To calm himself a little, though many investors showed hesitation after seeing his strong stance, no one took concrete action. This indicated that the atmosphere had not been swayed by Fan Jie.
However, delays could be costly, so Xiao Ma Ge intended to finalize the contracts as soon as possible. Before he could say more to expedite the process, two mobile phones rang simultaneously.
"Excuse us!" Two investors glanced at their phones before promptly leaving the room to take their calls.
Initially, Xiao Ma Ge assumed it was a coincidence. To his surprise, soon all the investors’ phones began ringing one after another. They all hurried out of the room to answer their calls, leaving the entire room empty. This made Xiao Ma Ge instinctively feel that something was wrong.
"Chairman, oo has made a move!" Xiao Ma Ge's secretary rushed over, placing a report in front of him. Xiao Ma Ge took a look and saw that oo had announced they would be releasing a version update at 2 PM that day, simultaneously opening up their oo group function and oo file transfer function.
"Damn it, how could they be so fast!" Xiao Ma Ge was somewhat aghast. He had originally estimated that oo would need about three months for the version update. To have completed it in just half a month was astonishing. Xiao Ma Ge was acutely aware of the immense difficulty behind such speed.
"oo is indeed the strongest competitor in the world. To go from nothing to this in just 15 days, their programmer team has likely surpassed our QQ team. It’s truly terrifying!" Xiao Ma Ge mused. However, at the same time, a sense of pride ignited within him.
This proved that QQ groups and QQ file transfer were extremely important functions. oo must have completely underestimated these features, and they were definitely a last-minute copy, otherwise they would have released them immediately.
Xiao Ma Ge estimated that during these 15 days, the entire oo team likely hadn't had a single hour of rest, working around the clock in shifts to rush development, thus completing the version update within 15 days.
Most importantly, this also solidified the fact that oo was copying QQ.
Therefore, Xiao Ma Ge immediately instructed his secretary, "Tell Yu Xiao Yang's team to immediately promote this on all forums and condemn oo's act of copying our QQ!"
Xiao Ma Ge had learned his lesson. Previous public opinion storms on forums had significantly harmed QQ. This time, Xiao Ma Ge intended to shift the accusation of plagiarism onto oo, seeking revenge for past grievances.
Just as Xiao Ma Ge was contemplating how to leverage this situation, the investors who had stepped out began to return.
However, while they had returned, the atmosphere in the room was noticeably different. For instance, Xiao Ma Ge could previously sense the imminent signing of contracts, but now there was a distinct tension, as if they were back at the beginning of negotiations.
"This is bad, oo's update must have made these guys waver again!" Xiao Ma Ge realized. If these investors had simultaneously stepped out to take calls, there could only be one explanation: they had all received calls from their respective companies informing them about oo's update.
With oo updating with new group and file transfer functions, the entire landscape would immediately change, and these investors would undoubtedly need to reconsider their investment plans.
"The people at oo must have found out. They deliberately timed this version update to coincide with my financing to sabotage my plans!" Xiao Ma Ge saw through Huang He's scheming immediately.
"Gentlemen, let me be direct. I have just received news from oo, and I believe you have all received the same information. Shall we speak openly?" Xiao Ma Ge cut to the chase, seizing the initiative in the negotiation.
"Indeed!" Since Xiao Ma Ge had brought it up, the investors present no longer feigned ignorance. Fan Jie from CITIC Investment, who had spoken earlier, said, "Mr. Ma, if I recall correctly, just a few days ago, you explicitly assured us that oo would need at least three months to complete their version update. Yet, they have now completed it in just 15 days. So, is it possible that your promise during negotiations to recapture market share above 65% within three months cannot be fulfilled?"
"That's right!" The investors present nodded in agreement. The reason they were willing to invest 800 million RMB for 60% of the shares, paying double the price of SoftBank Capital just a few months prior, was because Xiao Ma Ge had promised them that QQ would regain over 65% market share. Additionally, their Lian Zhong gaming center would seek out games comparable to Warcraft III globally, thoroughly opening up the domestic e-sports market. Finally, like Jiangnan, they would earn astonishing profits by selling game blind boxes!
After all, industry rumors suggested that Jiangnan Group's monthly blind box sales were close to 300 million RMB. QQ didn't need 300 million; even 50 million a month would see their 800 million RMB investment skyrocket in a short period!
They could also look forward to Tengda going public in a few years, at which point their 800 million RMB investment would yield returns of several times, and so on.
