Chapter 87

Chapter 35: Funding Gap

Lin Feng was taken aback by Ma Huateng's arrival, especially since Ma looked very serious, which made Lin Feng even more bewildered. Tencent was currently on a strong development trajectory, with over 100 million registered users and more than 100,000 members. Although it had not yet reached a break-even point, its potential and prospects were undeniable.

The others, including Liu Yingying, were shocked and excited to see the giant who had created China's instant messaging miracle appear at their company, just as fans would be excited to see a celebrity.

"Mr. Ma, let's talk inside." Lin Feng knew that Ma Huateng must have a specific reason for visiting. He ordered two cups of coffee and sat alone with Ma in the office.

Ma Huateng sipped the coffee gently, deep in thought. After a long while, he sighed lightly.

"Mr. Lin, first of all, congratulations. Your Qidian Fast Food has become the top choice for netizens in the public opinion survey," Ma Huateng congratulated Lin Feng.

"Hehe, it's all thanks to Mr. Ma's support. Without the strong promotion on Tencent's homepage, my Qidian Fast Food wouldn't have become famous so quickly," Lin Feng said humbly.

"Mutual benefit. Your news has brought a lot of traffic to Tencent," Ma Huateng smiled slightly.

After that, they remained silent for a long time.

"Mr. Lin, given the relationship between our two companies, I'll be straightforward," Ma Huateng finally said after a long pause. "Tencent is currently facing some financial difficulties and urgently needs funding. I want to offer you 5% of Tencent's original shares for 50 million RMB. What do you think?"

Lin Feng's heart raced. Buying 5% of Tencent's shares for 50 million RMB was definitely a good deal. In at most three years, Tencent would definitely list in Hong Kong, and at that time, the 5% shares would be worth over 3 billion RMB at their peak value. This investment was absolutely worthwhile.

But Lin Feng could only smile bitterly. The reason was simple: he had no money. The day before, Lin Feng had felt rich with over 1.3 million RMB in his account, but now he realized how poor he really was. He couldn't seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and he felt like slapping himself.

Seeing Lin Feng's expression, Ma Huateng's face changed.

"Mr. Lin, don't you even have 50 million RMB?" Ma Huateng wasn't just talking. He had done his research before coming. Lin Feng's Qidian Fast Food was currently very popular, and the number of merchants wanting to join was far more than those applying to McDonald's or KFC. Just the franchise fees alone would allow Lin Feng to buy Ma Huateng's 5% shares.

Ma Huateng knew that the franchise fee for McDonald's was 2.5 million RMB. Given the popularity and reputation of Qidian Fast Food, a 500,000 RMB franchise fee was reasonable. According to Ma Huateng's understanding, at least 100 merchants had recently applied for franchises.

Lin Feng shook his head helplessly and briefly explained his franchise contract to Ma Huateng. After listening, Ma Huateng wasn't sure whether to admire Lin Feng's moral principles or mock his rigidity.

Business is about profit. Giving up such a large market for just a good reputation, Ma Huateng wasn't sure if it was right or wrong. However, in Ma Huateng's mind, since McDonald's and KFC had been operating for so long, the oil issue shouldn't be a problem.

"Ah~" Ma Huateng, who had come with hope, looked disappointed upon learning that the funding had failed.

"What's wrong, Mr. Ma? Are you facing such a tight financial situation recently?" Lin Feng asked with concern.

"It's all because of your Dangdang Network's rapid development," Ma Huateng glared at Lin Feng, who was "standing and talking without feeling the pain." The reason for Tencent's recent financial shortage, besides bearing the server costs for Dangdang Network, was mainly due to its rapid development, especially after launching services like QQ Farm and Tencent Portal. The server costs were high, and hiring many talented people was the real cause of the financial shortage.

"Can't you find other investors?" Lin Feng didn't believe that with Tencent's current development, no investors would see its potential.

Ma Huateng shook his head and said resentfully, "Many investors have seen our financial issues and are offering very low prices. How can I possibly agree? It's an insult to Tencent."

Lin Feng shook his head helplessly. Business is like this; who could blame them for taking advantage of your financial difficulties?

"There is also a consortium willing to buy at a high price, but I don't want to sell my shares to them," Ma Huateng suddenly said.

"Why? Which consortium?" Lin Feng was surprised.

"The domestic IMH consortium, active in the entire Southeast Asian market. They offered 12 million USD for 10% of my shares and 5 million USD for 5% of my shares," Ma Huateng said.

Lin Feng calculated that the price was still reasonable, but if 10% of the shares were sold, according to Tencent's current equity structure, Ma Huateng and the founding team would only own 45% of the shares, which would not be a good signal for the company.

"Hmph, do you think I can't see through IMH's ambitions? They acquired 20% of Hong Kong's PCCW and are negotiating with IDG for an acquisition. Now they want to buy 10% of my shares, clearly aiming to swallow Tencent. Hmph, do you think I'm that stupid?" Ma Huateng said disdainfully.

Lin Feng was shocked to hear that a consortium had already targeted Tencent for acquisition, and this IMH consortium clearly had a huge appetite and a very positive view of Tencent's prospects.

"By the way, Mr. Lin, has any company approached you to buy the 5% of Tencent shares you hold?" Ma Huateng stared at Lin Feng intently and asked nervously.

Lin Feng shook his head, which relieved Ma Huateng. However, Ma Huateng didn't know that IMH had already made a move, but it was ruined by Xia Qianhe's pride. Xia Qianhe wanted to drive Lin Feng to a dead end and then appear as a savior to buy the shares. Even if Xia Qianhe had revealed his identity from the beginning, Lin Feng wouldn't have sold the 5% of Tencent shares, as he was very clear about their value.

"Mr. Lin, I have a request. Before Tencent goes public, if you need to sell the 5% of Tencent shares you hold due to other issues, could you sell them to me first? I will buy them at a reasonable market price," Ma Huateng took out a contract. This was his second purpose for the visit: to ensure that the 5% of shares Lin Feng held were not sold to others. Although Ma Huateng currently had no funds to buy the shares, he could not tolerate the possibility of Tencent being taken over by others.

Lin Feng signed the contract without hesitation. He had no intention of selling the 5% of shares now, so why not do Ma Huateng a favor? For someone at Ma Huateng's level, this favor was not trivial, and if Lin Feng needed help in the future, Ma Huateng would be hard-pressed to refuse.

"Hehe, thank you, Mr. Lin. However, I hope you don't sell these 5% of shares. I believe they will bring you a substantial return," Ma Huateng sighed in relief after seeing Lin Feng sign. Although the primary goal of his trip to Chu City was not achieved, ensuring that the 5% of shares were not acquired by IMH was a significant relief.

"Hehe, don't worry. I am very optimistic about Tencent's market prospects. However, I also hope you don't sell the 5% of Dangdang Network shares. I believe their future value will also surprise you," Lin Feng laughed heartily.

Ma Huateng's heart skipped a beat. To be honest, to raise funds recently, he had indeed considered selling 5% of Dangdang Network's shares. Given Dangdang Network's current popularity and potential, the 5% of shares, though not comparable to 5% of Tencent's shares, were worth about 5 million RMB. Although not much, it would be enough to alleviate Tencent's financial issues.

Since Lin Feng hasn't raised the funds, should I sell the 5% of Dangdang Network shares I hold? — Ma Huateng was deep in thought. He was also very optimistic about Dangdang Network's potential and future prospects. The 5% of Dangdang Network shares he held would certainly be worth a fortune in the future. However, Tencent was his own creation, and if there was no other way, Ma Huateng would have to sell the 5% of Dangdang Network shares to temporarily alleviate the company's financial situation.

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