Chapter 216 All Out

Having hung up the phone, Pei Qian began to fret.

Why were those other companies, the ones he wasn't so familiar with, joining in the fun?

Pei Qian quickly guessed the reason.

Looking at the initial entrants, there were investment companies, real estate companies, second-generation rich kids, and game companies. And among them was even a behemoth like Shenhua Real Estate!

What level was Shenhua Real Estate? They were playing with football clubs now, and a player's transfer fee had to be at least twenty million!

And it would be even higher in a few years.

In the beginning, the domestic football league was also half-dead, but after Shenhua Real Estate and a few other large real estate companies entered, they started throwing money around like crazy, instantly building up their reputation. Although the club was constantly burning money, the advertising fees they saved alone were more than worth it.

For Shenhua Real Estate, a player's transfer fee could buy them an esports club to play with, and one that could get results directly, which was quite a bargain.

The GPL was being managed by Boss Pei; if it succeeded, everyone would be happy. If it failed, they could just throw away the ten million yuan, no heartache.

But Shenhua Real Estate's entry instantly became a weather vane!

The previous TV program had already been calling on companies to cooperate more with Tengda, saying it would definitely be no harm. So, Tengda's current actions were being watched by many large companies.

As soon as there was any sign of movement, they would immediately flock to it.

After all, Tengda had created so many business miracles and discovered so many industry trends, which was not a lie.

In addition, a famous economist endorsed the "Tengda Model," and its appeal was definitely not to be underestimated.

And when the news of selling GPL league slots and ready-made teams came out, these companies immediately felt that they had sniffed out the trend.

Although the previous esports clubs were not making money, what kind of stuff were those esports clubs before?

There were rich second-generation kids playing around, internet-addicted teenagers organizing themselves, leveling studios developing them… In short, not a single regular army.

But what kind of companies were coming to bid for the GPL?

Shenhua, a domestic giant, with Shenhua Real Estate being a top player in the domestic football circle;

Xue Zhebing, although also a rich second-generation kid, was different from other rich second-generation kids; his family was particularly rich;

Tianhuo Studio, a top-notch domestic game studio, although its reputation was not as good as Tengda's, it made a lot of money.

What was this called?

This was called a regular army!

The bosses and capital behind these clubs were not on the same level as the previous ones. Could they be compared?

These people thought that the GPL had potential, which meant that it was definitely profitable. Once they got involved, more capital would definitely follow.

So, those companies that had been paying attention to Tengda were all moving at the sound of the wind, and they all expressed their desire to bid.

They didn't care about the outside world's opinion at all.

Public opinion could be influenced and guided, and ordinary netizens didn't know any inside information. They were just eating melons and stirring up trouble.

What really determined these companies' choices were these leading companies!

Pei Qian instantly felt discouraged.

Crap!

These companies all wanted to buy the GoG division and join the GPL league, but there were only six clubs preparing to sell the GoG division in total. Didn't that mean that they had all found third-party buyers?

In this way, Tengda would neither need to backstop nor need to pay liquidated damages.

Ugh!

Another good opportunity to burn money was messed up by these people!

Pei Qian was quite looking forward to the auction, hoping that no one would take over these GoG divisions, so he could happily accept them.

Now, it was boring.

Because whether these GoG divisions were sold or not had nothing to do with him; Tengda could not bid against third-party buyers.

Pei Qian silently sighed.

Forget it, let it be, just treat it as a waste of time.

However, Pei Qian had just taken two sips of coffee when the phone rang again.

He picked it up and saw that it was Zhang Yuan calling.

Pei Qian: "?"

He hurriedly answered the phone.

"Boss Pei! I just told those six clubs about the auction, and then… hey, Boss Pei, you didn't already guess, did you?"

Pei Qian: "?"

Guess what? What did I guess!

Can you stop talking halfway!

Pei Qian was speechless. "And then what?"

Zhang Yuan said excitedly, "Then, three of the clubs decided not to sell!"

Pei Qian was stunned.

Not selling?

Can't you have some contract spirit? You said you were going to sell, why did you change your mind again?

Hey, that's not right, didn't we already sign the contract?

Pei Qian was a little puzzled. "Didn't we already sign the agency contract? If they don't sell, they have to pay liquidated damages!"

Zhang Yuan laughed. "So, Boss Pei, your trick is brilliant!"

"Those clubs really wanted to sell the GoG division at a higher price at first, and then buy a cybercafe team at a low price in the future and come back."

"Precisely because of this, they signed this contract."

"But now, the wind has completely changed!"

"Shenhua and these companies have entered the game, and the number of bidding companies has instantly increased to ten. Although the bidding has not officially started yet, the value will definitely have to be increased by at least 30% to 40%!"

"This is not a good thing. These clubs are very clear that although they can sell at a high price now, it also means that a large number of companies are watching the GPL slot!"

"Moreover, the GPL hasn't even started yet, and so many people are already fighting for it. When it starts, won't it be even more competitive?"

