Back To 1995

   chapter 215

After Ted Lyons sang the red face, Keyes sang the white face again, "Song, AOL doesn't want to have a meaningless competition with America Telecom, but if America Telecom wants war, then AOL can satisfy it! "

  Case and Lyonsis were in harmony, telling Song Yang that if AOL is willing to do good deeds, they should spend money to buy Ping An and buy CompuServe, a company that Telecom America just started, in exchange for Telecom America leaving the dial-up Internet business.

   And if America Telecom is not willing, then AOL will do its best to fight with America Telecom in the dial-up business.

Spending money to eliminate disasters seems to be a loss, but for AOL, it is the most cost-effective. Once the war with America Telecom starts, the outcome is not known, but the investment is definitely more than buying CompuServe from America Telecom. It was determined by the AOL financial department after repeated calculations.

Not only how much money is spent, but the key is to affect the stock price. This is what AOL is most worried about. Seeing AOL's stock price falling, AOL's board of directors and investors are in a hurry. If a little money can solve the problem, then the stock price will rise. The money spent is nothing at all, and maybe it can be doubled and earned back!

  Jianghu is not fighting and killing, Jianghu is a worldly way, fighting to death, how can there be a beautiful knife to cut leeks together?

Hearing this, Song Yang and Iger looked at each other and felt that the heat was almost over. They had already forced AOL to make a choice. If they continued to force it, they would not be able to squeeze much oil. How much flesh has been cut from the body!

  Song Yang and Iger both showed embarrassed and ugly expressions on their faces at the same time. Seeing this scene, Leonsis was overjoyed and did not directly refuse, which means that there is room for negotiation.

After coughing, Lyonsis increased his firepower, "Song, as long as America Telecom sells CompuServe and withdraws from the dial-up Internet business, then AOL and America Telecom, DoubleClick, ICQ and other companies will all be partners, and AOL will cooperate with DoubleClick. Reached an advertising agreement to recommend ICQ software to AOL users!"

  AOL, as America, currently has the most Internet users in America, and DoubleClick is America's largest Internet advertising company.

  If they cooperate, it will be beneficial to both parties. Double-click is responsible for advertising, and AOL is responsible for advertising. If the two sides cooperate, it can almost be said to be a match made in heaven!

As for ICQ, AOL wants to do instant messaging, but even if it launches its own instant messaging software in the future, it is impossible to block ICQ. AOL does not have the determination of Microsoft, and dares to fight against the major departments of justice and trade in America. , play Monopoly Binding directly.

   Helping Song Yang to promote ICQ is also an expedient measure for AOL. First let Song Yang agree to sell CompuServe and withdraw from the dial-up Internet business. As for the war in the instant messaging industry in the future, that is a matter of the future, right?

A living person can still be suffocated by urine. Besides, the nickname of Case, the chameleon, is not for nothing. If it's a big deal, let's play a face-changing game. Leonsis glanced at Case and replaced him. The boss made a decision.

  Song Yang heard these words, and after "considering" for a while, he finally spoke. Since AOL wanted to take advantage, Song Yang didn't mind digging a hole for them. "AOL is really going to buy CompuServe?"

   "If America Telecom withdraws from the dial-up Internet business, AOL will not be allowed to enter the broadband industry for four years!"

Hearing this condition put forward by Song Yang, Lyonsis was still a little hesitant. Four years, for the technology industry, it is almost equivalent to a generation gap. The broadband industry is still a bit sluggish, but who knows, four What will happen after the year, if the broadband era comes ahead of schedule, then AOL will be finished, and it will be replaced overnight.

But Case, but he agreed without thinking. Four years later, the ghost knows what the scene is. Anyway, Case is sure that when the scale of AOL dial-up users reaches 30 million or even 40 million, let Amelia three. When 1 in 10 households use AOL service, American Telecom's broadband lines may not be able to cover the cities of America.

   Not to mention that there are still so many competitors, as long as AOL has money, the big deal will be to buy, buy and buy, what can’t you buy with a US knife? !

   "Song, AOL can agree to your terms!" Case said looking at Song Yang.

  Song Yang nodded, and Iger said at this time, "America Telecom is willing to sell CompuServe for $1.5 billion!"

   The AOL group who were still smiling just now had the urge to drop the stool and leave when they heard the price that Iger threw.

   It's not so ruthless to kill a fat sheep, right? It's true that AOL is taken advantage of, but even if you kill a big head, you can't scold him for being ruthless in front of you, right?

