sbdcsierra 34、1700万
34、1700万
Bosideng Group.
Mei Dong arrived at her husband's office with a worried look on her face.
"I've reviewed SnowFlying's documents. They're asking for 20 million, not 12 million, and the company already has 7.8 million in debt."
Gao Dekang said with a smile, "Don't we still have fixed assets?"
Mei Dong said irritably, "It's just a dilapidated warehouse."
Gao Dekang stood up, pulled his wife to sit in his seat, and said, "Now that you're the CEO, it's your decision. Should we go through with this acquisition?"
Mei Dong muttered, "I can't be the boss, I'd be driven crazy."
Gao Dekang comforted his wife, saying, "By buying Li Xiang's company and acquiring his distribution channels, we can easily open up the Russian market."
"It's not just Snowflake; all our brands can follow this route to distribute their goods. We can also use Russia as a base to expand our business to other CIS countries such as Belarus, Ukraine, and the five Central Asian republics."
"With our listing in Hong Kong next year, we'll gain access to a huge market in the Russian-speaking region. Conservatively speaking, that'll increase our market value by at least a billion. Is it a bad deal to exchange 1200 million for a company with a market value of one billion? We've gotten a great bargain."
Mei Dong was still in a bad mood.
"Besides us, can he find another buyer? Selling it to someone else for five million is a huge hurdle." Mei Dong continued to complain, opening up a floodgate of complaints. "Look at that young girl he sent to negotiate the acquisition. She has absolutely no experience. She's so nervous that she's stammering. She's not even as good as our company's receptionist."
"How could I not feel resentful if such a makeshift team made a quick buck for me?"
"We also went through a process from informal to formal, step by step." Gao Dekang handed the pen to his wife. "I've heard about it. You left them hanging for a whole day. You've vented your anger. Sign it."
Mei Dong took the pen and was about to sign when he said with a wry smile, "Are you so angry that you've lost your mind? My signature isn't enough; you have to sign it."
Gao Dekang took the documents and pen and instructed, "Contact Li Xiang. While he's in China, have him come over and sign the letter of intent so we can send someone to Russia to audit the assets."
"Time is money, and we need to complete this acquisition before the IPO."
Mei Dong was too lazy to call Li Xiang, as calling would require feigning politeness, so he simply sent a text message.
Li Xiang replied in less than half a minute, along with a multimedia message containing a photo taken with his phone of a computer webpage—NetEase Entertainment News.
The text was so dense it was hard to read, but the picture was a photo of him and Fan Bingbing.
After signing the documents, Gao Dekang noticed his wife's expression was off and asked, "What's wrong?"
"He raised the price; now it's seventeen million. If we don't agree, he'll try to enter the mainland market instead." Mei Dong handed her phone to her husband. "It's already been reported online; he's hired Fan Bingbing as his spokesperson."
Gao Dekang chuckled, "This kid is quite interesting."
"You can still laugh? If he really makes GG, the brand value of Snowflake will be cut by at least half, resulting in a loss of over a billion."
Gao Dekang handed the phone back to his wife and urged, "Hurry up and agree to his request. If you delay any longer, the price will go up, and every penny he spends will eventually be charged to us."
"This is extortion! We should call the police, arrest him, and sentence him to several years!" Mei Dong took his phone, sent a text message, calmed himself down, and said, "You greet him when he arrives. I'm on a business trip and won't be at the company."
Bosideng is making its final push before going public, hoping to complete the acquisition as soon as possible. Li Xiang also wants to divest SnowFlying as quickly as possible to realize a business transformation.
Both sides were pressed for time, so the second half of the negotiations went exceptionally smoothly.
Gao Dekang did not haggle over the acquisition price, but made many additional demands, all of which were soft conditions to help Bosideng enter the Russian market.
Sergei, who was the general manager of SnowFlying, was retained by Gao Dekang.
Bosideng also exploited a bug in Marina's endorsement contract.
Marina signed a global endorsement deal with SnowFlying. After SnowFlying was acquired by Bosideng, its Chinese name became "雪中飞" (Xue Zhong Fei).
Although Marina is not well-known in China, being a celebrity is better than nothing, and the exorbitant endorsement fee of $400,000 should not be wasted.
Bosideng employs a multi-brand, multi-celebrity strategy. Wu Qilong is the spokesperson for Kangbo, and Zhang Na is the spokesperson for Bingjie.
Marina thus became Bosideng's third brand ambassador, gaining recognition among Chinese consumers.
Li Xiang also needs to assist Bosideng in completing on-the-ground promotions in shopping malls in the two major metropolitan areas of Moscow and St. Petersburg.
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After selling SnowFlying, Li Xiang's assets in Russia consisted of only two properties: an apartment in the city center and a villa in the suburbs.
The Federal Drug Enforcement Administration was outmaneuvered by Li Xiang and has withdrawn its team.
During Li Xiang's absence from Russia, Dalia returned to St. Petersburg. In order to find all the listening devices in the villa, she and her men almost demolished the entire house.
"Is this a renovation project? Syrian style?" Li Xiang was a little confused when he got home.
Marina has taken on a new film role and also has to participate in Bosideng's endorsement activities, so she no longer lives here.
"I've been waiting for you for days. I need to talk to you." Dalia picked up the remote and turned off the TV, looking at Li Xiang with a serious expression. "Sit down."
"It's Roman's own decision to go to the US, it has nothing to do with me. If you don't agree, then forget it." Li Xiang found a place to sit down.
Given Dalia's background, it wouldn't be easy for her to go to the United States to see her son.
"Going to the US is great, and I feel quite at ease with Natasha." Dalia held a bag of potato chips and kept stuffing them into her mouth. "I'm leaving too, to Germany."
The Russian-speaking community in Germany has been well-developed for decades, and coupled with a sound legal environment where everything is based on evidence, the cost of combating crime is relatively high.
It has gradually become the preferred destination for Russian gangs to expand across borders.
Russian-affiliated gangs that have spilled over into the United States can only make their fortunes in silence, while those that have gone to Europe are openly laundering money, driving luxury cars and living in mansions, and there's nothing anyone can do about it.
"Back to your old ways?" Li Xiang joked.
"Okay." Dalia nodded in agreement, then said, "I know you find people like me troublesome, so let's contact each other less in the future."
"I can get your money out of there quickly, just give me some more time," Li Xiang suggested. "Why don't you consider going to the United States with Natasha and Roman and doing some legitimate business there?"
"You're not short of money, so why do you insist on doing this dangerous business?"
Dalia smiled wryly and said, "I know what I'm doing."
"We've known each other for so long, and I really consider you my aunt. That's why I wanted to advise you. I'm not against violence, but making money through violence is the most primitive method. It has low barriers to entry, is not protected by law, and is highly competitive. From a risk-reward perspective, it's not worth it."
Li Xiang sighed and asked, "Have you decided what you want to do in Germany?"
Dalia replied, "No, we'll see after we get there."
Li Xiang, quick-witted, said, "I do have a business opportunity that's basically risk-free for you, and the profits are quite considerable."
"What?" Dalia asked.
"Pirate website".