noveldepot Chapter 79 How come it's you?
Chapter 79 How come it's you?
"Mr. Wang, Happy New Year."
Ren Pingsheng took his phone and walked to the corridor outside the private room.
"Happy New Year, Mr. Ren. I apologize for bothering you, but I'll get straight to the point."
Wang Gaofei speaks very quickly, clearly someone accustomed to efficient communication. "We noticed that the domain name weibo.com is listed for sale on eName. We inquired about the price twice through the platform before, but did not receive a reply, so we contacted you directly."
"We did receive an inquiry before," Ren Pingsheng said, leaning against the wall, his voice unhurried. "We didn't reply because the price was too low."
"So what are your expectations?"
Ren Pingsheng didn't rush to speak.
The Weibo war has just reached the Spring Festival Gala, Sohu has spent a sky-high price to sponsor the event, NetEase has seized the initiative on mobile devices, and even Tencent is quietly putting up a fierce defensive posture.
With four platforms entering the market simultaneously, the ownership of the category term "Weibo" has become a fiercely contested battleground.
Whoever gets weibo.com will be synonymous with "Weibo".
"Fifteen million."
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.
"Mr. Ren, isn't this price... a bit too outrageous? There hasn't been a single domain name transaction in China that has reached this figure. Eight million is the amount of sincerity we can offer."
"Mr. Wang, since you've called in person, you must be very clear about the value of this domain name. What you're buying isn't just a domain name, it's the brand ownership of Xinlang in the next generation of social networks."
Ren Pingsheng refused to budge, saying, "Fifteen million, not a penny less."
"Mr. Ren, this price... I need to consult with General Manager Cao."
"I understand. I'm not in a hurry. Mr. Wang, please contact me when you have a decision."
"Okay, I'll get back to you as soon as possible."
After hanging up the phone, Ren Pingsheng put his phone back in his pocket and pushed the door open again to enter the private room.
Is 15 million a high price?
High indeed.
But is that enough?
Far from enough.
He owns three domain names: weibo.com, weibo.cn, and weibo.com.cn.
However, currently only weibo.com has publicly listed its listings for sale on eName.
Xinlang and several other companies are currently unaware that these three domain names are in the same person's possession.
This was a backup plan he had prepared.
First, use .com domains to gauge the urgency of each company. Once the time is right, then package all three domains together and put them on the table.
……
Xinlang Headquarters Building.
Wang Gaofei hung up the phone and stared at the screen for a while.
"How so?"
"Fifteen million."
The subordinate gasped, "Fifteen million for a domain name? Are you crazy?"
Wang Gaofei didn't respond; he didn't think the other person was crazy.
Last month, three investment institutions, Sequoia Capital, IDG Capital, and Innovation Works, contacted Xinlang to discuss the spin-off and independent financing of Weibo.
Valuation benchmarked against Twitter, which was valued at around one billion US dollars in early 2010. Based on this benchmark, Xinlang Weibo would be worth at least three to five hundred million US dollars if it were spun off.
But all the investors asked the same question during their due diligence.
Do you own the weibo.com domain?
The answer is no.
Then the investors' attitude changed.
Without this domain name, Xinlang's Weibo would just be "Xinlang Weibo", not "Weibo".
When a user types the category name "Weibo" into their browser, the window will redirect to weibo.com.
If this domain name falls into the hands of any competitor, no matter how much money Xinlang spends or how many celebrities it invests to build its first-mover advantage, it will be shattered by users' instinctive behavior.
Valuation discounted by 30%.
A 30-500 million US dollar discount is enough to buy hundreds of domain names.
"Should we report directly to General Manager Cao?" the subordinate asked.
Wang Gaofei shook his head. "Don't alarm President Cao yet. Fifteen million... it's not that we can't talk about it, but before we do, let's clarify the other two."
"The other two?"
"Go check who owns weibo.cn and weibo.com.cn now."
The subordinate was stunned for a moment, then understood.
While .com is an internationally recognized domain name, the coverage of .cn and .com.cn in the domestic market is equally significant.
Even if we only acquire the .com domain, the other two will still be a potential problem if our competitors take them.
