At the same time, since we are planning to acquire the shares of Penguin Newspaper Company of South Africa, we also need to communicate with Penguin Newspaper Company of China.
After all, Barron wanted to buy shares in Penguin because of its future market value of nearly one trillion US dollars. To put it bluntly, it was a financial investment, and he would not seek control over Penguin. Given the future development of Penguin, it is impossible for China to allow foreign capital to control the company. You can make money, but it is definitely impossible to exercise actual control over a company that controls a part of China's Internet industry.
If this is the case, I am afraid that Penguin will never grow to the same extent in the future as Barron did in his previous life.
After Penguin Company goes public, it will still implement the AB share equity structure, that is, equal shares but different voting rights, so that its entrepreneurial team can continue to control the company's management rights.
Barron himself had plans to visit China. Not only Penguin Group, but also the future BAT Big Three were all unlisted at this time, which was also an excellent opportunity to invest in them.
Even if these companies have no plans to raise funds in the short term, it would be a good idea to make themselves known to them first.
Originally, Barron was planning to take Bonnie to China and have some fun, but now Summit Media is very busy, including the post-production of "Downton Abbey" and "The Traitors", as well as the filming and production of "The Werewolf of Miller's Hollow". He really can't spare the time. After all, this trip to China will not last for just one or two days.
So in the end Barron had to board a flight to Guangzhou with his entourage.
The reason why the first stop is Guangzhou is that before going to Penguin Company, they will first go to Wangyi Company located in Guangzhou.
Because at that time DS Capital held 4.3 million shares of NetEase stock, accounting for about 14.3% of its total share capital, it can be said to be the major shareholder of NetEase. Before this, they had also been in contact with NetEase. When they learned that the boss of DS Capital was about to come to China, Ding Sanshi, the boss of NetEase, expressed his hope to give him a good treat.
There are no direct flights from London to Guangzhou at this time, so you need to transfer in Frankfurt first. The whole journey takes 16 hours.
If it is a direct flight, it will take about twelve or thirteen hours, but if you want to transfer, you will need to wait for some time at Frankfurt Airport.
As for Frankfurt Airport, those who have been there should understand that the accuracy of the flight times at this airport is really hard to describe.
Fortunately, Barron was lucky and did not encounter flight delays here.
Ramos, who is Barron's personal servant and driver in London, does not understand Chinese and is not familiar with the local transportation routes in China. Therefore, Barron gave him a vacation this time so that he can spend time with his family who have moved to London.
This time when he went to China, in addition to Barron and his personal assistant Wang Wanting, Barron also brought two temporarily hired bodyguards. Although he knew that he didn't have to worry about security issues in China, he also had some business to discuss this time, and he had to show off his duke style, so he specially hired two tall and strong white bodyguards from G4S, the most famous security company in Britain. Both of them wore black suits and sunglasses. No matter how strong they were, they were enough to bluff people.
In addition, after Amber Sheehan reaches a basic agreement with South African Press on the acquisition of Penguin shares in Johannesburg, he will also fly to China to meet with Barron.
"We are about to arrive in China. How are you feeling, Laura?"
The flight to China is so long, Barron would definitely not treat himself badly, so he booked a first-class seat for himself.
As Barron's personal assistant, Wang Wanting also received first-class treatment - as for the other two bodyguards, they had no choice but to go to business class, but that was much more comfortable than economy class.
After laying his chair flat and taking a nap, Barron saw that Wang Wanting had woken up and was reading a book in the seat next to him with the night light on.
Looking at the time, it should be less than an hour before we land at Yangcheng Airport, Barron asked casually.
Hearing Barron's question, Wang Wanting closed the book she was holding, turned to Barron and smiled:
"I'm still quite excited. After all, I haven't been back for a long time. I don't know what changes there will be."
"I know that China is developing very fast. If it were London, there might not be much difference between 20 years ago and 20 years later. But in China, a city could experience earth-shaking changes in 20 years, right?"
"Yes, Mr. Duke. Before, every time I returned to my hometown, I felt that many places had become unfamiliar, with tall buildings being built all the time."
There were not many people in the first class cabin of this flight. At first, because of Barron's young and handsome appearance, the flight attendants always came over to ask if he needed anything. But to be honest, the quality of the flight attendants on this flight... well, it was mainly because Barron was a relatively upright person, so he pretended not to understand some of the hints.
The conversation between Barron and Wang Wanting was also deliberately kept in a low voice so as not to disturb others.
"This time when I go to China, I also want to visit Hangzhou. Like I told you before, that's your hometown, Laura. You can be my tour guide and take me on a tour."
"I will."
…
When Barron stepped off the plane and entered the airport, he felt as if he was in another world for a moment.
Although I occasionally communicate with Wang Wanting in Chinese, it has been too long since I have been surrounded by Chinese people with different accents and faces...
In fact, he had only spent more than four months in England since he came to this time and space.
But at this moment he felt as if he had returned to his previous life, full of familiarity.
From a distance, Baron and his friends saw someone in the airport pick-up crowd holding a sign with his name written on it - "Baron Cavendish". They knew that the person must be from NetEase Cloud Music who had come to pick him up.
In particular, there was a well-mannered young man wearing black-framed glasses next to the man holding the sign. Baron had seen that face in many media reports in his previous life. It was none other than Ding Sanshi, the founder of NetEase. It was just that Ding Sanshi at this time looked younger... well, and his figure was not as fat as he was later.
"Those people should be from Wangyi Company who came to pick us up."
Barron said this to Wang Wanting beside him.
Hearing his words, Wang Wanting quickly took two steps, walked to the people opposite, and said:
"Hello, are you from Wangyi Company?"
"Yes, you are from DS Capital? Are you Mr. Cavendish's translator?"
Ding Sanshi saw a tall and charming beauty in professional attire walking up to them, and behind her were three unusually tall foreigners. He couldn't help but guess that they must be from DS Capital... so he asked tentatively.
"My name is Laura. You can also call me Wang Wanting in Chinese. I am the personal assistant of the Duke of Barron."
Hearing Wang Wanting's words, Ding Sanshi was stunned for a moment, as if his brain had crashed...
She speaks Chinese, but what does she mean?
Duke? ?