My Peninsula 2007

Chapter 491 Inevitable
An Rusong's lips twitched, and he took the cigarette from his mouth, flicked it against the ashtray, and then said, "What, is BlackRock planning to take over the ICQ business?"

He paused, then continued, "If that's the case, their choice of entry point isn't very wise. If it were up to me, I'd rather abandon ICQ and choose Yahoo Messenger, since the latter currently has a much higher market share."

"Yahoo Messenger" was previously considered one of the world's three major instant messaging software programs, along with MSN and ICQ. However, with the emergence of NGN, the so-called "three major" has become "four major," and among them, NGN's number of registered users far exceeds that of ICQ and Yahoo Messenger.

However, compared to NGN, the "Big Three" have one advantage: because there is an interconnection protocol between the "Big Three," users of ICQ, MSN, and Yahoo Messenger can exchange information with each other.

As a newcomer to the instant messaging software field, and one with a rapidly growing number of registered users, NGN naturally faced rejection from the "Big Three" (Microsoft, Microsoft, and Microsoft). For some time, NGN, led by An Rusong, attempted to achieve interoperability with MSN, but Microsoft's response was lukewarm.

“Hehe, Anne, just like I said, you have misunderstood BlackRock’s intentions,” Leonard laughed. “You’ve assumed an unfriendly, even greedy, stance towards BlackRock. But in reality, BlackRock is very sincere about cooperating with NGN. Mr. Larry is optimistic about NGN’s future and wants to invest in NGN to achieve a win-win situation with you.”

Seeing that An Rusong's lips moved as if he wanted to speak, he quickened his pace and continued, "BlackRock's acquisition of ICQ is not intended to put pressure on you. Mr. Larry hopes to give ICQ to you as a gift, so that you can integrate it into NGN and thus promote NGN's leapfrog development."

His words surprised An Rusong. Regardless of whether what he said was true or not, from a positive perspective, if NGN really had the opportunity to incorporate ICQ into its own system, it would indeed have a great positive impact on NGN's development.

Firstly, if NGN can acquire ICQ, then after achieving interoperability between the two, NGN can easily attract ICQ's huge number of registered users, thereby easily expanding into the European market.

Secondly, ICQ has accumulated a series of technical patents over its ten-year development history. If NGN can acquire it, these technical patents will be included in NGN's patent portfolio, which will greatly benefit NGN's development.

In addition, although ICQ, controlled by AOL, has faced setbacks in the past few years, its basic technical team still exists. The maintenance and development team of more than 2,000 people is a valuable resource for NGN today, and NGN needs them.

Finally, there's the operational aspect – strategic acquisitions like these are the most fundamental means for IT companies to expand their ecosystem.

As a reborn individual, An Rusong possesses a wealth of memories from his previous life, which are like a treasure trove. Even with his own abilities, he could lead NGN to success. However, his energy is ultimately limited. If he had to do everything himself, it would not only slow down NGN's development but also hinder its market share.

Therefore, reasonable and effective acquisitions are the only way for NGN to expand rapidly and seize the largest market share in the instant messaging field in the shortest possible time.

In short, for some time now, An Rusong wasn't unwilling to acquire ICQ; in fact, one could say he wanted to acquire not only ICQ, but also MSN and Yahoo! Messenger if possible. The problem was that he lacked both the financial strength and the qualifications to do so.

Take AOL's ICQ business as an example. BlackRock could launch an acquisition against AOL and even negotiate the price down to under $2 million. But if he were to negotiate, not only would AOL not pay attention to him, but even if they did decide to sell to him, the price they offered would not be $2 million; it would be more like double that.

As for MSN and Yahoo! Messenger, forget about it. Microsoft and Yahoo! are even thinking about acquiring NGN.

Seeing that An Rusong had fallen silent, Leonard did not delve any further into the topic. He reached into the pocket of his uniform, took out a folded envelope, unfolded it, and handed it to An Rusong, saying, "This is a letter that Ms. Susan asked me to pass on to you. She hopes that you will carefully consider the cooperation with BlackRock. She believes it is a win-win cooperation."

