Chapter 1476 Undercurrents Swirling in Finger Company

The more Meng Chang listened, the more he felt that there was something fishy going on behind the scenes.

He didn't interrupt, but continued to listen intently.

Fan Xiaodong paused slightly and said, "If the news that the Dayaak Group is going to sell Finger Company is true, then the higher-ups at Finger Company must also have their own considerations and plans."

"After hearing the rumors, I've been observing the movements of the Finger Company executives through various channels, and I've finally discovered some clues."

"There's an executive at Finger Company named Charles Kotick. Unlike the designers like Cretian, he was one of the co-founders of Finger Company from the very beginning. He's not a designer, but he was the main financial backer. At its peak, he held nearly 40% of Finger Company's shares, making him a real power player who truly calls the shots at Finger Company."

"What's more, after Finger Company was acquired by the Dayaak Group, he gained the deep trust of the Dayaak Group and unsurprisingly won over the other co-founders to become the CEO of Finger Company."

"After Dayaak Group bled heavily, gave Tengda a large sum of money, and forcibly passed a privatization offer to delist Finger Company and gain complete control, it went through a lot of twists and turns and relisted. And in this process, Dayaak Group very generously gave Charles about 10% of the shares!"

"It can be seen that Charles is deeply trusted by the Dayaak Group, and it is no exaggeration to say that he is the real controller of Finger Company."

Meng Chang nodded slightly, which was not difficult to understand.

The Dayaak Group went to great lengths to take back the shares from Tengda because they considered Tengda to be an enemy, a competitor. Keeping the shares and the rights to operate the national server in Tengda's hands would cause great harm to IOI, so they spared no expense to take them back.

Distributing some shares to the Finger Company executives was to motivate them to design IOI well and earn more money.

Delisting was to gain complete control, and relisting was to re-enter the capital market and obtain more benefits.

Among the executives of Finger Company, the Dayaak Group valued Charles the most. As for why… perhaps it was because he grew into the shape that capital liked.

In this regard, executives who understand capital operation are much more pleasing than those who only know how to design games foolishly.

Fan Xiaodong continued, "Then, after investigating, I found that Charles seemed to be lobbying everywhere. He successfully persuaded four investment institutions to jointly fund the establishment of an investment company, registered in the Cayman Islands."

"In addition, he also established a fund management company with his younger brother. Structurally, this fund management company is the sole partner of that investment company, that is, the actual manager of the funds."

Meng Chang quickly understood: "So... this new investment company, established by four investment companies, is actually controlled by this fund management company, and this fund management company is controlled by Charles and his brother. As for the four investment companies that jointly funded the company... they are actually just the financial backers behind the scenes and do not participate in actual management."

Fan Xiaodong: "Yes! This is very interesting. Why did Charles go to so much trouble to establish this investment company? Since it is an investment company, it has to invest in something, right? And what reason did he use to convince these four large investment companies to contribute money and become financial backers?"

Meng Chang thought for a moment and said, "He... wants to force a palace coup? Wants to intercept!"

Fan Xiaodong nodded: "Yes! That's the only explanation!"

"Obviously, the Dayaak Group regards Finger Company as a negative asset and wants to sell it, but Charles doesn't think so. After all, he is the co-founder of Finger Company and a veteran of the game industry. No one understands the value of electronic games and the value of Finger Company better than him."

"Charles sees this sale by the Dayaak Group as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

"He should want to take advantage of the fact that other potential buyers are waiting and see, and try to lower the value of Finger Company as much as possible, forcing the Dayaak Group to sell it to himself at a relatively low price."

"Of course, I don't know exactly how to do it. I guess Charles should be, on the one hand, fooling the Dayaak Group that IOI is no longer good and that no one will offer more generous terms than this, and on the other hand, putting pressure on the Dayaak Group through other channels, such as some investment companies that have invested in Dayaak Group projects."

"Although there is an advisory group appointed by the Dayaak Group within Finger Company, responsible for analyzing potential buyers and their offers, Charles is, after all, the CEO of Finger Company. He can completely obstruct it in various ways, and even use his CEO power to dissolve this advisory group."

"Since Charles has made up his mind to do so, he must have a relatively high degree of certainty."

Meng Chang pondered for a moment, then smiled: "Sure enough, only capital can defeat capital."

"Pei is not the only one who has accurately grasped the weakness of the Dayaak Group."