But now, oo had completed their version update two and a half months ahead of schedule. This made it incredibly difficult to aim for 65% market share. While QQ still held an advantage and Xiao Ma Ge had promised to acquire high-quality games, these were all intangible, future prospects. Only oo's version update was clearly visible.
"Being 15 days late is still late. oo has been surpassed by us!" Xiao Ma Ge replied. "To be honest, I may not be able to guarantee surpassing 65% market share within three months, but we currently hold the advantage. Furthermore, the lead in QQ groups and QQ file transfer demonstrates our superior product development philosophy.
"Therefore, within six months, I can assure you all that our market share will exceed 65%!" Although Xiao Ma Ge himself lacked confidence, he knew he couldn't back down now; he had to project confidence.
"Heh heh!" The investors present all chuckled. They were all seasoned players; confidence was easy to claim. They didn't believe in words; they only believed in market changes.
In the past, oo, with nothing, almost took down QQ. Now, with oo backed by the mighty Jiangnan Group, QQ's chances of failure were extremely high, and the likelihood of their 800 million RMB investment going down the drain was also very high.
If before oo's update, they felt their chances of investment success were 50%, then their expectation for this probability had now dropped to 40%, or even 35%. Therefore, they needed to carefully consider the matter of the 800 million RMB.
As a result, the once hot investment meeting stalled. The planned signings were all deferred by the investors with various excuses, and the negotiations dragged on for another three days.
During these three days, with the launch of oo's group and file transfer functions, oo's market share began to rebound. Although the increase wasn't significant, it rose from 44% back to 46%, narrowing the gap to within 10%. This further fueled the investors' doubts.
However, these investors were also unwilling to miss out on the opportunity with QQ. After all, oo was currently so popular that Fortune magazine had valued the entire Jiangnan Group at 1.2 billion USD. oo, due to the presence of QQ games, was valued at 500 million USD, or 4 billion RMB.
If QQ could eventually achieve 200 million USD in valuation, their 800 million RMB investment would be profitable. If it reached 300 million USD, they would make several hundred million. Moreover, it was obvious to anyone that the online market would continue to grow in the future, as internet users and computer users were still a minority. This market had at least 20 years of development ahead. 300 million USD could easily become 3 billion USD, so they were willing to take a gamble.
Amidst this indecision, a turning point finally arrived, initiated by Fan Jie from CITIC Investment.
On the first day of renewed negotiations, Fan Jie began by directly stating, "Mr. Ma, after careful consideration and research by everyone at CITIC Capital, we believe QQ is still worth investing in, but our confidence is very low.
"Therefore, I have two suggestions. First, the 60% stake remains unchanged, but the total investment amount will be reduced from 800 million RMB to 500 million RMB.
"Second, the operating rights clause in the contract will be removed and replaced with a new clause: if QQ's market share falls below 40%, the board of directors will no longer guarantee the operating rights of the Tengda team. The board, with a simple majority vote, will have the right to dismiss you and your team.
"Please do not misunderstand; we still have no intention of seizing your company. We simply require your assurance, rather than handing over the money blindly!"
"Indeed!"
"Exactly!"
"Mr. Fan's suggestion is very reasonable!"
Unlike Fan Jie's previous proposal, which had met with no response, this time, almost all investors, except for SoftBank Capital, expressed their agreement with the proposal.
This made Xiao Ma Ge sweat. It meant that CITIC Capital had reached a consensus with other investment institutions. Tengda must choose one of the two options, or the financing negotiation would end entirely.
These were the top investment institutions in the country. If this financing negotiation failed, other domestic investment institutions would likely lack the courage to invest in projects rejected by these major players. This meant that Tengda would be unlikely to find investors in the short term.
"What choice should I make?" Xiao Ma Ge appeared calm on the surface, but his heart churned. Refusing the investment was out of the question, so he had to choose one of the two options.
The reduction of 800 million RMB to 500 million RMB, a drop of 300 million RMB, left Xiao Ma Ge extremely unwilling.
The second option, while risking the loss of company management, still had the condition of a 40% market share threshold. As long as he could maintain the market share above 40%, these people would not have the right to take away his management rights.
40%? It shouldn't be possible, right?
If, in the future, it truly dropped to 40%, he probably wouldn't have the confidence to defeat oo.
"Forget it. Believe in yourself. You will not lose!" Xiao Ma Ge clenched his fist and finally made his choice.