Chapter 291: Unkind Visitors (Two in One)

"Is Washington Mutual a big bank?"

"It used to be relatively small, but it has grown rapidly in the past decade. They do housing mortgages, insurance, and financial services, and housing mortgages should be the largest proportion of their business."

"Mr. Kong, you have done a great job for the MIGI Fund. You are the first contributor to this acquisition!"

At 3:30 in the morning in Beijing, Fang Zhuo praised Kong Yu on the other side of the ocean.

Kong Yu was helpless. He was almost sunk to the bottom of the Pacific Ocean before, but now he has become Mr. Kong again!

"Apple's acquisition really helped. We have all the materials. We should be able to get the money within a week. Mr. Fang, how is your side?"

As Kong Yu contacted banks one by one, he had nothing else but all kinds of market analysis, company development, competition judgment and other materials. He felt that at this time, he could be in charge of Yike's overseas work.

"There should be no problem on my side." Fang Zhuo was quite emotional in the dead of night in the early morning. Thinking back to what he saw and heard today, he couldn't help but sigh, "When I was eighteen, I stood like a minion."

Kong Yu: "???"

Where did Mr. Fang stand like a minion when he was eighteen?

So he had been enemies with Sina for a long time?

Kong Yu didn't ask, thinking that he could end the call after informing the news.

But Fang Zhuo didn't mean to hang up, and still sighed: "I remember Ma Huateng said that he met Li Zekai when he was short of money. It seemed to be in Hong Kong. The other party was like a star. The two met hurriedly and only talked for a while."

Kong Yu tasted the taste, so the boss was wronged today?

He said cautiously: "Mr. Fang, it's okay. They will get our help in a few days. Sina will get better, and everyone will get better."

Fang Zhuo was happy: "Yes, it will get better."

Kong Yu breathed a sigh of relief, and told his boss about his heart again, and finally ended the call.

It was daytime in Washington, and there were still many procedural matters to go through.

The next day, Fang Zhuo, who received the best news, went to a dinner hosted by Wang Yan of Sina.

There were still a few days before the shareholders' meeting, and people from different circles of Sina were exchanging feelings. This time, Wang Yan introduced a middle and senior executive in charge of specific business to Fang Zhuo.

Wang Yan had his own considerations in mind. Although Yi Ke was now a non-executive director and Fang Zhuo had his own career, there might not be no further cooperation in the future.

Now it was not too deliberate to let Fang Zhuo get in touch with people from Sina. It was just a meeting and chatting in a way of establishing a relationship.

"Mr. Fang, let me introduce you. This is Wang Gaofei, the vice president of our Sina wireless business." Wang Yan saw the president of Yi Ke striding over, stood up and introduced with a smile.

"Hello, Mr. Wang, I have heard of you for a long time. I have heard of you for a long time." Fang Zhuo nodded and shook hands.

Wang Gaofei's handshake was very strong. He smiled at the perfunctory courtesy of the young president in his heart. Where did he come from to hear about me for a long time?

However, such thoughts soon changed with the content of the chat.

Wang Gaofei is a graduate of a formal school, majoring in computer science at Peking University. Since he joined Sina, he first worked in the R&D center and then was responsible for part of Sina's wireless business.

Wireless business is an emerging field this year. Many domestic companies are exploring it, and Sina is also doing so. However, it is limited by some internal disputes over direction and has not received due attention for the time being.

At least, Wang Gaofei believes that wireless business should be given priority at present.

So, when Fang Zhuo talked about his optimism about wireless business and his thoughts on wireless value-added, Wang Gaofei suddenly felt that they had a lot in common.

The dinner party, which was originally just a casual chat, turned into a discussion on business direction.

Fang Zhuo has done a lot of homework on wireless value-added recently, and has also asked his own registration website to try to communicate with operators. Coupled with the cause and effect of the direction field, his words can be said to be very inspiring.

He said without hesitation that wireless value-added business is the focus of portal websites' profitability in the next two years.

This judgment is nothing to say, because the promotion of the company's business does not depend on Wang Gaofei, or even on Wang Yan next to him, but requires the authorization of Sina's board of directors after a unified understanding.

Wang Gaofei didn't think too much, he just felt that he was worthy of being a young person who could be on TV, and he really had some practical knowledge.

Wang Yan felt that this small dinner party was not in vain, and once again realized Fang Zhuo's ability.

As for Fang Zhuo, he also thought it was interesting, and he didn't expect to meet the future Jia General Manager in such an occasion.

The atmosphere of the dinner was very pleasant, and the three of them felt that they had gained a lot.

