Who would still start a business seriously after being reborn?

Chapter 652 Do I look like an idiot to you?
President's Office, Momo Technology Industrial Park, Jingzhou City.

Cheng Yi was also waiting for Liu Guiwu's reply. For him, the buyback plan was nothing more than transferring money from one pocket to another, giving the Momo system a makeover. However, if he could get the support of the National Information Industry Association, it would mean something completely different.

Cheng Yi is well aware that operating systems are very difficult to export.

With just one company like Enze Capital, they simply couldn't stop the Wintel alliance.

Even if the Momo system remains only in China, the Wintel alliance will still not let the Momo Group off easily.

Microsoft is still putting pressure on Enze Capital. If that pressure fails, then their most common tactic will be sanctions.

Just the CPU and motherboard chipset alone are enough to make them roll their eyes in frustration.

However, China is the home base of Momo Group, and even if they roll their eyes, they must make the Chinese market as solid as a rock.

Only when the rear is stable can we truly venture overseas.

The most difficult thing for Asian companies is when their rear is attacked. This is true for Sanyo Group and Toshiba Group. Once they are caught in a situation where they cannot take care of both ends, even a huge group like Sanyo Group, the strongest in Asia, can collapse.

Those American financial groups are best at using capital to cut directly into their opponents' rear.

However, the luckiest thing about Momo Group is that it is a Chinese company, not a Japanese or Korean company.

No matter how powerful the American conglomerates are, they can only enter the market according to Chinese rules.

They don't have the same strong oppressive power in China as they do in Japan and South Korea, so their methods in China are nothing more than the same three tricks.

The first move was to bring state-owned enterprises into the fold and establish a company.

The second approach is to share copyrights to enhance trust.

The third move was to inject huge sums of money to clear out the market.

But when they find they can't clear the obstacles, trouble ensues.

We can only keep repeating the same three tricks...

Continue to attract more state-owned enterprises to expand the scale, continue to introduce new copyrighted technologies to increase influence, and then continue to invest huge sums of money to launch offensives...

Now, Waters has just finished his three-pronged attack, investing billions of dollars and working hard for four or five months, only to find it was all for naught.

As night fell, Cheng Yi's phone finally rang.

Caller ID: Liu Guiwu.

As soon as the call connected, Liu Guiwu's excited voice came from the other end: "Cheng Yi, it's approved, unanimously approved."

"The third round of meetings among the group's senior executives has just concluded, and they unanimously decided that Huaxia Software Group will fully participate in the strategic repurchase of the Moc-os system," Liu Guiwu said excitedly. "This afternoon, I also gave a special report to the association's main leaders, who attached great importance to it and stated on the spot that this is a historic opportunity to break the foreign monopoly and achieve independent control of information technology. They will also mobilize all resources to support you. You can tell us how much funding you need, and we will coordinate with banks to provide low-interest or interest-free loans."

Even though Cheng Yi already knew the result, when he heard the words "unanimous approval" and "full support," his hand holding the phone still tightened unconsciously.

He anticipated that it would pass, but he did not expect the resistance to be so small and the support to be so strong and so fast.

This also demonstrates that the current scale and influence of the Moc-os system in China have made the top leadership realize its irreplaceable strategic value.

He took a deep breath and smiled, "That's wonderful. With the country and you as my backers, I feel completely reassured."

"Hahaha." Liu Guiwu laughed heartily and said, "Cheng Yi, don't flatter me. The next battle is going to be tough for you. The negotiations with Enze Capital must start as soon as possible and we must make sure we win. Otherwise, we'll all be disappointed and it will be quite a blow."

“I understand, Uncle Liu.” Cheng Yi said calmly, “I will assemble a negotiation team immediately. Since Huang Ganping is leading the team, please also ask the group and the association to send some elite personnel, especially legal and financial experts. We want to fight a brilliant acquisition battle at the negotiating table.”

Cheng Yi asked Liu Guiwu to send experts so that Liu Guiwu could feel somewhat involved.

This acquisition is nothing more than transferring money from one pocket to another; it doesn't require any experts.
No matter how much money is discussed or how much is paid, doesn't it all end up in his pocket in the end?
Thinking of this, Cheng Yi couldn't help but smile.

