In a short period of time, Robin asked himself countless times in his heart.
Why would I, a high-achieving student studying in the United States, a technical pioneer in the computer field, and a complete elite, be so beaten down by Li Mu, a young man in his early twenties, that he could not even hold on to his original level
I clearly have 80% strength. Even if Li Mu's strength is 800%, I should at least stick to 80% strength. Why would my 80% strength be affected by his strength when encountering him? To a big discount
This feeling is really depressing. It's like playing a game. Not only is the opponent's attack and defense much stronger than yours, but the key is that he also has buffs that reduce the enemy's damage and defense. What should I do? Robin is also desperate!
Li Mu actually concluded a long time ago that in negotiations, one must adopt a crushing attitude to destroy the opponent's psychological defense. Even if the ability is not enough to crush, one must achieve crushing in terms of momentum.
In fact, Robin could have said something very courageous: "What tricks do you have, I will follow up, see you in the world."
But he didn't dare, because he had been completely overwhelmed by Li Mu's momentum. He believed Li Mu's threat, and subjectively believed that Li Mu would definitely do it when the time came. At the same time, he lacked confidence in himself. If Li Mu spent money, he would never do it. Baidu and Google are poaching people and using their own resources to build search engines. I'm afraid Baidu will soon be hit to pieces. If Li Mu really cooperates with Google, Google will not ignore this world-class company. Internet giants, if Google cooperates with Li Mu, Baidu will probably die...
Subconsciously, Robin stopped thinking about how he should resist. He was just thinking about one question in his mind: "Li Mu wants to submit a petition. If he submits the petition, he will be on his ship. This is not a bad thing. Everyone wants to be able to enjoy the shade with their back against a big tree, but the crux of the matter is how much is the ticket price for having your back against a big tree!”
15% of Baidu shares
To be honest, it's really high.
Yiting Technology really doesn't have that big of a development prospect, especially after Li Mu had already divested Tieba.
Baidu's valuation of US$120 million is indeed not too high, and the future is very promising. However, if it is diluted by 15% at this time, it will have a say in the future of itself and the team. As for capital operations, the situation is too embarrassing.
Jimmy is also very worried. He is worried that if Baidu agrees to Li Mu's request, how will it give him the 15% of shares
Normally, if a shareholder wants to sell 15% of its shares, then all shareholders must sell it in equal proportions. Defengjie currently accounts for nearly 23%. If it wants to transfer 15%, it must give up nearly 3.5% of its shares. Defengjie Jay doesn't want to dilute his shareholding now.
He wanted to speak, but when he thought of Li Mu's venomous tongue, he backed down.
At this time, Robin said: "Mr. Li, we still need to discuss what you said."
Li Mu said: "Okay, we can go out at any time and leave the conference room to you for discussion."
Robin nodded: "Okay, then please give us an hour and we will discuss it in detail."
Li Mu said: "I have one more condition that you can discuss together."
Robin asked hurriedly: "What are the conditions?"
Li Mu said: "In addition to exchanging 15% of Baidu's shares with Yiting Technology, I personally want to buy 10% of Baidu's shares in cash. The price can be as you said, 120 million U.S. dollars. Selling 10% of the shares to me in cash can also make people You original shareholders cash in first."
Having said this, Li Mu looked at Robin and said with a smile: "Robin, you haven't had a chance to cash out until now, right?"
Robin hadn't recovered from Li Mu's 10% lion mouth. Hearing Li Mu ask this, he nodded subconsciously: "Not yet."
How could it be so easy to cash out
With capital like DFJ behind them, they will supervise every penny they give to Baidu. Although they do not monitor every transaction, they also require that all money must be used for Baidu's own operations. How can they Put it in a fanny pack? Even though Baidu is now valued at over 100 million US dollars, I still only get a monthly salary! You really get paid! The shares are placed there, and the capital is not allowed to cash out on its own!
In fact, it is not the fault of capital. Capital invests in a team or a project. If the valuation is 10 million and they are given 1 million to account for 10% of the shares, the 1 million must be used by them to run the company, not Give it to them, otherwise they will split it after receiving 1 million, and the company will still have no money to operate. If the company goes bankrupt in a few days, won’t the capital become the takeover
Therefore, almost all capitals will put forward clear requirements for the objects they invest in and prohibit cash-out, unless when the capital invests in the project, the project has already received multiple rounds of financing and has a good foundation and development space. At this time, the investee has Only when they have the right to speak can they ask how much capital needs to be raised and how much cash can be cashed out.
Just like Li Mu, he directly made clear requirements to Sequoia when financing the C round. The shareholders had to cash out 10% of the US$3.3 billion. That is, US$330 million of it was taken and divided directly by the shareholders. .
At this time, Li Mu struck while the iron was hot and said: "I invested 12 million US dollars in Baidu, which is considered to be a direct purchase of your shares. You can cash out freely. I have no objection."
