Chapter 51

Prince Zixuan also felt something was off; it seemed he had underestimated something.

Going public?

Yes, Le Shi Network will be listed on the domestic Growth Enterprise Market, and it should be this year.

Youku and Tudou, on the other hand, are listed on the NASDAQ in the United States. Prince Zixuan still had some impressions of Youku and Tudou. Both companies applied for listing at about the same time, but the CEO of Tudou's wife filed for divorce, involving asset division, which forced the listing process to be halted.

Youku went public first, with a significant increase in opening price, reaching a market value of over $3 billion.

A year later, Tudou went public, with a market value of only $700 million.

Both had similar market shares, but the valuation difference was more than four times.

The capital market is like this. In fact, Youku, Tudou, and Weibo were all losing money, but NASDAQ only needed a good story. As long as the story was well-told, it could fetch a high price.

Now, "The Voice of China" is the best story. Whoever gets "The Voice of China" can tell their story better and secure a huge sum from the capital market.

In that case, the online copyright for "The Voice of China" is not just 100 million.

Prince Zixuan smiled and said, "Since all the CEOs are interested, let's start the auction. Each bid will be 10 million higher."

The CEOs looked at each other, and Zhang Chaoyang was the first to say, "I bid 110 million."

The other CEOs looked at each other, and the CEO of Youku said, "I bid 120 million."

...

Chen Zuming watched as the CEOs kept raising the bid by 10 million each time, and he felt terrible.

Was he the fool?

Or were these CEOs the fools?

Didn't everyone say that tens of millions were already sky-high prices?

Why did the competition become even more intense when the price exceeded 100 million?

"200 million."

As the price kept rising, the CEOs all became red-eyed.

Except for Le Shi Network, which had a slight profit, the other websites were all losing money. To maintain the development of the websites, they could only raise funds round after round by selling equity.

Except for Sohu, which was backed by a group and was not short of cash, the other companies did not have much cash on hand. However, for this program that could change the market share, they could only keep raising the bid.

Seeing everyone grit their teeth and raise the bid, the CEOs felt they could not give up. They all wanted to tear each other apart.

Crazy.

They were all crazy.

Chen Zuming thought he had seen a lot recently, but seeing the CEOs almost fighting to the death, he was about to go crazy too.

Seeing Prince Zixuan's smiling face, which did not seem surprised, Chen Zuming really wanted to ask, "Why is this happening?"

But he was afraid of breaking this bizarre situation and could only uncomfortably continue being the only fool in the meeting room.

"300 million."

Zhang Chaoyang fiercely shouted out a price, glaring at the other CEOs.

The other CEOs looked at each other, all exhausted and leaning back in their chairs.

300 million!

No matter what, they could not come up with that much cash, and it would be difficult to explain to the other shareholders.

Each CEO had communicated with the other shareholders before coming, and "The Voice of China" could not be treated as an ordinary program, but each company had its limits.

Prince Zixuan waited a few seconds and smiled, "Is anyone going to raise the bid? This is absolutely a battle that will change the industry. If no one raises the bid, it will go to Sohu."

Prince Zixuan's gaze swept over each CEO.

Jia Yue, the chairman of Le Shi Network, saw Prince Zixuan's gaze, gritted his teeth, and sat up, shouting, "310 million."

The capital market is a place for telling stories.

Perhaps the United States was not yet fully recognizing Prince Zixuan, but his status in the domestic market absolutely surpassed Buffett.

Le Shi Network was preparing to go public domestically, and if it could be associated with Prince Zixuan, it would definitely be wildly pursued by market investors.

A valuation doubling was not impossible, and the 40% of shares he held could increase by a billion or so.

Zhang Chaoyang had just relaxed when he saw a new competitor, and without hesitation, he said, "320 million."

Jia Yue seemed to have made up his mind and did not hesitate, shouting, "330 million."

Zhang Chaoyang frowned and said, "340 million."

"350 million."

Sohu's large cash reserves were originally intended for Weibo, but Prince Zixuan's appearance made Zhang Chaoyang hesitant before the battle even began.

The video business was another important development direction for Sohu.

The prospects for Weibo were not optimistic, and if the video business did not develop well, Sohu would have nothing competitive except for Sogou.

This was why Zhang Chaoyang was gritting his teeth and bidding a high price.

In the mutual bidding, the price quickly broke 400 million.

"450 million."

When Zhang Chaoyang glared at Jia Yue and shouted out this sky-high price, Jia Yue closed his eyes, thought for a moment, and sighed, "I give up."

Zhang Chaoyang did not relax this time and looked at the other CEOs.

The others all shook their heads; it would be difficult to convince the other shareholders to bid such a high price.

Seeing this, Prince Zixuan smiled and said, "Since no one is raising the bid, I will announce that the copyright for 'The Voice of China' has been auctioned to Sohu for 450 million."

Zhang Chaoyang also relaxed, stood up, and extended his hand to Prince Zixuan, smiling, "Pleasure to work with you."

Prince Zixuan shook hands with Zhang Chaoyang and smiled, "Sohu has made a good deal. When Zhang CEO splits Sohu Video and lists it, the market value will be at least 2 to 3 billion dollars."

Zhang Chaoyang had not thought that much. Youku and Tudou's current valuations were only a few hundred million dollars, so he smiled, "Thanks for the good words, Mr. Wang. I hope in a few years, everyone will say I made a good investment."

Prince Zixuan smiled, "It won't take a few years; you'll know soon that this is a good investment. If it's convenient for the CEOs, let's go for a meal after we sign the documents."

"Sure."

The CEOs also wanted to chat with Prince Zixuan, this god of wealth.

Chen Zuming went out to get the documents, and Prince Zixuan and Zhang Chaoyang signed them.

The group then went downstairs to the hotel Chen Zuming had booked.

Chen Zuming did not take his own car but got into Prince Zixuan's car.

As soon as he got in, he could not wait to ask, "Is 'The Voice of China' really that valuable?"

Prince Zixuan shook his head and said, "The value of 'The Voice of China' is not that high, but it appeared at the right time. Youku, Tudou, and Le Shi Network are all planning to go public. If they can increase their market share at this time, their valuations will be much higher. Unfortunately, the equity of these companies is too dispersed, and they still need to explain to their shareholders. Otherwise, they could have bid a much higher price."

Chen Zuming nodded and said, "I see."

Prince Zixuan smiled and said, "If I now buy 10% of a company worth hundreds of millions for one dollar, and I don't do anything for them, do you think anyone would be willing?"

Chen Zuming was stunned and shook his head, "A company worth hundreds of millions, 10% of the shares is tens of millions. How could it be sold for one dollar?"

Prince Zixuan smiled and said, "You still don't understand the capital market. There will definitely be people willing, and many of them. Because by giving me 10% of the shares, their company will be worth 1 to 2 billion. Just like stocks that Buffett likes, they will definitely be pursued."

Chen Zuming doubted, "Then if you find more such companies, wouldn't you become the world's richest person?"

Prince Zixuan smiled and said, "The market recognizes you because your investments are accurate, and people can make money following you. If you invest randomly, who would still support you? I can turn stones into gold, but I can't do it randomly."