An Rusong reached out and took the envelope, opened the seal, and pulled out the letter inside.

The letter was printed, two pages long, and entirely in Korean, not English. An Rusong took a drag of his cigarette, then frowned as he read through the letter.

In this letter, Ms. Susan, who never appeared in person, did not discuss the methods and conditions of cooperation between BlackRock and NGN. She simply spoke from the perspective of an investor, outlining the current problems facing the IT industry, mainly the policy regulations that the US government will impose on the IT industry.

Susan first pointed out that with the rapid development of NGN, especially the surge in its user base in North America, the protection of user privacy will quickly become a key concern for the US government. However, user privacy is a rather abstract concept for internet software.

Take NGN users as an example. What is privacy? The answer is that all personal information belonging to a user is considered privacy, including their gender, age, home address, contact information, and so on. So, when a user registers an NGN account, does the system require them to provide this information? Are user-to-user communication messages archived on the server? Are personal photos posted by users on the "Photo Wall" stored on the server?

If the relevant U.S. government departments take this seriously, then if any of these issues are involved, NGN will be suspected of leaking user information, and the relevant U.S. regulatory departments could launch some form of investigation into NGN.

In short, if the US government claims you are suspected of leaking user privacy, then you have this problem. Even if you have no problem, your servers will not be open to any third party, and the US government can investigate you and make it impossible for you to continue operating.

Secondly, the second question Susan raised concerns monopolies.

NGN is currently developing rapidly, and its market share in the instant messaging software market is climbing quickly. Meanwhile, to further promote NGN's development, An Rusong is also pursuing a software localization strategy. If all goes well, once NGN completes its second round of financing and has more funds available, it will inevitably launch a new round of strategic expansion.

The development of NGN will inevitably infringe on the interests of similar software and companies. Competitors such as MSN, ICQ, and Yahoo! Messenger will certainly not sit idly by and watch NGN gradually erode their market share. Therefore, as NGN continues to develop, they will inevitably create various obstacles for NGN.

In this process, using existing US antitrust laws, such as the Sherman Act, to file an antitrust lawsuit against NGN is undoubtedly the most effective approach.

Of course, such a lawsuit doesn't guarantee a win for the opposing party, but if NGN gets involved in litigation, it will inevitably impact its development. Most importantly, NGN is a South Korean company, not an American one. Therefore, if NGN goes to court against companies like Microsoft or AOL, it will most likely suffer losses.

So how can the NGN circumvent these two problems? Susan suggests that if the NGN wants to operate in the United States, and even in its allies, it must have its own lobbying partners. Only by exerting influence in Washington through these partners can it maximize its own interests.

At the end of the letter, Susan stated that BlackRock possesses a large and powerful lobbying team, as well as a wealth of investment funds. Therefore, it can provide all the necessary support for NGN's stable and rapid development. Ultimately, BlackRock is the best partner for NGN's development.

After quickly glancing through the letter in his hand, An Rusong let out a soft breath, folded the letter again, and stuffed it back into the envelope.

Undoubtedly, the two issues Susan raised in her letter are indeed problems that NGN will inevitably encounter in its future development. Don't mention any cooperation between NGN and the US National Security Agency; such cooperation cannot guarantee An Rusong's personal interests in NGN's future development.

As Leonard said, if An Rusong wants to maintain his actual control over NGN, he must share this lucrative pie with truly capable players. In this process, he can leverage the help of these powerful players to make the pie bigger and more lucrative. If he can do this, he will get a slice of it, while the powerful players will also ensure his control over NGN.

If one day he is unable to continue expanding the business, or if his control over NGN begins to hinder its normal development, then his resignation will be inevitable—a path that modern enterprises must eventually take, unless An Rusong has no intention of raising funds or expanding NGN.

(End of this chapter)