My Age of Investment

   "The differences in valuation can be put aside for the time being. The important thing is whether you want to inject a new growth impetus into Facebook, which has already fallen into a growth bottleneck?"

In the office of Goldman Sachs in Silicon Valley, David Solomon, the co-head of the investment banking department, seemed to have lost all his patience. With his hands on the table, he leaned down and his eyes were like sharp knives across the group of people sitting opposite him. In his words, he pointed out mercilessly the major problems Facebook is currently facing, that is, the number of users and revenue growth have begun to slow down, and the stock price has continued to decline.

  The problem reflected behind this is that the market lacks expectations and investor confidence continues to be weakened.

   And Android can just become the big tonic that the weak Facebook needs most, help Facebook revive with full blood, and win more favor and blessing in the capital market.

   "David, are you okay? Please don't get excited. If you really don't want to talk, we won't waste half a month with you here."

After all, the negotiator Charles Halak, a negotiator selected by many institutional shareholders such as BlackRock Group and Pioneer Group, took a sip of coffee slowly, and joked with a smile: "A small suggestion, the coffee should be replaced. The taste is good, and I feel a little sleepy after drinking too much."

  Hearing this, Yang Zhiyuan, who was sitting next to him, couldn't help but twitched the corner of his mouth, and forced himself not to laugh. It was these people who played finance with their tongues, not only easily defusing the opponent's verbal offensive, but also kicking the ball back.

   On the surface, it is said that it is time to change the coffee, but in fact it means that the conditions for the opening of Gaosheng should be changed.

  David Solomon touched his bald head of the same style as the big boss Blankfein, just two words, headache!

  A month ago, when he suddenly received a task assigned to him by the CEO, he was quite happy in his heart. He felt that this was the performance of the big boss who reused and cultivated himself, so he launched a due diligence on Android.

  After some simple due diligence, the eager David Solomon, in order to finalize the deal as soon as possible, showed his ability, and immediately invited representatives from Facebook to start the acquisition negotiations on Android.

I thought it was a sure-fire business, but when the negotiation started, David Solomon realized that he was thinking too much. This case was no different from the cases he had experienced in the past. Even because of the huge amount involved, the negotiation started It will be even harder and harder.

   On the other hand, his good boss, Blankfein, called from time to time to express his concerns. The subtext was to urge him to hurry up and get the deal done as soon as possible.

  If the opponent is younger and weaker, David Solomon has enough confidence to successfully complete this task in a short time.

   But the opponent is not a soft persimmon. Qing Yishui's top financial experts in the industry are not only familiar with various negotiation routines, but also have rich experience in mergers and acquisitions.

  After several rounds of sparring, David Solomon didn't get half a favor from these people at all.

  Especially Charles Halak, the one with the worst mouth on the opposite side, who would sneer at himself from time to time.

Get angry, but David Solomon has nothing to do with this guy. In terms of status, the other party is the director of Facebook, the chief operating officer of BlackRock, and also the intended successor of the world's largest asset management institution. .

  Even if David Solomon gets his wish and becomes the CEO of Goldman Sachs in the future, he is not qualified to win in front of Charles Hallack, let alone coercion and temptation.

   You can’t play routines or take shortcuts, so David Solomon can only honestly fight with Charles Hallack, picking words and negotiating conditions bit by bit.

   "Charles, you have to understand that Android is the number one mobile operating system in the world today, and its market share is far ahead of all other competitors, almost accounting for half of the entire smartphone market.

  Believe it or not, if we let the word out that we were selling Android, people would line up from Palo Alto to San Francisco. "

Charles Hallack shook his head with a smile, and after a while, he slowly uttered a sentence that left David Solomon speechless: "I know what you said, but Darren will definitely not agree, because only Facebook is the most suitable buyer for Facebook."

  David Solomon suddenly felt dizzy, because the other party was right. Xia Jingxing and his family office and trust fund, as important shareholders of Facebook, were also important factors that were unfavorable to the progress of this negotiation.

  Charles, a stinky and shameless guy, has always grasped this point, and even tried to use it as a bargaining chip to force him to lower the price of selling Android.

  If you want other unimportant items, you will make concessions.

But Goldman Sachs, as the exclusive financial advisor entrusted by Android this time, not only bears Darren Xia's deep trust in Goldman Sachs on their shoulders, but also the final remuneration Goldman Sachs received in this transaction is also the same as the sale price of Android. Hooked, unless it is absolutely necessary, how dare he give in easily.

   If he really negotiated a disappointing price and went back, even if Derren Xia didn't mind, Blankfein would not let him off lightly.

  Goldman Sachs' internal promotion rules are very cruel. If you don't go up, you will go down. An incompetent professional manager is destined not to inherit the position of CEO that makes countless people covetous.

  This negotiation is both an opportunity and a test for him, and it is related to his future.

