Chapter 196 Appetite and Being Seen Through
To be honest, Liu Zhou invited Wang Zhidong to deal with Duan Yongji.

Liu Zhou was well aware that the enemy of my enemy was my friend, and there was no conflict of interest between Liu Zhou and him.

In fact, when Liu Zhou invited Wang Zhidong, he was already prepared to work with him and even stand on the opposite side of him in the future.

But compared with Duan Yongji, Wang Zhidong is much easier to deal with, and he himself has an absolute advantage in shares.

Now that Wang Zhidong is willing to help Liu Zhou deal with Duan Yongji and not seek a position at Sina, it couldn't be better for him.

This will give Liu Zhou greater confidence in dealing with Duan Yongji, and he won't have to worry about him returning to Sina and becoming a force to be reckoned with.

"Mr. Wang, are you telling the truth?" Liu Zhou confirmed again.

"Of course, Duan Yongji has always been a knot in my heart, but to be honest, I can't use my own strength to untie this knot.

Now Mr. Liu is preparing to take action against Duan Yongji, so it's a good opportunity for me to take advantage of him. If successful, you will get Sina, and I will get rid of my grudge. We will both get what we need."

"Well, in that case, let's have a pleasant cooperation."

After saying that, Liu Zhou picked up the teacup and raised it slightly. Wang Zhidong also picked up the cup and clinked it with Liu Zhou's, and then they both drank it all in one gulp.

"Boss Wang, where should we start to deal with Duan Yongji?"

"Of course it's the board of directors!" Wang Zhidong said firmly, "The reason why Duan Yongji can control Sina behind the scenes is because he controls the Sina board of directors."

"But now Sina's board of directors is run by him. How should we start?"

"Who said that Sina's board of directors is a monolithic group?"

"Isn't it?"

"No one challenged Duan Yongji's authority before, so those directors didn't dare to take the lead. If someone took the lead, not everyone would agree with him."

"Then who should we look for a breakthrough from?"

Wang Zhidong thought for a while and said:

"President Wang Yan!"

"Wang Yan? Didn't you have a falling out with him?"

Wang Yan joined the then Sohu.com after graduating from university in 1996. He and current Sina Vice President and Editor-in-Chief Chen Tong are both Wang Zhidong's right-hand men and confidants.

However, at the board meeting in 01, they voted in favor of Duan Yongji's proposal to remove Wang Zhidong as CEO.

The two had a big fight over this matter.

Wang Yan later followed Duan Yongji's lead and took over as CEO of Sina after Mao Daolin.

Unexpectedly, now Wang Zhidong actually said that the breakthrough was Wang Yan.

From the outside world's perspective, he is Duan Yongji's confidant!
“We had a falling out at the time, but later I found out the reason. He was fooled by Duan Yongji. He didn’t expect Duan Yongji would directly and mercilessly drive me away.

He was the most vehement opponent of my plan to turn Sina into a software company, but because I insisted on doing so, he voted in favor. "

Wang Zhidong paused and continued:

"Most importantly, I heard that Duan Yongji felt that Wang Yan was a bit of a threat to his position and was planning to remove him and replace him with someone else as CEO!"

"Boss Wang, you also know such news?"

"Haha, I've said it all, I still have some connections at Sina."

"In that case, Wang Yan is indeed a good breakthrough point."

It seems that Wang Yan was removed from the position of CEO in 06 and then took on a marginalized position as vice chairman.

"I can arrange a meeting between Wang Yan and Mr. Liu. Then we can work together to convince him to stand on your side at the board meeting. It shouldn't be a problem."

"Okay, then I'll trouble you, Mr. Wang."

"It's no trouble. In fact, we have always been in contact privately."

"Who should we start with after that?"

Wang Zhidong was silent for a while, then uttered a name:
"Mao Daolin!"

"Doesn't he no longer hold any position at Sina?"

“Yes, but he is still a Sina director and has one vote.

Duan Yongji is a person who is obviously very power-hungry and intolerant of others, but he likes to do some superficial work.

In order to prevent outsiders from talking about him, he retained Mao Daolin's position as a director after removing him. "

Duan Yongji is indeed a bit of a double-edged sword. After Wang Yan was removed by him, he retained his position as director and also made him the vice chairman.

"Can Mr. Wang invite him out?"

“It shouldn’t be a big problem. Although he has rarely appeared in public in the past two years due to his father-in-law, I think he should be ready to leave Sina completely now.

Before leaving, I'll disgust Duan Yongji. He should be happy to do so."

"Fortunately, I contacted Mr. Wang in advance, otherwise I wouldn't know where to start." Liu Zhou complimented.

"Haha, that's just because I stayed at Sina for a few more years."

"So what's next?"

"Boss Liu, I think we should convince Wang Yan and Mao Daolin first, otherwise everything will be in vain."

"That's right, I was too impatient."

"In that case, let's get down to business without further ado. I'll go back and prepare. I remember Sina's shareholders' meeting should be about to be held, right?" After saying that, Wang Zhidong stood up and prepared to leave.

Liu Zhou sent him out of the box with a smile on his face, then sat down in his seat and immediately put away his smile.

Looking at the bubbling hot soup, Liu Zhou continued to put the mutton into the pot.

