Back To 1995

  Although they are in the same city, the last time Song Yang came to ICQ headquarters was last year.

After Song Yang came to ICQ, he saw many new faces. In the past year, many employees who have joined ICQ since the establishment of ICQ have also left a lot, especially Song Yang gave up the major shareholder and Irene resigned. Afterwards, a large number of old staff were sent to run away.

But those old employees are also lucky. Before they left, they cashed out all the ICQ options in their hands. Now they are basically worth millions of dollars. Some executives and technicians may be worth tens of millions of dollars. above!

At that time, ICQ was still at its peak, with a market value of more than 400 billion U.S. dollars. If you cashed out a fraction, the U.S. dollars you got were enough for one person. In another twenty years, for countless ordinary people in America, they can comfortably enjoy the rest of their lives if they save enough one or two million dollars.

  If you move to areas with low consumption levels, such as manors in North America, Southeast Asia, and Northern Europe, and find a city with a good environment and security, the standard of living there will soar.

  As for those who have not cashed out the options rewarded by ICQ, they can only smash their hands. Compared with the previous ones, the US dollars they get now may be more than ten times worse...

When seeing Song Yang coming, many old and new ICQ employees looked at Song Yang with curiosity and anticipation. At the beginning, the option worth more than a million dollars in his hand.

  Especially some old employees hope that Song Yang can return to ICQ. They are fed up with Edgar Bronfman Jr. and Immelt who "know nothing" about the Internet industry.

In particular, compare PayPal, Google, Fortinet, and eBay, which are companies controlled by Song Yang. Not to mention Google and PayPal, two Internet companies that have not yet been listed. One can imagine how the little days went.

Even eBay and Fortinet, which are not living as they are, don’t have to worry about bankruptcy and delisting. They also promised not to reduce their salaries and announced that they will guarantee the stock rewards issued to employees. Compared with the cash flow in the accounts of these two companies There are too many ICQs, which makes people feel numb. Without comparison, there is no harm. ICQ has already undergone three rounds of layoffs. No one knows who will be cut next, and everyone is trembling!

After Song Yang joined ICQ, he had a different experience. The entire ICQ was filled with a tense atmosphere, and most of the staff's faces were serious. The atmosphere of an Internet company had disappeared without a trace. When Song Yang and Irene were here, ICQ staff were allowed to bring their pets to work, plants could be placed on the desks, and gyms, game rooms, etc. were provided.

But now, Song Yang's original regulations seem to have been abolished. No matter whether they are busy or not, everyone sits at the computer desk and stares at the computer screen. The gates of the gym, lounge, and game room are also blocked. close...

  Before entering the conference room, Song Yang glanced back at ICQ's office area, and shook his head slightly. What ICQ needs to change now is not just the stock price...

   "Song!"

  As soon as Song Yang entered the meeting room, a figure immediately came up. Brian Roberts hugged Song Yang, looking very warm.

  Brian Roberts also made no secret of his position, that is, he stood with Song Yang. This scene was seen by several other people in the conference room.

   "Mr. Bronfman!"

  Song Yang said to a gray-haired old man sitting in the meeting room, although he had never covered his face, but he was still full of vigor despite his old age, and he could guess who he was.

Old Bronfman looked at Song Yang with calm eyes. If Edgar Bronfman Jr. was present at this time, he would probably be impatient with Song Yang. Song Yang took away the Bronfman family's last prize The family owned Seagram Wines.

   "It's not wrong for little Edgar to lose to you!" Old Bronfman said to Song Yang.

   Song Yang frowned. Old Bronfman had something to say. It seemed that Song Yang had tricked little Edgar Bronfman.

   "Mr. Bronfman, the merger of Bronfman Group and ICQ is Mr. Edgar's own decision, and no one seems to force him!"

Song Yang smiled and said something to old Bronfman, telling him not to blame others, but to ask his prodigal son carefully, then turned and sat aside, old Bronfman heard Song Yang's words In a word, there was a sullen look on his face.