"I'll check right away."
"Hurry up," Wang Gaofei pulled out a chair and sat down. "This matter can't be delayed. We're investigating, and others are definitely investigating too."
Wang Gaofei guessed correctly.
The next day, Ren Pingsheng received a call from Wang Zihui, the executive general manager of Sohu Weibo.
The content was largely the same, but Wang Zihui directly invited Ren Pingsheng to Souhu for a face-to-face meeting.
"Charles takes this matter very seriously and wants to speak with Mr. Ren in person."
Zhang Chaoyang personally negotiated a domain name.
Ren Pingsheng agreed.
……
The next morning, at the Sohu Building.
Alex was carrying a proposal for a new web series when he bumped into the last person he wanted to see as soon as he entered the lobby.
Ren Pingsheng.
"What, it's you?" Alex blurted out, his face darkening.
The video department's resources were diverted to support the Weibo project, and the blame for the failure of "The Loser 2" was still pinned on him.
And the culprit behind all of this is the person right in front of you.
"Alex, long time no see," Ren Pingsheng greeted him with a smile, without a trace of embarrassment.
"What are you doing here? There's no place for you at Sohu anymore," Alex said coldly. "If you're here to promote your short film, sorry, the video department doesn't have the budget right now."
Just as Ren Pingsheng was about to speak, the elevator doors opened with a ding.
Wang Zihui strode out, saw Ren Pingsheng, his eyes lit up, and he ignored Alex standing next to him to go to meet him.
"Mr. Ren, it's an honor to meet you. Thank you for making this trip."
Out of the corner of his eye, Wang Zihui glanced at Alex beside him, nodded politely, made no attempt at small talk, and simply turned to the side to lead the way.
"Charles is waiting upstairs, let's go up and talk."
Charles?
Alex's expression instantly became incredibly interesting.
Zhang Chaoyang...waiting to see him?
Waiting for a small-time director who got kicked out by him?
"Mr. Wang, you're too kind," Ren Pingsheng nodded to Alex and followed Wang Zihui into the elevator.
The elevator doors closed, shutting out Alex's shocked and ashen face.
"Mr. Ren, did you work at Sohu before?" As the elevator went up, Wang Zihui chatted warmly.
"Yes, I worked in the video department for a while last year."
"What a coincidence."
Prince Hui smiled and didn't ask any more questions.
The elevator was stopped at the top floor.
The chairman's office door was ajar.
Wang Zihui pushed open the door, stepped aside to let him pass, and said, "Please."
Zhang Chaoyang sat facing the entrance, without his glasses, and looked to be in good spirits.
Seeing Ren Pingsheng enter, he stood up and extended his hand.
"Mr. Ren, Happy Chinese New Year."
"Hello, Mr. Zhang."
The handshake was firm but the release was also decisive.
"Sit down, don't be shy," Zhang Chaoyang said, pointing to the chair next to him.
After Ren Pingsheng took his seat, Wang Zihui naturally took over the conversation.
"Charles, this is Mr. Ren Pingsheng, the owner of the weibo.com domain name."
Wang Zihui quickly introduced, "It's quite a coincidence. Mr. Ren used to be a director in our video department. He was in charge of producing 'Unexpected' and 'Men's Diary'."
Zhang Chaoyang's eyes flickered.
Of course he knew about "Men's Diary," and he also knew about Shengping Media, which recently stirred up public opinion on Weibo, crushed "Men's Diary 2," and shattered Sohu Video's breakthrough plan.
"Why is it you?"
Zhang Chaoyang blurted out, then burst into laughter, "Director Ren, you've really given me a tough problem! Half of my temper over the past two weeks was caused by Xinlang, and the other half was caused by you."
"Mr. Zhang, you're exaggerating. We're just trying to survive in the cracks and make a living."
"Well done, making a living," Zhang Chaoyang said, his smile fading as he leaned forward. "But I still have to thank you for reminding me of the value of Weibo."
He stared at Ren Pingsheng, his eyes sharpening. "Then let's get down to business. Mr. Ren, we'll take this domain name, Sohu. Name your price."