He has a much bigger appetite than Wang Zhidong!

The next day, still at Donglaishun, still in the same private room as yesterday.

Liu Zhou hosted a banquet here for another key figure of Sina.

It is Lip-Bu Chen, an important shareholder of Sina, member of the board of directors, and chairman of Walden International.

Lip-wu Chen is also a powerful figure. The Walden International he founded is a very famous venture capital company.

He also played an important role in the establishment of Sina. Not only did he invest money, he also helped Wang Zhidong to connect with Sohu.com to acquire Huayuan Information.

Of course, Liu Zhou would not place all his hopes on Wang Zhidong.

In fact, Liu Zhou not only contacted Wang Zhidong and Chen Liwu, but also contacted Mao Daolin.

Liu Zhou had been asking him for advice before, and he also wanted to see what surprises Wang Zhidong could bring him.

Unexpectedly, there was such a surprise. He didn't expect Wang Yan to be the person he hadn't expected.

Liu Zhou always thought that Wang Yan was Duan Yongji's confidant. The first step of his plan was to remove Wang Yan's identity as a Sina director at the shareholders' meeting.

But now it seems that Wang Yan and Duan Yongji are no longer on good terms with each other, and Duan Yongji even wants to remove him from his position.

In this case, your plan needs to be modified.

If Liu Zhou could really pull Wang Yan into his camp, his chances of winning would be even greater.

But Liu Zhou has always been more cautious in doing things, and he would use all his strength even if a lion fights a rabbit. Moreover, this time he is facing Duan Yongji, a cunning and experienced boss.

To be on the safe side, Liu Zhou specially invited Chen Liwu, who had something Liu Zhou needed most.

"You are Mr. Liu from Zhoushan Capital, right?"

Chen Liwu was very enthusiastic when he saw Liu Zhou and stretched out his hand with a smile.

"Yes, it is the latter who have not made any progress."

Chen Liwu did not call him by any other identity, but only mentioned Zhou Shan Capital. It was obvious that in his eyes, Zhou Shan Capital was the company he valued most.

Walden International was established in San Francisco in the 1980s and has a high level of seniority and status in the investment industry. There is no problem in calling myself a junior in front of him.

At present, Walden International has not yet fully launched its efforts in the mainland, and its main investment direction is not the Internet.

Therefore, we are not very familiar with this investment company in later generations.

Walden International, led by Lip-wu Chen, mainly invests in the semiconductor industry.

Almost all the semiconductor companies we are familiar with in the mainland have his investments, including China Resources Shanghua, Ankai Technology, Intelligent Semiconductor Technology, SMIC and other companies, covering almost all chip design, manufacturing, packaging and testing, equipment, and downstream system applications.

In the semiconductor field, Walden International's investment focus is almost unmatched.

Lip-Bu Chen is also known as the godfather of chip venture capital!
It can be said that he has made a significant contribution to the development of the mainland's semiconductor industry.

"Haha, Mr. Liu, you are too modest. Your investment vision and courage are much stronger than an old guy like me."

"How dare I compare myself with Mr. Chen? I'm just lucky."

"There is no such thing as luck in the investment industry."

"Mr. Chen, we don't need to compliment each other anymore. Let's take a seat first. I wonder if you have ever tried Donglaishun's hot pot."

"Of course I have. I have been in Beijing for more than ten years and I have a deep memory of the mutton from Donglaishun. When Mr. Liu invited me to come here, I agreed without hesitation."

"That's good. I also like to eat it. I can enjoy it to my heart's content this time."

However, Chen Liwu is obviously very different from Wang Zhidong. He seems easy-going and enthusiastic, but in fact he is quite strong and will not easily follow the pace of others.

"Boss Liu, it's okay to eat the mutton later. Why don't you tell me why you invited me here? Otherwise, I'm afraid I'll be a little nervous while eating it, haha!"

"Mr. Chen, that's not the case. What else is making you nervous right now?"

"That's impossible to say."

Liu Zhou saw that Chen Liwu got straight to the point and said without beating around the bush:
"Mr. Chen, are you selling your Sina shares?"

The experienced Chen Liwu did not change his expression when he heard Liu Zhou's words, and said calmly:
"Mr. Liu, aren't you already the largest shareholder of Sina? Why are you still thinking about acquiring more shares of Sina?"

"What other reasons could there be? Of course they are very optimistic about Sina. Even Chen Tianqiao is drooling over Sina."

"Chen Tianqiao wants to acquire Sina because Sina and Shanda are very complementary. Mr. Liu, you have been increasing your stake in Sina. Are you also planning to acquire Sina?"

When Liu Zhou heard what he said, his brows jumped. It turned out that the old ones were the wisest. Was his vision so sharp?

"I would like to, but I can't do it with just 10% of the shares.
Even if Mr. Chen sold his shares to me, it would only be 15% of the shares, and I have no foundation in Sina, so how can I take over Sina?"

"You don't necessarily need too many shares to control Sina. Look at Duan Yongji now. He only needs to control the board of directors."

"Then I really want to take over Sina. Would Mr. Chen be willing to help?"

Chen Liwu looked at Liu Zhou's sharp eyes and couldn't help but curl up the corners of his mouth slightly.

(End of this chapter)