Chapter 855: A Condition He Could Not Refuse
As he was thinking, Su Yang greeted him politely, “Mr. Zhang.”
Zhang Zhidong nodded in agreement.
Su Yang recalled Zhang Zhidong’s information. ‘He used to be a programmer, and he still maintains his habits as one. He’s usually very low-profile and doesn’t show up in public often.
‘It seems like Mr. Ma was the one who dragged him out to accompany him as well today.’
Hence, Su Yang could understand why he was not good at communicating with others.
After a while, the dishes were served, and they ate and drank alcohol.
Shortly after that, the atmosphere in the room became more lively.
This was how domestic gatherings were like. After eating a few mouthfuls of food and drinking a few mouthfuls of wine, people would become closer and friendlier towards each other, which was also a kind of social culture unique to China.
However, the three people at the table did not look like they liked to drink. Therefore, after drinking two glasses together, they started to talk about serious matters.
Due to the fact that the Jiadian Group was about to enter Japan, Mr. Ma took the initiative to say, “Mr. Su, is Jiadian Group planning to enter the overseas market?”
Su Yang nodded and did not deny it. “That’s right. I feel that it’s meaningless to engage in small fights within the country. No matter how many markets we occupy, we would still be competing against our countrymen’s enterprises to earn the money of our own citizens. Why don’t we go out and snatch other people’s markets to earn money from other countries?”
Mr. Ma laughed out loud and praised, “Mr. Su, you really are an ambitious person. However, you’re right. It isn’t our ancestor’s wish for us to fool around in minor fights within our own country.
“In the end, we still have to target outside of our country.”
Then, he paused and started talking about Tencent. “Actually, Tencent was one of the earliest companies in the country to set up overseas markets. Over the years, I have invested in dozens of companies on six continents involved in industries like games, culture, social interactions, medicine, technology, and so on.”
“I’ve always thought that if we don’t take the initiative to show our strength to the world, other countries will never know how powerful China has become.
“That’s why I’ve been setting up my plan overseas. I want to increase our say in the world.”
Mr. Ma might have drunk a little too much and had become a little excited. At that point, he reached out and said, “Mr. Su, since we all have the same idea, why don’t we work together?”
Su Yang, who had been polite ever since he entered, did not continue to maintain his “politeness” this time. He looked at Mr. Ma, smiled, and said, “Mr. Ma, of course we can work together, but… We’ve got to identify how we’re going to work together first.”
He took a sip of water and said, “Our next step is to enter Japan. So, can Tencent offer me any help?”
When he heard Su Yang’s words, Mr. Ma was stunned for a moment. Then, he said honestly, “It’s true that we haven’t made any plans for Japan due to certain reasons. In terms of Asia, our main plan is targeted at Korea.”
Su Yang asked, “Are you not interested in the Japanese market, Mr. Ma?”
Mr. Ma shakes her head. “That’s actually not true… The main problem is because the market there is… Well… it’s a little more special.”
At this point, Mr. Ma said straightforwardly, “Actually, after I found out that you were going to enter Japan, I wanted to give you some advice.
“The Japanese market is conservative, united, and xenophobic, so it won’t be easy for you to enter. It’s not like there are no enterprises that want to enter the country, but most of them have ended up being scammed.
“Furthermore, as you know, our country has had a blood feud with Japan in the last century. Our country has always had a low tolerance for Japanese people or their enterprises. If our development over there isn’t good, there will be criticism. If it is good however, others will say that we’re selling our country.
“Furthermore, Japanese companies are very powerful, so we have no advantage in entering.
“So… that’s why everyone doesn’t think of Japan as a center for overseas development.”
When he said that, Mr. Ma invited him again. “Isn’t Korea a better option? Their culture is the same as ours. Their companies aren’t strong, and the pressure from the public opinion isn’t high. Plus, they have a higher tolerance for foreign capital, making them obviously more suitable than Japan.”
Su Yang took a mouthful of food and said, “Korea… Of course we’re going to enter that market.
“That will be my next plan, so I’m interested in some of the things that you have, Mr. Ma. However, I’m wondering if you’re willing to part with them.”
Mr. Ma did not expect Su Yang to make such a request. He asked, “What is it?”
Su Yang replied indifferently, “The biggest chat app in Korea under Tencent, TTK’s shares.”