Song Yang made it clear that it was Edgar Bronfman Jr., who rushed to jump into the fire pit and couldn't stop it. When merging, he didn't need a dollar in cash. As for Siglar The Bronfman family took the Seagram Liquor Industry back from Song Yang and RICK Company by means of their own means and skills!

  The only thing Song Yang fears about the current Bronfman family is the old Bronfman’s status as the global Jewish president. This status is very special. It’s hard to say how much help it can provide, but bad things are okay!

As for Little Edgar and the other members of the Bronfman family, Song Yang didn't care much. When the old Bronfman passed away, it is estimated that the family fortune of the Bronfman family would shrink a lot, and they could only nest in Canada. , America is not even trying to get involved.

Song Yang looked around the conference room. It was completely different from the scene of the great merger. At that time, countless people gathered in ICQ just to get a share of the pie. But now, looking around, there are only a few left in the conference room. Major shareholders, Silicon Valley venture capital, and Wall Street institutions are all gone.

  The door of the meeting room was pushed open, and Immelt still walked in with great momentum. It seemed that the current storm did not affect him.

Although Immelt's performance was the same as before, with a gentle smile on his face, Song Yang could tell from the white hair on his temples and the exhaustion that could not be concealed on his face that Immelt What a "good" life Walter is living now!

Immelt came in and greeted the old Bronfman first. No matter what level Edgar was, no one would take the old Bronfman lightly. It was not because of his worth, but because of his Jewish president. Identity, Immelt does not want to add trouble.

   "Welcome to this ICQ board meeting!"

Sitting in the first seat, Immelt said to Song Yang, Brian Roberts, Old Bronfman, and a representative sent by the Telephone and Telegraph Group in the conference room, especially his eyes lingered on Song Yang for a moment .

Immelt looked at everyone and said with a serious face, "Everyone knows the current situation of ICQ. I don't need to say more. The entire Internet is facing difficulties. Of course, there are also my reasons. I haven't handled ICQ's internal management well. question…"

Brian Roberts looked at Immelt in amazement when he heard that Immelt issued a "crime order", and Immelt was willing to take the blame, admitting that he had acted too hastily and fought for the management of ICQ. It was a mistake to drive away Irene and let the previous ICQ "veterans", including Greck, Marcus, Wesley and others, leave, and finally made ICQ worse.

When he said this, Immelt looked at Song Yang from time to time. He said these words mainly for Song Yang. Now that ICQ and General Electric are facing difficulties, Immelt is facing the dilemma of protecting the big and the young. Question, he certainly doesn't want to lose any of them.

Immelt needs someone who can stabilize the ICQ situation. Except for Song Yang, he can't think of anyone else. If there is another one of Edgar's level, he is afraid that ICQ will go bankrupt directly. For this reason, Immelt can give up the position of chairman of ICQ, let Irene, Marcus, Greck, and Wesley return, and give up the management rights of ICQ to Song Yang again!

Immelt is a man who can bend and stretch. It’s nothing to lose face, and it’s nothing to let go of ICQ’s management rights. As long as ICQ can be stabilized, General Electric is still the majority shareholder of ICQ. Then in the future, when ICQ becomes a giant again, he still has a chance , Take back the management rights of ICQ!

Seeing that Song Yang remained silent, Immelt couldn't help but make a big move, "ICQ now needs funds to stabilize the market. I propose that ICQ's board of directors issue an additional 5% of the stock at a price 10% lower than the current stock price. New investors..."

As soon as the words came out, it was obvious that the money was given away. The old Bronfman, the representative of the Telephone and Telegraph Group, Brian Roberts and others all knew that this was the "apology gift" offered by Immelt, giving 5% ICQ shares to Song Yang.

   Several people were silent for a while, and none of them objected. At this time, ICQ's stock price is worthless. If Song Yang's 5% stake in ICQ can raise ICQ's stock price, then they will still make money!

   "Song," Immelt pointed out directly, "I hope that this additional equity will be recognized by the North American Global Investment Foundation..."

  Before Immelt finished speaking, he heard Song Yang blushing and nonchalantly saying, "North American Global Investment Foundation, has no intention to invest in Internet companies in the near future!"

  The entire conference room fell into silence for a while!