Another day passed, and Wang Yan organized another small dinner party, this time with a middle and senior manager in charge of other businesses.

Fang Zhuo talked about Sina's business without treating them equally.

Unfortunately, this person's positioning was different from Wang Gaofei's, he was idealistic but not practical, and he was not the type that Fang Zhuo appreciated.

The dinner party ended a little late that night, and Wang Yan drank a little too much.

He finally pulled Fang Zhuo drunkenly and said, "Mr. Fang, Sina has a big stage. I hope to have the opportunity to work with you in the future."

It was the first time that Fang Zhuo heard such a clear request from a Sina person. He was moved and patted the CEO's arm, and responded eagerly, "Of course! Of course!"

Wang Yan laughed and really admired this young president.

Fang Zhuo had a wonderful resonance in his heart and admired Xiao Wang, thinking that he was a more open-minded person.

After two consecutive days of dinner, Fang Zhuo declined the subsequent invitations and finally confirmed the availability of funds and the procedures for action.

Washington Mutual Bank didn't make any mistakes and released the loan after confirming that it was correct. Because the equity of unlisted companies is not highly liquid, the amount of money Fang Zhuo could pledge was US$15 million after a discount.

In this way, the NetEase and Sohu stocks held by the MIGA Fund do not need to be liquidated for the time being and will still be used as alternative funds to meet unexpected needs.

The team of lawyers from the New York-based Cadwalader law firm responsible for the acquisition booked flights and prepared to arrive in Beijing before the Sina shareholders meeting. They obtained the acquisition license from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

At the same time, the people responsible for attending the Sina Shareholders Meeting of the MIGA Fund have already sat on the flight to Beijing in advance, and they will obtain the new seats on the board of directors in accordance with the process.

As for the new directors who also reached a consensus, Yike Investment arrived in Beijing on June 8 and came to the boss's side.

This time seeking Sina's non-executive director, Fang Zhuo will not join the board of directors himself. Representatives of his wholly-owned Yike Investment will sit in this position to implement the company's will.

Soon, Fang Zhuo's hotel in Beijing welcomed waves of people. Everyone was silently waiting for the dust to settle on Sina's shareholders' meeting this year.

On June 10, Sina's 2002 Annual Shareholders' Meeting was held in Beijing.

Fang Zhuo brought people to the meeting.

The weather was nice and the mood was serious.

This mood reflected on his face made him look a little too solemn.

"Mr. Fang didn't sleep well yesterday?" Wang Yan came over to say hello, laughing and teasing the young CEO's dark circles.

Fang Zhuo smiled slightly and exchanged a few words.

Wang Yan intended to strengthen the relationship with each other and said kindly: "Mr. Fang, let's go. That's Davis from MIGA Fund over there. I'll introduce you to him."

"I won't go. It's my first time to attend a shareholders' meeting and I feel a little nervous." Fang Zhuo declined, "This is my sister. I just sit here and teach her about company equity and other knowledge."

Wang Yan nodded, glanced at the thin girl, gave her a friendly smile and turned to leave.

"Brother, is this the CEO of Sina?" Zhao Suqi asked in a low voice.

Fang Zhuo also replied in a low voice: "Well, he is a good man."

Zhao Suqi arrived in Beijing yesterday and had already observed some acquisition operations. At this time, when he saw the CEO of Sina who introduced Yike Investment, he didn't know his number but was ranked at the top, he really felt that the reality was quite magical.

"Listen more and talk less. Shareholders' meetings are actually quite boring." Fang Zhuo said.

Zhao Suqi nodded silently. Although she heard what her brother said, it was quite strange in her eyes, especially after knowing that MIGA Fund belonged to her. She looked at the people coming and going around the foreigner over there, and her own place was deserted...

It turns out that the sentence "foreign monks like to chant sutras" can be so vivid!

Zhao Suqi has a profound understanding of the word "packaging".

At nine o'clock in the morning, the shareholders' meeting of listed company Sina officially began. Duan Yongji, co-chairman of the board of directors, and Mao Daolin, president of the company, delivered speeches successively.

Sina's past situation, future development, major company events, current company stock price, shareholder proposals, etc.

After these two speeches, the executives made long or short speeches and mentioned a lot of company data.

After half a day in the morning, the speech covered a lot of news about the second quarter of 2002 that had not yet been made public.

However, the lack of explanation of the cooperation with Sunshine Culture made Mr. Fang Zhuo, the president of Yike Investment, a little dissatisfied. He expressed his attitude directly to Wang Yan at noon.

"The cash + equity exchange cooperation between Sina and Xiangjiang Sunshine Culture cost a lot. Sunshine Culture's Wu Zheng is still the co-chairman of the board of directors. Why is the effect of this cooperation not mentioned?"

