Chapter 339: Microsoft’s Increased Bid

Chapter 339: Chapter 339: Microsoft’s Increased Bid

The conclusion that Irene rejected Microsoft’s investment was quickly relayed back to Microsoft headquarters through Chen Shiyu.

In the strategic conference room on the 34th floor of the Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, the curtain of rain outside the floor-to-ceiling windows blurred the distant snow-capped mountains.

CEO Steve Ballmer scanned the team of executives sitting around him, his tone filled with an incredulous excitement, "Take a look at Facebook’s user data. It surged from 20 million to 207 million in 12 months, with an average of 980 million daily clicks. This growth curve is unprecedented in internet history! Gollotto and Kim’s research this year just proved that high-revenue-growth internet companies should be valued using P/S multiples. Based on their current annual revenue of $100 million, a $5 billion valuation is completely reasonable, perhaps even undervalued!"

Vice President Brian McAndrews pushed up his glasses and pulled up the prototype demonstration of Longhorn Live: "Our desktop social service is still in the testing phase, and integrating it into the Windows system will take at least 18 months, while Facebook has already seized the initiative."

He clicked on the user profile analysis, "72% of North America teenagers are active users, and the ad conversion rate is 3 times higher than MSN. This is precisely the key for us to open the consumer advertising market."

The General Counsel immediately added, "The antitrust risks we were worried about earlier have been avoided. As long as our stake does not exceed 10%, it will not trigger a deep review by the FTC."

Ballmer’s fingers tapped rapidly on the table, then suddenly stopped: "Draft a new offer for me. $500 million for only 5% equity, with no interference in any operational decisions. The funds will be injected in two phases. The first $300 million will arrive before the IPO, and the remaining $200 million will be completed within 6 months after the listing."

He looked at the CFO, "Calculated at this ratio, Facebook’s valuation will reach $10 billion, far exceeding the IPO valuation. Moreover, the equity requirement has dropped from 10% to 5%, so Irene’s stake will only be diluted to 53.2%, which will not affect her control at all."

He paused, his gaze sharp, "Tell her that Microsoft’s resources are more than just money. Our Windows system pre-installation, the 90 million user traffic from MSN, and our enterprise customer resources will all be opened to Facebook. These are chips that Yahoo and Google cannot offer."

Just when Irene and the others thought the other party would give up on the investment, Microsoft offered a deal that no one could refuse: $500 million for 5% equity, with no additional terms, and allowed her to cash out $200 million, with the remaining $300 million earmarked for Facebook’s technical research and development.

Irene quietly left the opening ceremony of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End and hid in the lounge.

Jean Williams’s video call connected at the right moment, "According to these terms, your stake will still be 53.2% after dilution, the Mark Zuckerberg team will be diluted to 32.6%, and Microsoft will only be 5%. Even if the shares are diluted after the listing, you will still be the absolute controlling shareholder."

She pulled up the calculation sheet, "More importantly, the $200 million cash-out is enough to cover the initial acquisition of Marvel and all your upcoming movie plans. You could say, Irene, as long as you don’t continuously film movies that lose over $50 million, you won’t be short of money ever again."

Irene leaned back on the sofa, memories of her achievements over the past few years flashing through her mind. The combined income from all the movies that had already been successfully released probably didn’t even reach $200 million. And this offer from Microsoft, the cash-out portion alone exceeded her total income from six years of struggling in Hollywood, not to mention the doubled equity value after Facebook went public.

"I really struck gold by picking up a bargain," she chuckled softly. Even though she knew the value of Facebook was very objective back then, she wouldn’t have foreseen today’s scenario in advance.

Thinking about how her first investment was only $5 million, even after the "People with ALS" project ended and subsequent continued investments were made, her total investment amount had not exceeded $40 million.

After all, Facebook soon began to be self-sufficient, so it didn’t need her to invest any more funds.

Securing 56% equity for $40 million, and now Microsoft wants to exchange $500 million for 5%—she suddenly understood the thrill of an angel investor.

The set crew knocked on the door to remind her that filming was about to start. Irene put away her phone and cast her gaze toward the azure sea outside the window.

In the distance, the Black Pearl prop ship was setting sail once again.

She replied to Jean: "Prepare an equity lock-up agreement. I want to ensure that Microsoft will not increase its stake in the next 5 years."

Half a month after the filming of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End began, Irene appeared in a conference room at the Microsoft North America headquarters in Manhattan, New York, dressed in a sharp, tailored white suit.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows were the skyscrapers of Wall Street. On the long mahogany table inside, the $500 million investment agreement lay quietly. Steve Ballmer stood up personally to greet her, his smile hiding his determination to secure this cooperation.

"Miss Irene, your boldness makes me admire you." Ballmer handed over a glass of whiskey, his gaze falling on the equity lock-up agreement she handed him, "No increasing stake, no interfering with operations for 5 years—I agree to these terms."

He flipped through the terms quickly and signed his name at the end, "Microsoft’s resources will begin docking within 48 hours after the agreement takes effect—the Windows XP pre-installation portal, the MSN homepage traffic referral spot, and our advertising channels in 28 countries around the world will all be opened to Facebook."

Irene picked up the pen, her fingertips brushing over the "$200 million cash-out" clause, and signed her name without hesitation.

The moment the ink fell, Jean Williams’s phone received a bank notification of the arrival of funds, and she quietly made a "done" gesture to Irene.

"Mr. Ballmer, happy cooperation." Irene extended her hand, "I hope Microsoft’s resources can allow Facebook to create new miracles after going public."

After the signing ceremony, Irene did not stay, but immediately rushed to a trust company in Lower Manhattan.

Jean had already prepared the equity acquisition plan for Marvel. The tablet displayed the real-time stock price: "Marvel’s current stock price is $17.2 per share. We have already pre-ordered 7.2% of the circulating shares through three offshore trust accounts, costing approximately $122 million. Now, the $200 million cashed out from Microsoft can just be used for this. If you are not short of money in the short term, we can directly push for the 13% seat as the largest shareholder by investing only about another $100 million."

"No need to rush," Irene leaned on the sofa and pulled up the filming schedule for At World’s End, "The crew is still waiting for me to go back to film, so let’s take it in two steps." She tapped the screen lightly,

"First, secure the pre-ordered 7.2% of circulating shares, then gradually acquire scattered shares to bring the shareholding ratio to 10%, without triggering the disclosure requirement for now. After Facebook is officially listed, we will slowly expand the stake to 13%. At this stage, Marvel’s stock price will not fluctuate too much."

Jean nodded, "That’s fine too. Marvel is currently busy seeking compensation from Universal for the IP loss of Hulk, so I don’t think this slight equity change will attract their attention."