"You can't say that, Duke Barron. I am indeed very sincere. You have to know that it has been almost three years since the last round of financing. During this period, my company has found its position and achieved profitability in its current business. It can be said that very few Internet companies can do this now, so it is normal that the company's valuation has doubled compared to before."
If calculated according to the price given by Mr. Ma, the valuation he made for Alibaba is roughly the same as the valuation Baron made when he acquired Penguin shares.
For Baron, even if he invests in Alibaba according to his statement, he will still make a lot of money.
However, even if it would give others the impression that he was wealthy and didn't care much about the company he was looking at, Barron didn't need to personally "bargain" with Boss Ma, so he just smiled and said:
"Mr. Ma, the person in charge of DSIIC will discuss the specific matters with you. I hope that we can eventually reach a cooperation. As you may know, my investment has always been a financial investment. I will only invest if I recognize the company's managers, and I will not interfere in the management of the company. This is too troublesome for me. Therefore, if we can cooperate, then the voting rights of the shares I hold will also be given to you to ensure your control over the company."
Barron's words made Boss Ma very happy.
You know, at this time, unlike later, the financing of many start-ups was very rhythmic. For example, in the case of Xiaomi, Lei Jun held a considerable portion of the company's shares until it went public.
In the early days of the Internet industry, many entrepreneurs had no experience in financing, so in order to seek funds, they paid too much shares in the first two rounds of financing - this was the case with Penguin and Alibaba.
There is no other way. When facing life and death, the first thing to do is to keep the company alive.
But after the company develops well, the fact that they hold too few shares becomes a concern for the founders of these companies. They need to use different means to ensure their control over the company - after all, even if they choose AB shares to control the company, they have to wait until the company goes public.
Initially, Boss Ma did not know much about financing. It was only after Cai Chongxin, who used to work in the Hong Kong branch of Investor AB, the main investment company of the Swedish Wallenberg family and was engaged in private equity investment, joined Alibaba that Boss Ma gained more understanding of financing.
This is also the reason why, when Alibaba raised funds again in 2004, Mr. Ma tried to get Sun Zhengyi to agree to transfer the voting rights of his shares to him for 10 years.
As the agreement was about to expire in 2015, Boss Ma raised a huge amount of money in China to buy back part of Yahoo's shares in Alibaba, in order to prevent himself from losing control of the company - because at that time, he and Sun Zhengyi had already had a rift over the separation of Alipay from Alibaba.
Moreover, Barron's current status is far higher than that of Boss Ma. Therefore, even if he lets Amber discuss the specific investment matters with Boss Ma, Boss Ma will not care about it.
After all, the current boss Ma is not a person who cares too much about face. What he cares most about is solving the company's financial problems and allowing Alibaba to develop better.
And the Duke in front of him was the most suitable "financial sponsor" he thought at the moment.
Having more money and less work doesn't make people happy.
Speaking of which, although Boss Ma's reputation was not well-known across the country at this time, his relationship with the local government of Hangzhou was still very good.
Later, he said that the local government of Hangzhou also hoped to hold a banquet to welcome the Duke of Devonshire.
After all, it was rare to hear that a British duke had come to the Chinese mainland. Moreover, based on the duke's previous investment, they also hoped to attract some investment...
However, Barron politely declined. After all, he did not plan to invest too much in too many industries in China this time - the timing was not right.
And after investing in Penguin and Alibaba, he needs to keep more of his funds in the UK.
Because although investing in some industries in China, such as the hotel industry and real estate industry, is indeed very promising, the problem is that due to the foreign exchange exchange system, within a certain period of time, the funds invested in China will continue to remain here in the form of Chinese currency, which is not convenient for global circulation.
This is also different from the future when Penguin and Alibaba will be able to directly sell their shares and obtain US dollars after they go public overseas.
In the future, when his assets reach a certain level, he will definitely invest heavily in China, a fast-growing emerging market, but this plan needs to be postponed for now.
Boss Ma also expressed his understanding of this. Anyway, for him, it would be best if he could help with the matchmaking at this moment, but financing for his own company was more important.
"I won't bother you anymore, Mr. Ma. Mr. Sheehan from DSIIC will come to Hangzhou soon to discuss investment with you. Tomorrow, I'll let Laura accompany me around Hangzhou. Then I'll go back to London."
"So soon? Aren't you going to visit the capital and the Magic City? After all, there's a saying that goes, if you haven't been to the Great Wall, you're not a true man..."
"Haha, Mr. Ma, I have long admired the magnificence of the Great Wall, but I have other business to attend to in London. I may come to China again soon. I hope that by then we will have become close partners."
…
However, although Barron declined the invitation to the banquet from Hangzhou, he clearly found that he was still receiving extra "care" when he went out for a trip the next day.
Because he could clearly see that security had been strengthened at the former residence of Hu Xueyan where he went, and there were several familiar security guards who were always accompanying Barron and his group from a distance.
This is understandable. After all, there are a lot of tourists in Hangzhou at this time. The locals don't want Barron, the Duke of England, to have any trouble here. If it causes a diplomatic incident, it will be troublesome.
"This is the former residence of Hu Xueyan. Your Highness, have you heard of this person before?"
Just as Barron had said before, when he arrived in Hangzhou, Wang Wanting became his tour guide and asked him at the entrance of the garden.
"I know. He is a very famous businessman in China, right? He was once as wealthy as a country."
"Yes, Your Highness, you have indeed studied Chinese history."
This garden was built in 1872, when Hu Xueyan was at the peak of his career.
The construction of the mansion took three years and was completed in 1875.
The completed former residence is a magnificent mansion that is rich in traditional Chinese architectural features and has a Western architectural style. Whether in terms of architecture or the furnishings of interior furniture, the materials used are exquisite and it can be regarded as the number one mansion of Chinese tycoons in the late Qing Dynasty.
At the beginning of last year, it was officially opened to the public after 16 months of construction day and night by more than 500 workers. The former residence underwent surveying, archaeology, design and maintenance, with a total cost of 600 million yuan.
Therefore, walking here at this time, Barron couldn't help but immerse himself in this unique style of garden scenery.
"Oh, I forgot to ask, when you return to Hangzhou this time, won't you go home to visit? Laura, if necessary, I can give you a day off."