Wang Yan also spoke this morning. Faced with this somewhat questioning tone, he smiled helplessly: "Many people feel that they can continue to observe."

Fang Zhuo said calmly: "We didn't even talk about it at the shareholders' meeting. This is a disregard for the rights and interests of shareholders."

He added: "This question needs to be asked to Mr. Duan and Mr. Mao."

Wang Yan shook his head and said half-jokingly: "Don't ask, Mr. Duan is quite stubborn. If you ask, don't blame me for not reminding you if you fail to pass the director's proposal this afternoon."

Fang Zhuo frowned.

Wang Yan smiled: "At least today is over. After the afternoon, the proposal has been voted on. Yike Investment is a director of Sina, and it can be considered as having voting rights."

Fang Zhuo nodded: "Mr. Wang sees the same thing as me. Well, it's me, Meng Lang."

The exchange at noon did not last long. Wang Yan had something to deal with, and Fang Zhuo also had a lot to think about.

Most matters at the general meeting of shareholders are a matter of process. The work that really needs to be confirmed and discussed has been completed through separate communication in the past few days. What needs to be done now is to make these matters comply with legal principles.

The company's annual general meeting of shareholders is witnessed by a lawyer and legal opinions are issued. The resolutions formed are signed by shareholders or representatives who are present at the meeting. The minutes of the meeting are also signed by the directors and secretaries who attended the meeting.

In the afternoon, as usual, the voting on the non-executive director seats of Yike Investment and the director seats of MIGA Fund was completed in an ordinary manner. Fang Zhuo, as the president of Yike Investment, only appeared on stage.

The purpose is to tell everyone who this non-executive director represents.

However, as evening approached, unplanned questions arose.

A small shareholder got the microphone and asked questions to the board of directors on the stage.

"Didn't Sina cooperate with Sunshine Culture last year? Why didn't I hear about the evaluation of this contract today?"

According to the law, the company's directors, supervisors, and executives should attend the shareholders' meeting and accept shareholders' inquiries. This is a protected legal right.

However, this questioning made Duan Yongji, who had just spoken, angry, and he scolded him.

"You small shareholders are here to make trouble!"

"Can cooperation be effective in one or two days? You are just talking nonsense!"

"Sina wants to be a media, develop media content, and explore new directions. Do you understand this?"

Duan Yongji's status and position are here. He showed his attitude without mercy, which made the small shareholders who asked questions sit down timidly.

This scene made Fang Zhuo shout "good guy" in his heart. The people sitting on the stage are all fathers, and the small shareholders have become sons!

I don't know if it's an illusion, he also felt that Wang Yan, who was also on the stage, looked over, as if saying, look, I said it.

The shareholder's question was not resolved, and the shareholder who raised the question was resolved.

In this way, the shareholders' meeting continued.

At six o'clock in the afternoon, all resolutions were signed and became legally effective.

That is, Sina officially added two seats to the board of directors this year, which were obtained by Yike Investment and MIGA Fund respectively, and the number of directors remained the odd nine.

At the same time, there were no major changes in Sina's management. The company's president is still Mao Daolin and the CEO is still Wang Yan.

According to the closing speech of the chairman of the board of directors, Sina will consolidate its leading position in domestic portal websites in the next year, actively explore the attributes of online media, and strive to make the company profitable.

In general, the shareholders' meeting ended successfully in the eyes of many people.

Wang Yan wanted to take Fang Zhuo out for a drink after the meeting, but after chatting for a few words, he found that he had hurriedly left the venue. Thinking that the other party might have something to do, he did not hold a party.

This night was calm, and the resolutions of Sina's shareholders' meeting took effect quietly.

On Tuesday, June 11, Sina's stock in the US stock market had a fluctuation in trading volume, and the stock price was also slightly pulled up.

Near noon, Sina received a notice from MIGA Fund to raise its stake, and the other party's shares jumped from 5.4% to 18.5%, becoming the largest shareholder.

At the same time, Davis, the new director of the company representing MIGA Fund, requested to convene an extraordinary shareholders' meeting to resolve major issues involving the interests of the company and shareholders.

One day later, just one day, MIGA Fund suddenly exerted its strength, regardless of the cost, and aggressively increased its holdings of Sina shares, and immediately requested to convene an extraordinary shareholders' meeting.

Sina's holding institutions, shareholders, directors, executives... all of them who just attended the shareholders' meeting on June 10 were shocked!

Everyone didn't need to communicate, just looking at the other party's operations, they realized one thing, this MIGA fund is not a good person!