I wonder if Waters can withstand his ambidextrous fighting style.
Microsoft's tech giants are increasingly curious about Lei Jun's identity. Despite Cheng Yi's heavy investment in concealing his identity and the fact that his nationality has changed repeatedly, passing through dozens of hands among warlords and tribes in the Middle East, Microsoft's corporate spies are still relentlessly pursuing him.

Sometimes, these industrial spies, while investigating, uncover some of the private hobbies of a warlord.

After that, no such person could be found.

But soon, new corporate spies took their place.

Lei Jun's identity seems to have become a favorite puzzle for IT giants.

Upon hearing that he could actually participate in this historic event, Liu Guiwu immediately became happy and said, "No problem, I will personally take the lead in coordinating it."

After hanging up the phone, Cheng Yi paced around his office for a few steps and instructed his assistant, Li Weiwei, "Weiwei, immediately notify General Manager Huang Wenrong and have him bring his team to my office in half an hour. Also, prepare a detailed assessment report framework covering all intellectual property rights, technical architecture, market data, and three-year development plans for the Moc-os system, using the group's highest level of confidentiality."

"Yes, President Cheng." Li Weiwei sensed an unusual sense of urgency in Cheng Yi's tone.

After hanging up the phone, Cheng Yi walked to the window and gazed into the distance.

Once the buyback program begins, it signifies that their war with Microsoft has entered a completely new phase.

The previous covert battle of market offense and defense has escalated to a higher-dimensional showdown involving national capital, international finance, and top-level business negotiations. "Waters, you want to use capital to pressure me?" Cheng Yi muttered to himself, "Then let's see if you can withstand my ambidextrous fighting skills."

Cheng Yi is well aware that he is not only working to achieve the localization of Moc-os, but also to secure sufficient benefits and strategic buffers for Enze Capital so that he can lead the European semiconductor industry to a breakthrough.

Not long after, Huang Wenrong, looking tired, walked into the office with several key members of his team.

He had just finished a video conference with the European team and felt the pressure Mike was under.

“President Cheng,” Huang Wenrong spoke first, his voice a little hoarse, “Mike’s emotions are not very stable. The pressure from Microsoft is far beyond expectations. The European Commission’s inquiry letter has been sent to Enze Capital, and FCN in the United States is also monitoring its fund flow. He is like sitting on a volcano right now, and his future is uncertain.”

Cheng Yi nodded, stubbed out his cigarette, and said, "Therefore, our repurchase plan must be accelerated. Vice Chairman Liu has agreed to jointly invest in the establishment of a new company. You are the person in charge of the specific operation, so tell me your ideas."

“Okay.” Huang Wenrong placed his laptop on the table and quickly opened a file containing a complex equity and asset structure diagram.

“President Cheng.” His tone returned to its usual calm and professional as he said, “Directly acquiring the equity of Cayman Momo Group is a complex process that could easily trigger minority shareholder rights clauses and would take too long. I suggest that we adopt an asset divestiture and targeted acquisition approach.”

"The first step is to establish a brand new Momo Operating System Co., Ltd. in Jingzhou. The equity structure will be as agreed upon by you and Vice President Liu, with us holding 80% and Huaxia Software Group holding 20%."

"The second step is for this new company to directly acquire 60% of the perpetual rights to all core assets related to the Moc-os operating system, including intellectual property rights, trademarks, and source code, from our Momo Group. Note that this is the acquisition of specific asset rights, not company equity. The advantage of doing this is clear separation of rights and responsibilities, avoiding potential disputes."

Cheng Yi nodded thoughtfully and said, "Asset acquisition is indeed more efficient than equity acquisition. So, the most crucial question is, how should the consideration be designed?"

Huang Wenrong switched to the PowerPoint presentation, showcasing a meticulously designed pricing model.

"That's the key point. I propose a combination of cash and contingent payment."

"The initial cash payment is set between $5.5 million and $6 million. This money will be contributed by the new company's shareholders in proportion to their investments. Although the amount is huge, it is still within an acceptable range after being distributed, and it can immediately alleviate Mike's cash flow anxiety."

"The remaining majority of the consideration is linked to the future performance of the Moc-os system in China. We have set a five-year profit payment plan. For example, within five years after the transaction is completed, 35% of the annual net profit generated by the Moc-os system in China will be paid to Enze Capital as a royalty. At the same time, a total payment cap of US$18 billion is set, and the obligation will automatically terminate after the five-year period or when the payment cap is reached."