  “Mr. Bill Gates has never given up on the idea of ​​acquiring Android. In addition, companies such as SAP, Salesforce, and Amazon are also interested in entering the smartphone market.

  Android has no shortage of high-quality buyers, and the reason why it was the first to find Facebook for negotiation was only because Daren was nostalgic for the past and wanted to give priority to his own people. "

  David Solomon's defense caused Charles Hallack to sneer, "Fortunately, you are still Darren's client, and you really don't know him at all.

  Daren is a technology entrepreneur with the longest vision I have ever met. He must know the trade-offs between short-term and long-term interests.

  Selling Android to other companies will not only kill a leading company in the industry, but also lose a future and long-term development dividend.

  He wouldn't do that, I know him. "

  David Solomon replied blankly: "You know what you think! Darren's personal career focus has been fully shifted to China, and the United States has nothing he is nostalgic for anymore.

  Haven't you heard? Vision Capital has liquidated all hedge funds.

  He is selling assets, and the long-term benefits are far less realistic than putting them in his pocket now. "

  Charles Hallack nodded slightly, and then said: "I heard about it, but hasn't he sold all his Facebook shares yet? Maybe he figured it out soon and changed his mind?"

  David Solomon glanced at Charles, who was sitting directly opposite him, and felt annoyed for a while, because the other party kept biting him to death, and Xia Jingxing had to sell Android to Facebook.

  This point is not difficult to judge. No matter how David Solomon explains it, it cannot conceal the fact that Andrew will eventually need to join a "power that is relatively close to Xia Jingxing and has no industrial competition".

Selling to companies like Microsoft and Amazon is definitely not as close as selling to Facebook. In case Xia Jingxing has conflicts with these companies in the future, Fuxing Mobile has to worry about being stuck suddenly, for example, as soon as the AMS service is cut off. , It can directly paralyze Fuxing mobile phone in overseas markets.

   And selling Android to Facebook can completely avoid the above extreme situation? In fact, not necessarily, the key depends on who is putting pressure behind it.

  The only good thing about selling to Facebook is that you don't have to worry about suppression from the business level, at least while Christina is still firmly in control of Facebook.

   With such a period of time as a buffer, the spare tire plan that Fuxing Industry has developed in China should also be able to be improved to a large extent.

  David Solomon certainly didn't know that Fuxing Industry had also developed a Hongmeng system that had been kept in the dark in China, but he simply judged that Xia Jingxing had to sell Android to Facebook, so he was overwhelmed in negotiations and gradually fell into a disadvantage.

  However, as the co-head of Goldman Sachs' investment banking business department, David Solomon is not a vegetarian. He soon changed his negotiation thinking and was no longer led by Charles Hallak.

   "Charles, there is one thing I have to remind you carefully, what Daren hates the most in his life is when someone threatens him.

  Selling Android to Facebook may be the best choice, but it is not an inevitable choice.

  If you continue to lower the purchase price with this idea of ​​taking advantage, I think there is no need for us to continue negotiating.

  I will report all the negotiation process today to Darren, and he will decide whether to continue the next negotiation. "

   After finishing speaking, David Solomon directly put on a posture to stop the negotiation.

  Charles Hallack still had a smile on his face, not angry at all.

   Then he shrugged gracefully, "Okay, enough talk for today, it's time for both of us to cool off our heads.

  You can continue to ask Darren for instructions slowly. It’s not too late to call me if you have any new plans. "

   After finishing speaking, Charles gave Yang Zhiyuan and other entourage a wink, motioning to leave.

   Soon, a group of people left, leaving only David Solomon and other Goldman Sachs negotiators in the conference room.

   Then, David Solomon, who was in a bad mood, drove away all his subordinates like a fly, and sat in a chair alone in a daze, thinking about how to break the deadlock in the negotiations that made him very uncomfortable.

   Not long after, the mobile phone on the table rang, and David Solomon picked it up, his brows gradually knit into a ball, and the urging came again!

   "David, how's the talk going? Any surprises for me?"

   "Uh...not ideal, to be honest."

   "Oh, I don't want to hear that, you know. Give me an exact timetable, and if that doesn't work, replace it sooner."

  The indifference shown in Blank's Sanskrit tone made David Solomon tremble all over, and hurriedly swore and swore: "Give me another month, and I promise to solve this case."

   "We don't have that much time."

  David Solomon hesitated for a while, but in the end he didn’t hide anything, and bravely explained all the difficulties encountered in the negotiation, especially the fact that Xia Jingxing had not sold Android to Facebook, which made him very upset.

   Without this restriction, he could have sprayed Charles into autism, how could he let that guy show off his prestige.

   "Damn! You wait for my call."

   After cursing, Blankfein hung up the phone, then hurriedly dialed Xia Jingxing's phone, and the first thing he said was: "Daeron, we must play a show together."