The words were startling, and everyone’s expressions froze in place; they hadn’t expected that their mere curiosity would elicit such a revelation. Such a shareholding proportion would absolutely make them the largest shareholders in any of their companies, yet they knew nothing about it!
"After we go back, we must thoroughly verify this!" Everyone silently took note of it in their hearts.
"So, Mr. Zhang, what’s your take on war in the business world? Or to put it another way, what methods would you use to defeat your enemies in the realm of business competition?"
"It’s quite simple!" Zhang Menglong exclaimed, "If it’s a public company, just throw money to acquire shares, if a 10% premium doesn’t work then offer 20%, if 20% doesn’t work then 30%, and if that still doesn’t work, double it, super double it! As long as all the company’s shares are yours, there’s no competition left!"
A few of them looked dumbfounded. What the hell kind of strategy was this? It was just throwing money around! Did it have to be so simplistic and brutal?
"What if it’s a completely private enterprise?"
"Then headhunt, offer double the salary, throw in a car and a house, and dig out all their people! An empty-shell company is worthless!" Enjoy more content from freewebnovel
"Oh, fuck!"
Several world-class tycoons were dumbstruck by Zhang Menglong’s remarks; his approach was beyond their realm of knowledge!
Acquisitions and headhunting are the most common strategies in industry competition, but they presuppose sufficient capital, not to mention whether the other party is willing to comply.
But Huaxia had an apt saying, "With money, you can make the devil turn the millstone; if you have a bit more money, you can even make the millstone turn the devil!" If you want to acquire someone’s shares, a 10% or 20% premium might not be enticing, but if you bombard them with double or triple that, anyone who doesn’t sell is a fool!
Indeed, holding certain capital long-term might yield far more than double or triple the returns after many years, but it’s a lengthy process. If you now possess two to three times the capital, you can certainly pursue more lucrative investments!
Even these wealthy magnates would find it hard to resist the temptation if someone offered to buy their shares at double the price.
The same goes for headhunting! But their typical headhunting would at most snag a few individuals of significant status and importance, whereas Zhang Menglong aimed to poach an entire company’s workforce. This wasn’t business competition; this was hooliganism! However, there has never been a rule saying you can’t headhunt, nor a limit on the number you can recruit.
But regardless of the approach, it must all be based on the foundation of profitability. Leaving aside whether you have the money to support such thuggish business tactics, if you spend all your money buying shares and headhunting staff, what will happen to the company’s future development?
"Mr. Zhang, we all understand what you’re saying," Bila Gates said, laughing somewhat awkwardly. They suddenly felt there might be something wrong with asking Zhang Menglong these questions, as his logic operated on a completely different dimension from theirs, "But won’t such business competition be too costly?"
Zhang Menglong replied bluntly, "As long as you have enough money, to kill off your strongest competitor, are you afraid you won’t earn back the money you’ve invested? Although there’s the Monopoly Law, there are still many ways to operate, right?"
Zhang Menglong simply recounted his strategy of dealing with NetEase Music, leaving the group of top-level tycoons agape with astonishment.
Purchasing the music rights of all musicians outright, poaching the entire staff of a company—could these bold moves really be made by humans?
"But Mr. Zhang, you’ve spent so much money on acquiring rights, and even significantly raised employment costs. Your profits might not cover the expenses even in ten years, and these costs will increase year by year. You’re not making any money!" Walton pointed out Zhang Menglong’s flaw sharply.
Indeed, many years later, when Zhang Menglong’s enterprise completely dominated the music market, they would set the market rules, controlling the market with ease.
This chapter is updated by freēwēbnovel.com.
But this had a lifecycle, it wasn’t achieved overnight. Even saying it would take ten years was an understatement. How many decades does one have to waste? It’s utterly meaningless!
"You guys, don’t be so vulgar," Zhang Menglong said with a laugh, "Do you know why I wanted to acquire Wangyi Cloud? Because their boss annoyed me! I felt good after taking down his company, and when I’m in a good mood, my health is good, and with good health, I can live another ten years!"
"What kind of logic is that?" The crowd was taken aback.
"Besides, if I have the money to acquire them, do you think I care about this expense?" Zhang Menglong started speaking in Underworld lingo again, "Humans shouldn’t always be after money. You can’t comprehend my realm simply because you’re not wealthy enough! At my level, I’ve lost interest in money. What’s the point in spending more or less, earning more or less? The most important thing is to be happy!"
"Cough cough cough!" A few tycoons choked at Zhang Menglong’s words, "You’re not wealthy enough." Each of them featured on the Forbes rankings, and some had even topped the list of the world’s richest. And Zhang Menglong was suggesting they... weren’t wealthy enough?
Moreover, Zhang Menglong claimed to have no interest in money at all. The last person to say this was also an entrepreneur from Huaxia. Have the Huaxia people really become so wealthy? Could it be that their status as a developing country is a scam, and everyone in Huaxia is silently making a fortune?
Zhang Menglong never expected that his offhand remarks would completely overturn these tycoons’ perception of Huaxia.
"Mr. Zhang’s words... really have been very enlightening..."
"Um, we have some other matters to attend to, so we’ll be taking our leave first."
"Yes, yes, yes, we need to meet a few more friends. We’ll come back to seek Mr. Zhang’s advice when we’re free!"
After exchanging a few pleasantries, they fled as if they had seen a ghost. Continuing the conversation might even lead them to doubt whether they were the poor ones. Could the Forbes rankings be playing a joke on them?
"This..." Zhang Menglong pointed to the backs of the retreating tycoons and said, "Poladi, you can’t blame me for this. They wanted to hear about my experiences, and I was just honestly sharing."
Poladi immediately showed a helpless wry smile, knowing full well that everything Zhang Menglong said was true, without any exaggeration. But that was exactly why nobody could handle it!
"Mr. Poladi, I think your friends’ hearts have suffered a severe shock. You should probably go and comfort them," Wang Ling joked from the side.
"Then, I’ll excuse myself for a moment. Mr. Zhang, Mr. Wang, please feel free to continue."
...
"Tsk, they’re supposed to be on the world Forbes rankings, yet they can’t handle a little provocation!" Wang Ling said with a hint of disdain.
Ever since he met Zhang Menglong, he had been subjected to a daily dose of Versailles literature to the point where he was becoming immune to Zhang Menglong’s flamboyant maneuvers. These people got upset after just a few minutes; their psychological resilience was indeed too weak.