Yang Zhiyuan had a cooperative relationship with SoftBank in the early stages of Yahoo's development, receiving a large amount of financing from Masayoshi Son.

To this day, SoftBank Japan remains a major shareholder of Yahoo.

In other countries, the largest shareholder of Yahoo's websites is the U.S. Yahoo headquarters, but Yahoo Japan is an exception. SoftBank owns 51% of Yahoo Japan, while the parent company is the second-largest shareholder.

This shows how close the relationship between the two sides is.

Upon hearing that SoftBank was preparing to offer around $1.2 billion to acquire Google from him, Su Yehao crossed his legs. The cigar in his fingers burned, sending up wisps of white smoke.

Many things instantly clicked in his head.

For example, why Yang Zhiyuan suddenly contacted him today, how he knew he had come to Silicon Valley, and why he would suddenly comment on Google, pointing out its lack of long-term advantages.

In Su Yehao's opinion, Google had probably been targeted for a while.

On the one hand, Google's rapid expansion was likely putting pressure on Yahoo. On the other hand, it might also be related to SoftBank's senior management being optimistic about Google's prospects.

To some extent, Yahoo's interests were SoftBank's interests.

If Yang Zhiyuan joined forces with SoftBank and Masayoshi Son to jointly fund the acquisition of Google, it would mean solving a potential competitor and continuing to increase Yahoo's share of the global search engine market.

At the same time, it would also allow SoftBank to take another good project, firmly grasping the industry's dominant position.

Su Yehao was only the sixth-largest shareholder of Yahoo. He could ignore his interests in Yahoo and jump out to invest in Google. If done well, the returns could be maximized.

However, the vast majority of SoftBank and Yang Zhiyuan's assets were in Yahoo. If Google was allowed to further squeeze market share, it would inevitably affect their returns.

Taking a puff of his cigar, Su Yehao pondered for a moment and then smiled:

"Since my KOKO Venture Capital acquired Google, it has cost me about $100 million, all told. Now you want to acquire it for $1.2 billion. You really think highly of this company."

Hearing the word "you," Yang Zhiyuan didn't refute it, but smiled and replied:

"Yahoo's business model is too singular. Acquiring Google for diversified development isn't a bad thing for us. I'm serious. I discussed it with Mr. Masayoshi Son before coming here. As long as you agree to this price, we can sign the contract in the next few days. In just over half a year, you'll have earned $1.1 billion through Google, and the value of your shares in Yahoo will also increase sharply. You'll make money on both sides."

"...The return is indeed quite high."

"Yes, and I heard you're acquiring land in Hong Kong and investing in building factories in China. Cashing out would ease the pressure on your cash flow." Yang Zhiyuan continued.

Su Yehao's expression was a little strange.

He mainly thought about how he had always heard people say that Yang Zhiyuan had poor judgment, missing out on Google and Facebook one after another, and finally rejecting Microsoft's acquisition offer, which ultimately killed Yahoo.

Su Yehao didn't know the specific details, but this time his judgment seemed okay.

The reason for this was probably that Google's development momentum was too strong. It had gained four million new users in just over half a year. Although old users still preferred Yahoo, many new netizens preferred the simple and precise Google.

Yahoo had secretly conducted a questionnaire survey on this point, with data to support it.

If it had developed slowly as it did in his previous life, neither Yang Zhiyuan nor SoftBank's Masayoshi Son would have taken Google seriously.

Now, with Su Yehao pouring money into it regardless of cost, the situation had immediately become more tricky. Google's dazzling development had made many venture capital firms see its potential, treating it as the next Yahoo.

Yahoo's market value was already very high, gradually reaching the ceiling for internet companies, but Google was a new company with far greater potential for growth and appreciation than Yahoo.

If Su Yehao chose to seek external financing, allowing Google to receive other financial support, Yahoo's situation would become increasingly passive.

After all, the story of the little sweetie turning into the bull lady was all too common in the eyes of capital. Since they could previously support Yahoo to break through the siege, there was no reason why they couldn't support another company.

Yang Zhiyuan had been standing on the cloud for a while and was long past the point of naively believing that capital would be sentimental.

He could imagine in advance that the shareholders who were making money now and the lunatics who would short it in the future were likely to be the same people.

Su Yehao frowned slightly, first thinking of reasons to refuse, because in his opinion, Google had vast potential for appreciation, and selling it now was like throwing away the goose that laid the golden eggs.

Then he realized.

If he rejected Yang Zhiyuan and Masayoshi Son today, he would likely face endless suppression and competition in the future.

Their initial offer of $1.2 billion was enough to show that they already attached great importance to Google. Peaceful coexistence was not in Yahoo's interest at all. Competition and suppression were the norm in the business world. For example, Yanwenzi Group, even if it didn't make money, wouldn't place advertisements for its competitors.

Su Yehao didn't think his relationship with Yang Zhiyuan was good enough to ignore the conflict of interest.

He also had to consider the internet bubble. The valuation and market value of a batch of companies had far exceeded the companies' actual performance. Even using growth investment to explain it seemed a bit forced.

If he cashed out some of it, or sold Google directly, although he would lose some of the returns, he could take advantage of the mess to buy the dip in Amazon, Apple, TSMC, ASML...

His brain was rarely working this fast.

After thinking for a few seconds, Su Yehao continued, "It's a bit sudden. Let me think about it before we talk. I'm quite optimistic about Google's future. The global search engine market is so big that it can accommodate two search engine companies."

Yang Zhiyuan nodded, but said:

"I personally think it's okay, but other shareholders already have opinions. I'm not the only one who makes the decisions on the board of directors. If there's an opportunity to take most of the market, who would be willing to give it to others? In business, it's either win or lose. If there was an instant messaging software company competing with your Yanwenzi Group, I believe you wouldn't sit idly by, would you? Last month, someone wrote an article praising Google in The New York Times, and Yahoo's stock price fell 2.6% the next day."

Hearing some implicit messages, Su Yehao realized... he was being ostracized by other Yahoo shareholders.

He took another puff of his cigar and poured a glass of red wine for Yin Liuli, who was sitting next to him.

Su Yehao replied:

"I understand what you mean. Actually, I'm quite lazy. As long as there's a chance to make money easily, I'll try to avoid competing with anyone. I need to study the acquisition matter first. There should be a way for us to reach an agreement. Let's not play cards. I'll go to Google first and ask for the opinions of my partners."

The so-called partners only held a little bit of stock in total. Yang Zhiyuan certainly knew this.

Today wasn't about playing cards in the first place, so Yang Zhiyuan didn't stop him. He personally escorted Su Yehao out of the cigar salon and gave him a box of Danish King cigars as a small gift.

Although there were disagreements between the companies, they were both Chinese and both super-rich entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley. If it wasn't absolutely necessary, he didn't want to have too much of a falling out with Su Yehao.

As Yahoo's COO, Yang Zhiyuan had to consider the interests of the company and its shareholders. Su Yehao understood this, so he wasn't emotional.

In the end, it was all about weighing each other's interests, just as the saying goes, there are no permanent friends, and no permanent enemies.

Happily accepting the box of cigars, Su Yehao got into the car and left.

He really intended to go to Larry Page and the others to talk about the acquisition and seek some good advice...