"They thought clearly that once they sell the division and GPL slot for more than ten million now, it will be difficult to buy it back for thirty or forty million in the future!"

"But if they don't sell, it won't work; the contract is here."

"So, they would rather pay two or three million in liquidated damages than sell! Because if they sell, they will lose even more in the future!"

"Boss Pei, with your little trick, another ten million is in the bag!"

Pei Qian listened to Zhang Yuan's overjoyed voice on the phone, and his whole person was in a daze.

No, the reason why I added the liquidated damages clause to the contract was to pay it myself!

It wasn't to earn these clubs' money!

But it was too late to say anything now; the contract had been signed, and Tengda had no possibility of breaching the contract at all.

He could only accept ten million from these three clubs with tears in his eyes!

For a time, Pei Qian was speechless.

"Then… what about the other three clubs that insist on continuing to sell? Is SUG still selling?" Pei Qian asked.

Zhang Yuan: "SUG is still selling! These three companies are obviously stubborn and still gambling. They firmly believe that selling now can sell at a high price, and there will be opportunities to re-enter in the future."

Pei Qian: "…"

He didn't know whether to be happy or sad.

Hearing no response on the other end of the phone for a long time, Zhang Yuan tentatively asked, "Boss Pei, then… what about the bidding? Originally, we were selling six, but now we can only sell three."

Pei Qian was somewhat lifeless. "What do you think?"

He didn't have any ideas now. It was already like this, so just sell it however you want.

Or did Zhang Yuan have other ideas?

Zhang Yuan smiled slightly and said, "Boss Pei, my opinion is the same as yours."

Pei Qian: "?"

My opinion? What is my opinion?

Zhang Yuan continued, "Didn't you foresee that only a small number of clubs would be left?"

"Now there are more than a dozen companies bidding, but there are only three slots. These buyers will definitely raise the price like crazy!"

"After all, these companies are not short of money, and people have the mentality of buying high and not buying low. The scarcer the slots, the more fiercely they will grab them!"

"Three slots, bid for a round first; then we have more GPL slots in our hands. We will release two or three more in the next wave and let them grab again…"

"Repeating this cycle will definitely maximize the benefits of the GPL…"

Pei Qian was shocked. "Absolutely not!"

Zhang Yuan: "?"

Just listening to Zhang Yuan's description, Pei Qian had already foreseen his tragic fate in the future.

Pei Qian took a deep breath. "How many GPL slots do we have left?"

Zhang Yuan was stunned for a moment. "Uh, Boss Pei, didn't we originally plan to arrange 12 to 16 teams? There are a total of ten old clubs in Jingzhou. Four of them are not selling, and of the six that plan to sell, three have backed down and are preparing to pay liquidated damages."

"So, in addition to the GPL slots of the three clubs that are still going to sell, we have 2 to 6 slots left. You decide how many to release."

Pei Qian immediately said, "Throw out all the remaining six slots! Don't keep a single one!"

If they really did as Zhang Yuan said, keeping them in hand and selling them one by one, they would definitely earn more and more.

That would definitely not work!

These companies already had their eyes on the GPL slots. It was useless to persuade them now, so he might as well sell them all at once while the price of the GPL slots was not very high.

He would earn more now, but wouldn't he have nothing to earn in the future?

Between two evils, choose the lesser one. Since they were both earning, they should definitely choose the plan that earned less.

Zhang Yuan was stunned for a moment. "Sell them all? Then it will be difficult to expand in the future, Boss Pei."

"Moreover, releasing so many slots at once will definitely lower the price of each slot. It's not very cost-effective."

The more teams in the league, the more intensive the schedule will be. Sixteen teams mean that there may only be one or two days of rest a week, and there will be games to play at other times.

This is something that is difficult to imagine for the current esports circle.

Most games don't even have a league, and even if they do, there may only be five or six teams playing back and forth.

The GPL is good. It wants to have 16 teams right from the start?

Isn't that a bit unnecessary?

Zhang Yuan felt that it would be best to have 12 teams playing, and add one team every year in the future. This was the choice that would maximize profits.

Pei Qian's attitude was firm. "Don't consider things in the future. Sell all the slots now!"

Zhang Yuan: "Then… what is the reserve price?"

Pei Qian thought for a while. "No reserve price. Whatever the auction price is, that's what it is."

Zhang Yuan was stunned. "Boss Pei, then we have to extend the deadline, right? After all, we didn't say we were selling GPL slots before. Now that we suddenly want to sell them, we have to give everyone a few days to prepare, right?"

Pei Qian was silent.

Plans could not keep up with changes.

He didn't plan to sell GPL slots at first, but since the longer he dragged it on, the higher the selling price would be, it was better to sell them as soon as possible. It would be best to sell them at a low price before everyone realized that this thing was very valuable.

In this way, there would be fewer pits in the future.

"Then give everyone three days. The auction will start in three days. The GoG divisions of these three clubs and the remaining six GPL slots will be auctioned together!"

"We will sell them for whatever price they fetch, and we will never raise the price ourselves!"