  This price is no longer the point of being taken advantage of. This is to scold them for being sick in the face of AOL.

  After reporting the price, Iger also felt that it was a bit too outrageous when looking at the AOL crowd, who were starting to turn red eyes.

   "Song, Iger, AOL hopes to reach a cooperation with America Telecom, but will not agree to such a threatening offer!" Case said with a heavy breath.

What price does CompuServe sell for? The previous parent company, Block Tax Company, has not yet announced it, but it can be estimated. The financial affairs of a listed company can be estimated in America. Isn't the part of the money that came out to sell CompuServe?

  Although there is an error, AOL has an accountant and still estimates that the price of the entire acquisition of CompuServe is basically around one billion US dollars, which will not deviate too much.

Good guy, it took less than a month for American Telecom to buy this thing. When it changed hands, it would increase the price by half. It sold CompuServe to AOL for 1.5 billion US dollars. Have you overtaken such a big deal? !

   "It was AOL who proposed the acquisition."

  Song Yang reminded Case, seeing that Case was about to have red eyes, Song Yang didn't irritate him anymore, I was really afraid that he would be provoked and run away.

   "CompuServe has overseas users and markets. There are about 2 million users in Canada, South America, and Western Europe. If AOL gets these, I don't think these users will be the only ones?!"

Song Yang vigorously touted CompuServe, wanting to turn it into a flower, threatening to rely on these basic users, in a few years, AOL will be able to develop several times the number of users in the overseas market. Two flowers bloom, making AOL the overlord of the global Internet, isn't it fragrant? !

But Case, Lyonsis and others don't eat this at all. This is not a small sum of money, 1.5 billion US dollars. Believe it or not, they are taking advantage of it today, and tomorrow's AOL investors and Wall Street will take it. They brought it to court, and they can be taken advantage of, but such a big take advantage is not so easy to take.

   "Song, you know this is impossible, AOL will never accept the purchase price of 1.5 billion US dollars!" Case said to Song Yang with a non-negotiable expression.

   At this time, Lyonsis also began to quote AOL, "1.1 billion US dollars, this price is definitely not a loss for America Telecom!"

   It’s not a loss, but it doesn’t make any money. Iger refused without thinking. “If you sell CompuServe at such a price, what’s the point of America Telecom’s withdrawal from the dial-up Internet business?”

Iger made it clear that since you said that AOL did not want to fight with America Telecom and let America Telecom withdraw from the dial-up Internet industry, then you must give some benefits. Be a cow and a horse.

   "1.45 billion US dollars!"

  America Telecom made another offer, made concessions, and let 50 million US dollars out, but for the entire acquisition amount, this is just a small number.

  AOL also returned the price again, but also refused to accept the price given by American Telecom, "1170 million US dollars!"

America Telecom and AOL began to quarrel, and they were constantly increasing their stakes, testing each other's bottom line. Song Yang and Case were not talking about each other at this time. Yes, that is, selling CompuServe at a price that both sides can accept.

  America Telecom was unwilling to lower the price when it reached $1.3 billion. It wanted to sell CompuServe at this price, while AOL stopped when the price was $1.22 billion.

  Buy a shabby company like CompuServe for $1.3 billion. In just a few months, its market value has gone from less than a few hundred million dollars. It was acquired by American Telecom for a sky-high price of nearly one billion, and now it has been sold to AOL at an increased price.

Is this price reasonable? From the perspective of CompuServe itself, it is definitely not worth so much money, but at this price, it seems that it is not expensive if America Telecom can withdraw from an industry. After all, once the competition starts, it is not a problem of so much money. Instead, they have to burn ten times the US knife to compete, and in the end they end up in debt!

"President Case, what AOL wants to do with America Telecom, America Telecom will do it, but CompuServe needs to sell it at a price of 1.3 billion US dollars before America Telecom can explain to investors." Song Yang looked at Case said.

  Case shook his head, "It must not exceed $1.3 billion, otherwise AOL's investors will definitely not accept this transaction."

Case also has concerns. This time the big shot is definitely set, but Case doesn't want to make Wall Street and investors dissatisfied with AOL's management because of this incident, otherwise the investors will launch an impeachment and ask for a new president. Kind of, enough to make Case's head big.

   "1.29 billion US dollars!"

  Song Yang didn't want to drag it any further, he shouted the last price, and wanted to turn the fight into a beautiful knife.

   (end of this chapter)