Robin was surprised by Li Mu's generosity. The investment allowed 100% cash out. Li Mu really made a very attractive offer. Everyone has been starting a business for so long, and they have gained wealth, but they have not made any money. It is hard to start a business. On the road, everyone wants to get a big sum of money to reward themselves first. If 12 million US dollars comes in, and if half of it is cashed out, then the founding team will also have tens of millions of yuan to share, which can really help the core team get rid of poverty and become rich.
But, having said that, Li Mu wants 10% of the shares, which is really too much.
Yiting.com came in and took 15%, Li Mu took 10%, and a quarter of Baidu's shares were gone. If Li Mu's request was agreed to, all shareholders would have to dilute 25% of their own shares. DFJ will have to contribute about 5.75%, the founding team will have to contribute 15% of the 60% shares, and the remaining small shareholders will have to contribute 4.25%.
By then, Robin's own shares will have shrunk to just over 25%, and Li Mu will become Baidu's second largest shareholder.
Robin was inevitably hurt by the dilution of so many shares, so he proposed that there should be a communication within the team first. Li Mu respected his decision and evacuated the meeting room sparsely with everyone on his side.
Before leaving, Li Mu looked at Robin and asked him: "Robin, how many shares of Baidu does Defengjie have?"
Robin said: "About 23%."
Li Mu nodded: "What about the right to vote?"
Robin said: "Equal shares, equal rights."
Voting rights mean the actual management power of the company. Whoever has more voting rights can actually control the decision-making and development direction of the company. Sometimes, investors have the same shares and the same rights, that is, they can hold as many shares as they have. Voting rights. Sometimes, investors will give up their voting rights and hand them over to the founders of the company, so that they can make a fortune with peace of mind. This can also win the favor of the founders.
For a start-up company, capital rarely gives up voting rights. Only when investing in mature companies, capital will make such concessions. For example, Russian investment guru Yuri-Milner not only gave up voting rights when investing in Facebook , and also gave up his seat on the board of directors in order to show his kindness to Mark Zuckerberg and tell him that I just want to make money with you, respect your decision in everything, and will not go against you at any time.
However, Robin when it was founded naturally did not have the fate of Mark Zuckerberg in his heyday. Although he was not willing to share the same shares and rights, he has not yet found a suitable opportunity to take back his voting rights.
Li Mu smiled slightly at this time and said to him: "Although we have the same shares and the same rights, your team's voting rights can still exceed half, so I suggest you not to pay too much attention to Defengjie's attitude on this matter. , they should respect your decision unconditionally. If they threaten follow-up funds, then I can guarantee you through the contract that as long as you accept my conditions, in addition to investing US$12 million in Baidu, I will also I will lend Baidu an unconditional interest-free loan of US$8 million within one month. The repayment period is three years. If it is not enough, it can be extended for five years. If it is not enough, I will lend Baidu another US$10 million next year."
At this point, Li Mu added: "If you accept, I will sign a concerted action agreement with you and entrust you with all the voting rights corresponding to the shares I hold. I will not forcefully interfere with Baidu's operations and development." Direction, give you enough respect.”
Although he said this, Li Mu knew very well that he could not not interfere with Baidu's future development direction. Otherwise, if it went astray again, he would be jointly responsible for it. But even if he got 25% of the shares, and the same shares Even if you have the same power, you cannot have the absolute right to speak. If you really want to intervene forcefully at that time, the impact will not be very big if you have this 25% or not. Therefore, it is better to give up this 25% and use other means to interfere and restrict it in the future. Baidu’s future development direction.
After Li Mu showed his muscles to Robin, he was ready to throw out a clear recruitment signal to Robin. There was not much point in following DFJ. In fact, DFJ's future would depend on Baidu to grow and develop, so Li Mu wanted to Give Robin a guarantee, a guarantee that allows him to ignore DFJ. All Robin's worries are only about money. As long as he promises himself, DFJ will be increasingly marginalized in the future and will not have enough voting rights, and Robin There is also a concerted action agreement signed by the owner of the team's shares, which means that Robin still has an absolute dominant position in the right to speak.
This makes DFJ's Jimmy feel a little uncomfortable.
If he is really ignored by Robin, then he is likely to directly agree to Li Mu's request. At that time, Defengjie will have to dilute his shares.
In fact, Defengjie does not object to dilution of shares, but Li Mu is asking for too much! They originally wanted to reduce the share cost of acquiring Yiting Technology to 10%, but Li Mu not only refused to let go, but also asked for an additional 10%, which made Defengjie feel very uncomfortable.
However, Robin was inspired by Li Mu's words. If he has new capital guarantee, then there is really no need to look at Defengjie's face all the time. As a person who invests to make money, just follow him and make money honestly. Don't meddle in other people's affairs or do things for others. !
Unknowingly, the relationship between Robin and Defengjie has undergone a qualitative change under the influence of Li Mu...
(End of chapter)