Internet moguls are being held hostage by the entertainment system!

Chapter 36 Becoming a Penguin Shareholder?

September 14th, Shanghai, at Tang Yan's home.

"Ring ring! Ring ring!!"

He reached out and took the phone from the bedside table.

Tang Yan squinted open one eye to answer the call, then quickly closed it again and put the phone to her ear.

"Hey, Sister Ji, what's wrong?"

"Tangtang, have you rested well these past two days?"

Tang Yan, who had been keeping her eyes closed, suddenly opened them and rolled her eyes wide.

"Sister Ji~, I just finished filming the day before yesterday, can't you let me rest for a few more days?"

"I'm just letting you know in advance that I've gotten you a role in a drama, the female lead, co-starring with Rain. You'll be signing the contract at Pengcheng Broadcasting and Television Group at the end of the month."

"It's almost the end of the month, so how many more days can we play..."

"Heh, you could go and have a fling with Zhong Hanliang, which would also be a good way to promote your new drama."

Tang Yan, who was almost asleep again, opened her eyes and sat up in bed the moment she heard the words "dating," her face no longer showing any signs of fatigue.

This reaction doesn't mean that Tang Yan has any feelings for Zhong Hanliang.

Instead, the stubborn girl suddenly brought up the fortune-telling session she had experienced at the masquerade party two months prior…

"Sister Ji, has the second male lead been confirmed for this drama you mentioned?"

"Not yet, both the second male and female leads will be auditioned publicly."

Tang Yan raised her eyebrows, feeling that she had a chance to find a "charlatan" to check the outcome of her marriage.

"Could you help me call the production company and recommend some actors to them?"

"Our studio hasn't signed any artists yet."

"I met a newcomer while filming, the guy who played He Yichen's college days. He was quite unique..."

"Sure! If you think he has potential, we can sign him and train him properly."

Upon hearing that Ji Rujing had misunderstood, Tang Yan quickly corrected him, "I don't plan to sign him. I just want to recommend him for the audition for the second male lead."

There was silence for about two minutes on the other end of the phone.

Then, something came that made Tang Yan both laugh and cry.

"Tangtang, have you taken a fancy to one of the young heartthrobs on set?"

"Ha ha……"

Tang Yan sighed and facepalmed, "Sister Ji, you know me. I'm not interested in young boys. I like mature and stable men."

"Then why did you recommend resources to him? Could it be that he has something on you?"

"No, no, I really don't have that."

Tang Yan quickly denied it, saying that she didn't leave a single photo at the mask party, so it really wasn't anything to be taken advantage of.

The reason she was willing to help was because of Chen Xiu's fortune-telling skills, the authenticity of which was unknown. In any case, all she needed to do was recommend her for an audition.

Why not use the resources of the production crew to do your own thing?

That's what Tang Yan thought, and that's what she did.

Despite her insistence, Ji Rujing finally agreed to help recommend Chen Xiu for the role of the second male lead.

"Let me make this clear first: this film is an official production of Pengcheng. We're at our limit if we can get people to audition. Whether they get the part or not is none of our business!"

"Yeah, whether it works out or not is his business, it has nothing to do with me!"

After hanging up the phone, Tang Yan smiled and found Chen Xiu's account in her WeChat contacts.

"The audition recommendations you requested have been prepared."

……

Penguin Building, Shenzhen, inside the CEO's office.

"This is my fifth time here, isn't it?" Chen Xiu said with a relaxed smile, looking at Liu Chiping sitting opposite her.

Yesterday, after sending Meng Ziyi to the airport, he returned to work.

After more than a month of negotiations, Didi's financing process has entered its second half. What Chen Xiu needs to do now is to reach a consensus with Liu Chiping.

As long as he nods, everything will be fine with the penguins.

However, Liu Chiping, an elite who was valued and entrusted with important responsibilities by Pony Ma and had worked in several major international investment banks in his early years, was obviously not so easy to persuade.

"Hehe, Mr. Chen, I also want to get things done as soon as possible so that everyone can relax!"

Seeing the friendly smile on the other person's face, Chen Xiu didn't bother with the pleasantries again. They had already talked about it four times, and it would annoy everyone if they did it again.

"Mr. Liu's time is so valuable, the fact that you called me here means that Tencent must have come up with a new plan, right?"

"really."

Liu Chiping nodded, his smile unchanged, but a glint of light flashed in his eyes behind his rimless glasses.

"Our first four discussions have covered the Series D funding price and option allocation. The remaining disagreement is whether Didi can accept a larger funding scale."

"I have already discussed this with the other directors of Didi. In the Series D funding round, we will only give up 10% of our shares."

Chen Xiu reiterated Didi's internal bottom line, stating that market share cannot be increased.

The two sides' first four negotiations stalled at this point.

You want more, but I don't want to give it to you; it seems like this is an unsolvable problem.

However, this time Liu Chiping gave Chen Xiu an unexpected suggestion.

"I heard that Mr. Chen is thinking of cashing out his stock options ahead of schedule, is that right?"

"It's no secret, but we'll have to wait until Didi and Kuaidi merge and the options are more valuable before we can cash them out. I don't have that idea right now."

Chen Xiu frankly admitted.

After this Series D funding round, although his stock options will be diluted, their value will increase by about six times.

When Didi and Kuaidi merge, leaving only one oligopoly in the ride-hailing industry, the stock option ratio will decrease by half, but the valuation will still increase.

Moreover, the merger will attract more investors, making it the best time to exit at a high price.

As long as Chen Xiu isn't out of her mind, she won't jump out of the car now, but there are always exceptions, as long as the price offered is right...
Liu Chiping pushed up his glasses, his eyes gleaming, and said, "If, and I mean if, Tencent is willing to exchange shares for a certain percentage of the stock options you hold, Mr. Chen, do you think there's room for discussion?"

"Share swap?"

Chen Xiu looked at Liu Chiping with a hesitant gaze, but her mind quickly became active because of those words.

If he remembers correctly, when Didi officially went public in 21, its market value reached a peak of $800 billion, which was about 11.5 times its market value after the Series D financing.

Then, at the beginning of this year, Tencent's market value was just over HK$1 trillion, while its peak was HK$7 trillion.

Numerically speaking, there is still a gap between the two.

However, Didi can't compare to the annual profits of Tencent.

Valuation is meaningless without realization of profits; however, profits are real and tangible.

At this point, Liu Chiping, representing Tencent, proposed a share swap, which was far more advantageous for Chen Xiu than jumping ship next year to cash out!
However, it also depends on the replacement ratio.

Thinking of this, Chen Xiuqiang suppressed his joy and spoke in a calm tone with just the right amount of doubt.

"Mr. Liu, what specific price should we use for the trade-in?"

"Based on the average stock price of Tencent over the past three months, and for the stock options you hold, Mr. Chen, our proposal is to add a 15% premium after the completion of the Series D financing."

"With the Series D funding round completed, I still have about 16% of my stock options left. How much do you want in return?"

"10%! If you exchange that for Tencent's shares, you could get about 0.55%."

Liu Chiping stretched out one hand, not feeling the number was shabby at all, because he owned about the same number of shares.

Chen Xiu covered her mouth in thought, her eyes filled with hesitation, but her fingers were suppressing the corners of her mouth.

(End of this chapter)