"Brother-in-law, you're not thinking of buying this Atari, are you!" Seeing Huang He lost in thought looking at the stocks, Leng Zhiruo couldn't help but say. She already knew her brother-in-law very well.
Indeed, Huang He nodded, "That's right. This company has already gone bankrupt, and its stocks are worthless. But with the 10% of shares I hold, I can directly apply for reorganization as a shareholder and then strip out the remaining quality assets of the company."
"Brother-in-law, this company has already gone through bankruptcy liquidation, and everything before was sold off. What quality assets are you still hoping for?"
"I don't need anything else, as long as I have the company Atari itself and the brand behind it, that's enough." Huang He smiled slightly. "Zhiruo, go help me find that lawyer from this morning. Let him see how much money it would take if I want to acquire Atari using these 10% shares!"
Leng Zhiruo found herself unable to keep up with Huang He's thinking. However, since Huang He was going to do it, she couldn't stop him and went to find the lawyer for him.
After some investigation, the lawyer discovered that it would only cost about 500,000 US dollars to successfully acquire Atari through bankruptcy reorganization.
However, at this time, Atari only had over 200 game brand IPs left. This number sounded quite large, but they were all for games with extremely low sales. All the IPs for games that people could remember had already been sold off.
Besides that, the only thing left was the brand name Atari itself.
"Only 500,000? I'll buy it!" Knowing the result, Huang He was immediately delighted. Without a second word, he acquired Atari. It was only a mere 500,000 US dollars, not much to buy it.
As for what use Atari would be, Huang He himself hadn't figured it out yet, but it would eventually be useful.
Huang He let the lawyer handle these matters for him and didn't pay much attention to them. By evening, he, along with Leng Zhiruo and little Swift, appeared at Reed Hastings's house.
Little Swift, at this moment, looked at the luxurious villa in front of him with some nervousness, squirming uncomfortably, feeling like a person trapped in a condom.
This was because the suit was completely unsuited to little Swift's habits. The stiff, somewhat restrictive suit, the tie that tightly choked his neck, and the hairspray that made his scalp itch, were all completely different from little Swift's usual dressing habits, making him feel uncomfortable all over.
But this was what Huang He had requested, and he didn't dare to refuse.
Earlier that morning, two people had found him, claiming to be stylists. They took him shopping all over California's luxury stores and styling shops, finally spending a full 80,000 US dollars to put together this outfit for him.
Of course, this was also normal. When attending an investment gathering, if one didn't have decent attire, they wouldn't be able to make a convincing impression.
Meanwhile, compared to little Swift's lavish attire, Huang He and Leng Zhiruo were dressed much more casually. Although they were also in suits and evening gowns, their quality was clearly a notch below little Swift's, making them look like mere followers trailing behind him.
However, this was precisely the effect Huang He wanted. He was here to play the role of little Swift's follower. By not drawing attention, little Swift would be the shield Huang He was putting forward this time.
As expected, when little Swift appeared at the door, although the two guards at the entrance were surprised by the combination of a black man with two Asians, they still respectfully saluted little Swift upon seeing his impressive attire. When little Swift revealed his identity as the president of Western Mavericks Investment Company, he was warmly invited into the estate.
Reed Hastings's estate was about the size of 10 basketball courts. In the center was a 3-story villa, with two smaller houses on each side. In the front was a patch of pure lawn, with no trees obstructing the view.
This was a very American-style estate. However, one shouldn't assume that Reed Hastings was incredibly wealthy because of this. In fact, Reed Hastings's net worth was only at a mid-level, around 10 million US dollars.
As for this estate, it wasn't worth much. Los Gatos, though sounding somewhat grand, was actually just a suburban town in California. Purchasing an estate in this location primarily involved construction costs, while land acquisition costs were negligible.
Otherwise, if Reed Hastings were truly fabulously wealthy, he wouldn't need to host such an investment gathering for his company here; he could just invest in his own company and achieve rapid development, couldn't he?
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to my home..." At the appointed time, Reed Hastings gave a brief speech and then announced the start of the banquet.
Then, many waiters brought out all sorts of food and placed them on tables in the garden. Everyone could freely choose their food as they walked around. This was a very standard American party, with no novelty.
However, little Swift's eyes lit up as he looked at the food on the tables. He was a poor black man who, while not to the point of starvation, usually ate fast food like KFC and McDonald's and never even had the chance to eat fresh vegetables.
And now, the food laid out on the tables were all top-tier delicacies that little Swift could never afford. Moreover, since morning, little Swift had been getting his hair done and learning etiquette, and hadn't even had time to eat. He was already starving at this moment.
"Sir, may I have something to eat?" little Swift asked with a timid smile.
"Of course, my president!" Huang He smiled and said, "You can eat anything you want!"
Little Swift felt as if he had been granted a great pardon and then began to feast.
However, little Swift remembered Huang He's instructions and did not show any embarrassing gluttonous behavior. He just ate slowly, appearing very elegant and casual.
At that time, he was entirely focused on eating, so his speed was astonishing. Huang He watched him consume food from over ten plates in just ten minutes.
Thirty minutes later, little Swift patted his bulging stomach, took a satisfied sip of coke, and then looked at Huang He with a bit of embarrassment.
"It's quite peaceful, but no one has come to mock us, which leaves me wondering how to show off!" Huang He sighed.
"Brother-in-law, what do you mean?" Leng Zhiruo asked curiously from the side.
"Well, I thought our mixed-race group would definitely elicit disdain and displeasure from many white gentlemen present, who would then come to provoke us, saying we were just there to join the fun and definitely had no money to acquire Netflix."
"At that time, I could take out my money and slap their faces. Unfortunately, these people didn't play according to the script. Not a single person came to provoke us!" Huang He said with a chuckle.
"Yes, indeed, no one has provoked us. But brother-in-law, haven't you noticed that no one has come to talk to us either?" Leng Zhiruo said with a wry smile. "Not only is no one talking to us, but within a one-meter radius centered around us, besides the waiters, no one is willing to come closer.
"I think they probably don't even deign to provoke us!"
"That's really the case!" Huang He chuckled. "Never mind, if they don't deign to, then so be it. Anyway, I'm not interested in making friends with these guys. But why hasn't this Reed Hastings announced the investment bidding or anything? It's already almost 9 PM!"
Huang He didn't know that it wasn't that everyone disdained them. In fact, there was still one person taking pictures of them with his camera.
However, the focus of the camera was not on Huang He, but on little Swift.
"California's first black investor, this is a good piece of news!" The photographer was a reporter, also black, and one of only two black people at the estate this time. So, when he saw little Swift, his compatriot, he was very excited.
This was because there had never been an investor among black people, let alone such a figure in California. So, when he saw little Swift, he was very excited and aimed his camera lens entirely at him. Anyway, other prominent figures would naturally be photographed by other reporters.
Around 9:00 PM, Reed Hastings picked up the microphone again and said, "Thank you, friends, for coming to my place and being willing to invest in my Netflix company."
"You all might be very curious about how we will decide my investor today?"
"Some people suggested that I hold an auction today, but I rejected it because it would be detrimental to the dignity of gentlemen. So, I have a more interesting method!" After Reed Hastings finished speaking, people carried an mailbox.
"Everyone, this is a mailbox. At the same time, you can go to the location on my left to pick up envelopes, paper, and pens. This time, I will give up 40% of Netflix's shares. You can write down how much money you are willing to invest to purchase these shares in an envelope and then put it into the mailbox."
"I will invite three of the highest bidders to discuss further and find a friend who best aligns with my and Netflix's development philosophy to grow together. Thank you all!"