Mr. Ma’s eyes darkened. He did not expect Su Yang to have such a big appetite.
TTK was Korea’s largest chat app, and it could even be said to be the only chat app they had. It had a domestic QQ + WeChat status. Among the 55% market penetration rate of Korea’s cell phones, TTK’s user ratio was 95%. From this, one could see TTK’s status in Korea’s social circle.
In the middle of TTK’s development, Tencent’s Strategic Investment Department discovered the software and believed that it had the potential to become the biggest social software in Korea. Therefore, at 403 million yuan, it received 14% of TTK’s shares and became the second largest shareholder.
Among China Internet’s Big Three BAT, Tencent had the most outbound investment and the most number of investors. Compared to Ali, which was a matured company, Tencent cared more about early investments.
According to the information Little Deeny had gathered, Tencent had invested 46% of all companies under B Series, mainly gaming and media industries. Among the dozen countries Tencent invested heavily in, Korea was the second-largest investment, America being the first.
Although most of them were gaming companies, it also meant that Tencent had some influence in Korea.
This was also the reason why Su Yang wanted to make use of Tencent’s power to achieve his goal when he entered Korea.
One could tell from what had happened to Yagawa Masaru that no matter which country’s market it was, it was relatively closed to foreign investors. Only with a suitable guide could one successfully enter that country’s market and collaborate with the country’s big shots, capitalists, and corporations to obtain the relevant business permits and even revise policies that were beneficial to oneself.
Su Yang was not interested in any of the companies that Tencent had set up in Korea. The only company that could be connected to the Jiadian Group was TTK, which was why Su Yang suggested the idea.
Mr. Ma looked at Su Yang deeply and asked, “If you want it that much, I could give it up to you. But… What price are you going to pay me for it?
“The shares of TTK can’t be bought with money, so there has to be something that interests me, right?”
Su Yang followed the flow of his words and said, “Such as?”
Mr. Ma said calmly, “Such as… Some Jiadian Technology’s shares?”
Everyone in the domestic capital circle knew that Su Yang had a strong desire to have control over his companies. He was even stronger than Huang Zheng, who was well-known in the industry. There were so many companies under Jiadian Group, including the main company, but no one had ever heard of an outsider holding its shares, except for… Jiadian Technology.
Therefore, Mr. Ma chose to mention Jiadian Technology.
Su Yang smiled and shook his head. “It’s not worth that price.”
Of course, Mr. Ma knew that TTK was not worth the shares of Jiadian Technology. However, he could not think of anything else that could interest him.
‘Would you rather have me target your materials and black technology?’
As soon as this thought appeared in his mind, Mr. Ma shook his head. ‘That’s the core of Jiadian Group, so it’s impossible that he would give it to me.
‘Moreover, even if he does want to give it to me, I wouldn’t dare to accept it…
‘That company is like a hot potato right now, whoever gets their hands on it would be watched by the whole world. I’ve already become a world-class tycoon in another field, so there’s no need for me to get involved with such troublesome matters.’
That was why he looked at Su Yang with doubt. He felt that Su Yang was not someone who did not understand the rules of society. If someone wanted to reap benefits, they had to pay a price since no one would give others benefits for no reason.
Su Yang took out a document from his bag and passed it to him.
Receiving the documents from Su Yang’s hands, Mr. Ma took a look at it. The documents contained the introduction of a game company in Japan: Nindentou.
Nindentou was the most outstanding content production company in the global gaming industry. Of course, Mr. Ma knew that it was a company that he had coveted for a long time but could not get.
Although Tencent had started out in the social field, social interactions were too far away from money. As a result, even though he had a lot of traffic, he had to think of ways to make money.
This led to Mr. Ma, who had tasted the sweetness of the game industry a few years ago, decided on the company’s strategy without hesitation.
As a result, Tencent had become one of the world’s largest game distributors. In the domestic games market, he was the sole owner, and his market share was twice that of all other games companies combined.
Inside Tencent, the revenue from the game also accounted for 59.4% of the company’s total revenue.
However… Despite his outstanding performance in the game industry, Tencent had yet to fill in his last shortcoming… Content.
Even though they had made a lot of money by releasing games, those games were either proxy, pirated, or acquired. None of them had developed any games themselves.
As for Nindentou, it was the best game company in the world that could independently develop games!
The number of world-class IPs that they had developed were more than a handful.