"This Charles, on the surface, is the CEO of Finger Company, working diligently for the Dayaak Group, but once he encounters such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, he will also show his fangs and want to turn over and become the master."

"The key is... he really has a great chance of success!"

"Assuming he can really make good use of this opportunity, fool the Dayaak Group by various means, and try to create some negative news to lower the value of Finger Company, while trying to facilitate the transaction, then he can really make a lot of money."

"As CEO, he has great power. As long as he inadvertently leaks a little negative news, Finger Company's stock price will continue to fall."

"But there are also risks in doing so, so the action must be fast!"

"The Dayaak Group has contacted some buyers privately, but the negotiations have not gone well. This is because the intention to run away is too obvious. These buyers feel like they are being taken advantage of and are not optimistic about Finger Company's prospects, so they are still waiting and seeing. If they don't make a move, Charles can buy back the shares from the Dayaak Group at a low price. But if it drags on for too long and other companies wake up, they may compete with Charles."

"Moreover, Charles's operation looks very high-end and dazzling, but the more complex the operation, the bigger the problems. It must violate some detailed regulations and provisions, and it will definitely affect other people, especially the interests of minority shareholders. These people will not give up and will definitely sue Charles in court, hoping to suspend the transaction."

"Of course, Charles will also have a strong legal team and will not lose easily, but he can't afford to delay. So, the most likely outcome is that they will reach an out-of-court settlement, and Charles will pay to avoid disaster. But no matter what, as long as this happens, it will inevitably delay a long time."

"The only variable in this is... President Pei!"

"So you came to ask me what President Pei thinks about this matter?"

Fan Xiaodong was very happy. It was easy to talk to smart people: "Yes, if President Pei doesn't take action, the final result will most likely be that Finger Company successfully redeems itself, but strictly speaking, it's not a redemption, it should be said that Charles becomes the biggest winner."

"But if President Pei takes action... then it's hard to say. No one can guess what President Pei will do."

Meng Chang considered for a long time and then said, "I think... President Pei may buy Finger Company."

"Since Charles thinks this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and wants to lower the value of Finger Company, then for President Pei, this is also a very cost-effective deal."

"Although GOG is now invincible in the world, IOI is still a very potential competitor and still has influence worldwide."

"If he buys it, it is equivalent to having the entire MOBA game market in his hands. At that time, if IOI makes money, President Pei will not lose; if IOI cools down, then it is equivalent to GOG completely dominating the world, and President Pei will still not lose!"

"I think President Pei should be able to see this kind of thing."

"Moreover, President Pei's set of combo punches against IOI through GOG, especially the various activities during the Spring Festival, show that President Pei has put a lot of effort into this matter. I don't believe that there are no follow-up moves."

Fan Xiaodong was also excited: "Yes, that's what I wanted to say!"

"Assuming President Pei takes action, what will happen? Charles has painstakingly done a lot of preparatory work and is preparing to take over at a low price when Tengda appears! The Dayaak Group will naturally be overjoyed. Anyway, they are going to sell, so it doesn't matter who they sell to, as long as the money is right!"

"At that time, it will become a bidding war between the two sides. Although Charles has a lot of money on hand, he is obviously no match for Tengda."

"Then... the shares of Finger Company will experience a situation of first a sharp drop, and then a sharp rise..."

"If we can buy in at the lowest point and sell at the highest point, then, even if we don't actually participate in the transaction, we can profit from it."

"But the only problem now is, does President Pei intend to take action? If President Pei doesn't take action and the stock price doesn't rise, then buying stocks will be a complete waste of money."

Meng Chang thought for a while: "Leave this matter to me. I'll go to President Pei to report on my work later. I'll think of a way to bring up this matter casually and see President Pei's attitude."

Fan Xiaodong hurriedly said, "Be careful, President Pei is so smart. If he sees our intentions, it might backfire."

Meng Chang patted his chest and replied with great certainty: "Don't worry! I've roughly figured out President Pei's temper now, and there won't be any problems."

Fan Xiaodong was very happy: "Okay, as long as we have accurate news, we will buy Finger Company's stock. This time, we may not earn as much as before, but it will definitely be considerable!"

Without accurate news from Meng Chang, even if Fan Xiaodong saw this opportunity, he would definitely not dare to take action.

The reason is simple: the risk is too great!

A slight mistake could turn a huge profit into a huge loss.

But if he can get definite news from President Pei, it will be completely different!