "But the speed needs to be faster."

Chen Fuyang immediately understood that his power would not wait until it expired.

Mr. Fang must have something to do in the United States. To this day, there are still some unexplained and bizarre circumstances surrounding Yike's second killing of short sellers. Afterwards, there were not many media reports to dig deeper, which makes it even more bizarre.

"If we can force Jacobs out and lobby for regulation, this last step will bring benefits to shareholders." Fang Zhuo said with a smile, "Qualcomm has caused such a big disturbance now, which has damaged the interests of shareholders. , it is also critical for Avago to give a price that makes Qualcomm more respected."

It is said to be three steps, but they actually work together.

Reduce the resistance of Jacob, the leader, reduce the resistance of regulatory authorities, and eliminate the resistance of the majority of shareholders.

Chen Fuyang's thoughts were spinning very fast in his mind. It was said to be three steps, but it was very complicated inside. But as long as Anwar raised the banner of taking action against Qualcomm, Mr. Fang could actually get a lot of cooperation.

China Antitrust’s investigation into Qualcomm is only a preliminary result, and subsequent processing will have a strong impact.

Yike itself also has the Selfy mobile phone equipped with Qualcomm Snapdragon. Once it is no longer equipped, it can continue to suppress Qualcomm's stock price.

Mr. Fang himself mentioned the lobbying of powerful figures in the United States.

In addition, there is another very important thing!

Chen Fuyang asked after a while: "Mr. Fang, what are the chances of winning the counterclaim initiated by Yike against Qualcomm?"

Fang Zhuo glanced at the person in front of him in surprise, and said with slight approval: "It's hard to say, but the outcome of this lawsuit will indeed have a great impact on Qualcomm. However, even if the outcome is not available for the time being, the direction of the wind can be changed. It will also put a lot of pressure on Qualcomm's management and shareholders."

These factors related to Qualcomm can all be combined, some are temporary, and some are far-reaching.

Chen Fuyang took two sips of tea and nodded without any surprise: "Anhua Gao is willing to try."

"Then we still need to discuss it with KKR and Silver Lake. This involves lobbying for U.S. regulation, and their efforts are also needed." Fang Zhuo said.

At this time, the office door unlocked, and someone entered.

Chen Fuyang followed the sound and saw a bald man walking into the office. He felt that the man had a ferocious face and cold eyes. He was afraid that he might not be the most mysterious MIGA fund talker around Mr. Fang.

"This is Mr. Kong Yu. He also does some investment work." Fang Zhuo introduced, "He is very familiar with Wall Street and I believe he can provide some advice to Avago."

Chen Fuyang stepped forward to shake hands and shook his head up and down, knowing that Anhua Gao would have to rely on this liaison fund this time to convey his goodwill and pressure on Qualcomm.