Therefore, it was no wonder that Mr. Ma had coveted it for so long.
However, even though he was interested in Nindentou, after reading the information carefully, Mr. Ma was confused. This was because there was nothing special about the information he was reading. ‘These are just the most ordinary official information.
‘What’s the use of these then?
‘How could I not know about Nindentou already?’
At that thought, he looked at Su Yang in confusion.
Su Yang took a sip of water and said, “Mr. Ma, are you interested in this company?”
Mr. Ma said, “Of course.”
Su Yang said calmly, “I can help you get this company.”
Even though Su Yang’s words were soft, they were like a heavy drum that hammered Mr. Ma’s brain. His pupils constricted, and he could not help but tighten his grip on the documents. If not for his strong willpower, he would have stood up on the spot.
He restrained himself, but the people he brought could not. Zhang Zidong, who had been invisible throughout the meal, suddenly stood up and said excitedly, “Are you serious?”
Su Yang looked at him with an ambiguous smile. He felt that this person was as straightforward as the rumors said.
Su Yang nodded.
By now, Mr. Ma had regained his usual composure. He gestured for Zhang Zidong to sit down and asked Su Yang, “How are you going to do it?”
Su Yang took a mouthful of food. “That’s my secret. I will only tell you when to negotiate and what conditions to negotiate with. I can also guarantee that as long as your conditions are not outrageous, you will definitely succeed.
“As for how to negotiate, how much shares you can get, how much money you can pay, and how much influence you have in their company, that’s your business.”
When he heard Su Yang being so honest, Mr. Ma, who initially did not believe it, could not help but be skeptical. ‘Could all of this be true?
‘Could this young man actually help me complete the most important part of getting a hold of this company?’
When he thought about that, Mr. Ma’s face lost its relaxed expression. This was because he knew that everything before him was very important. It was very important to him and Tencent.
Think about it, all the characters and IPs that Nindentou had accumulated over the years would all be released by Tencent! The classic images in the hearts of all Chinese players, their childhood memories all came to their favorite online games and mobile games…
Amongst them included Animal Crossing, Zelda, Fire Emblem, Monster Hunter, Pokemon, Mario…
‘No, not only Chinese players, the entire world would go crazy!’
At the thought of this, Mr. Ma felt his breathing quicken. ‘What has been Tencent’s biggest predicament all these years? Trying to launch self-developed games.
‘Although Tencent has invested in countless companies all over the world, we have never managed to complete the layout of our entertainment empire! Until now, there hasn’t been a single game that we’ve created ourselves! It has even caused an uproar all over the world!
‘This would be a crucial step for the entire corporation!
‘However, once I have the content of Nindentou’s games and their brands, my entertainment empire could really dominate the entire world!’
Mr. Ma looked at Su Yang and said seriously, “Conditions!”
This time, he was not asking about Su Yang’s conditions, but the conditions he had to offer to Su Yang!
That was because he believed that since Su Yang mentioned Nindentou, he must have really studied Tencent’s business and knew how important Nindentou was to him.
Everyone present was smart. In business, if one wanted to obtain it, they had to pay the price first.
Seeing Mr. Ma’s reaction, Su Yang knew that the plan he had discussed with Zhao Licheng and Little Deeny was indeed feasible. He smiled and took a sip of water before saying, “We’ll talk about this when the time comes. I only hope that you’d be able to show sufficient sincerity, Mr. Ma.”
Mr. Ma looked at Su Yang and said seriously, “TTK is my down payment.”
In just one sentence, the company that he had invested more than 400 million yuan in, which was now worth a few billion yuan, was directly given to Su Yang with open arms. Undoubtedly, Mr. Ma had the guts to control the entire Tencent Empire.
However, Su Yang shook his head nonchalantly. “There’s no hurry. There’s no need for a downpayment. We can talk about it later.”
Initially, when Su Yang entered the restaurant, the atmosphere and flow of the situation were all under Mr. Ma’s control.
After working in the business world for so many years, he had gone from a small company to a multi-billion dollar business empire. Mr. Ma had his own aura. On the other hand, Su Yang was still too young, so he was influenced by Mr. Ma the moment he entered the business world.
But now…
Because of Su Yang’s shocking condition, the situation was completely reversed.
Mr. Ma’s heart was in a mess, and the calm and composed person had not become Su Yang instead…