"The advantage of this plan is that it links most of our acquisition cost to the future profitability of the system. If the system is successful, it is worthwhile for us to pay this part of the cost; if the development is not as expected, our actual expenditure is also limited. For Enze Capital, they not only received the initial cash payment, but also retained an option to share the dividends of future high-speed growth, which will be very attractive at the negotiating table."

"Mm." Cheng Yi nodded slowly.

Huang Wenrong knew that Enze Capital was his own business, so he took the proposal much more seriously.

Because the solutions they're currently developing are simply self-justifying.

Only if the repurchase plan is handled perfectly can it be flawless. Otherwise, if it slips up and giants like Microsoft realize it's just a performance, then problems will continue to arise.

The meeting lasted until the early hours of the morning, with the repurchase plan being repeatedly reviewed and revised.

Cheng Yi ultimately approved the third option, instructing Huang Wenrong to lead the Momo Group team and the negotiation team sent by Huaxia Software Group to Europe three days later to formally negotiate the repurchase plan.

Meanwhile, at the headquarters of the European Commission for Competition in Brussels, Belgium, the Commission's Director, Evelyn, also gathered together Phoenix, President of Microsoft Europe, Lei Jun, President of Momo Group Europe, and Mike, President of Enze Capital, who was caught in the vortex.

She intends to play the role of a neutral mediator and try to resolve the current predicament.

To her left was the Microsoft delegation, headed by Phoenix, President of Microsoft Europe.

Phoenix, a tall Italian-American, leaned back in his chair with a relaxed posture, making no attempt to hide his aggressive demeanor.

On the right are Mike, president of Enze Capital, and Lei Jun, president of Momo Group's European region.

Mike looked tired, with anxiety in his eyes, and he kept wiping the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.

He was extremely stressed and overwhelmed. He rushed here to finish this meeting and then had to immediately head to the next place for another meeting.

Lei Jun, a veteran who had years of experience battling with Microsoft Office at Kingsoft, did not experience the same pressure as Mike. Instead, he occasionally glared at Phoenix.

Over the past year, Phoenix and Ray have clashed many times, but Ray is too good at manipulating people's hearts. Every time the two sides meet, Ray can always stand from the user's perspective, transform into the user's mother, and conduct a mind-searching mass interrogation of Phoenix.

The most outrageous thing Lei Jun did was to hospitalize himself, which led to Phoenix being subjected to countless criticisms from Europeans.

During this period, Lei Jun garnered many supporters by using the slogan of revitalizing the European IT industry.

He was nicknamed Thor.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Evelyn began in her French-accented English, speaking calmly, "We are gathered here today to have a preliminary discussion about the so-called unfair competition issues Microsoft has encountered in the Chinese market, as well as the business practices related to Enze Capital. We hope that all parties can exchange views frankly and seek a solution that conforms to market rules and the spirit of the law."

Phoenix barely waited for Evelyn to finish speaking before scoffing and saying, "Director Evelyn, the so-called preliminary communication is probably too polite. The facts are now very clear: Momo Group is using its dominant market position in the Moc-os system in China to systematically and covertly interfere with our Microsoft MSN and products like KartRider. This is a blatant abuse of market dominance. Our technical team has already submitted the evidence to the committee for review."

He glared fiercely at Lei Jun and Mike, and said, "We strongly suspect that Momo Group's unfair competition practices have been tacitly approved or even supported by its parent company, Enze Capital. Furthermore, there are serious questions about the compliance of the funding sources for Enze Capital's recent acquisitions in Europe targeting sensitive technology sectors. We demand that the European Competition Commission immediately launch a formal investigation and freeze Enze Capital's related suspicious transactions."

Lei Jun smiled slightly and replied in slightly accented English: "Mr. Phoenix, your accusations are completely unfounded. The so-called evidence of technical interference you provided is simply a compatibility issue of Microsoft products in a specific system environment. We suspect that you deliberately set up compatibility vulnerabilities in the software to intentionally report errors in order to slander us and achieve your ulterior motives."

Upon hearing Lei Jun's words, Phoenix was immediately enraged.

He stood up abruptly, pointed at his own nose, and said, "We've spent billions of dollars in China to promote these two software programs? Would we deliberately destroy billions of dollars worth of industry just to slander you? Look at me, look at me, do I look like an idiot?"

"Yes, it does." Lei Jun nodded firmly.

(End of this chapter)