Chapter 301: Negotiating Cooperation, Quite the Appetite

Douhu Platform had also been in contact with many investment firms recently.

However, Douhu Platform now wanted to be selective about its partners.

Vice President Li met with Sun Qing, the vice president of Douhu Platform—also known as President Sun—to discuss the matter of funding in detail.

Although the goal was an acquisition, Vice President Li knew full well that Douhu Platform would definitely not agree to a buyout.

Therefore, Vice President Li’s visit this time was merely to get a feel for the other party’s situation.

He was using the pretense of investment to establish contact with Douhu Platform.

Sun Qing was a large, fat man.

He had a chubby face and a greasy complexion, and the moment he saw Vice President Li, he beamed like a Maitreya Buddha.

“You must be Vice President Li. It’s an honor to finally meet you. I’ve heard you used to hold a position at the Yang Group.”

Evidently, Sun Qing and his team had already done their homework.

Vice President Li gave a faint smile, offered a polite handshake, and found a place to sit in the room.

“That’s all in the past.”

Sun Qing laughed heartily. “Right, that’s all in the past. Let’s get down to business!”

With the topic brought back on track, Vice President Li subtly tried to draw information out of Sun Qing.

Don’t be fooled by Sun Qing’s seemingly foolish appearance.

In reality, the man was exceptionally shrewd.

Many of his answers were completely watertight.

Vice President Li knew he had met his match.

Vice President Li found a certain pleasure in crossing swords with someone like this.

“The truly large investment firms all have their eyes on the top-tier platforms.”

“Since your company wants to expand into the primary market, funding is something you absolutely cannot be careless about.”

Vice President Li’s words struck a chord with Sun Qing.

Sun Qing himself held a large number of the platform’s shares, so he naturally wanted the company to be as profitable as possible.

“Vice President Li, you’re not wrong, but Douhu Platform is still very competitive in the industry. Besides, plenty of investment firms are approaching us right now, so we’re not particularly strapped for cash.”

Sun Qing understood that in a business negotiation, one must firmly hold the initiative.

Although Sun Qing’s words were watertight, Vice President Li was also a master of the game.

He could more or less gauge Douhu Platform’s current external investment situation.

Today was just the first contact between the two parties.

It was a preliminary expression of investment interest.

Vice President Li had a good idea of what Douhu Platform was thinking.

Evidently, Douhu Platform was looking for an investment firm that wasn’t too large.

They were quite wary of overly large investment firms.

After all, it would involve future profit-sharing issues.

But a firm that was too small couldn’t provide the capital Douhu Platform required.

Therefore, a company the size of Lin Feng’s was actually a very suitable fit for Douhu Platform.

By the end of the meal, Sun Qing hadn’t figured out Vice President Li’s true intentions.

But Vice President Li was already certain that Douhu Platform had a strong desire to cooperate.

After Vice President Li returned to the company,

he relayed what he had learned about Douhu Platform’s stance to Lin Feng.

“They want to secure financing, but they also want to keep a firm grip on the initiative. They’ve got quite an appetite.”

Lin Feng quickly deduced the other party’s intentions.

It was no surprise, coming from a company that skimmed from its own streamers’ revenue shares.

How could it possibly be some pure and innocent little flower?

“Although this platform has a big appetite,”

“I have to admit, its development in the secondary market is quite good.”

Vice President Li looked at the documents on Douhu Platform that his secretary had compiled.

For most streamers, the top-tier live-streaming platforms in the primary market were often not a good choice.

Competition on the major platforms was fierce. The market was only so big, and the slice of the pie they could get for themselves wasn’t very large.

Every platform had unwritten rules about revenue splits and the like.

While the major platforms had more established rules, they also offered relatively less freedom.

Furthermore, the monopoly phenomenon was more severe on the large platforms.

That was why the secondary market had been so active in recent years.

Most streamers chose to build their careers on platforms in the secondary market.

And within the entire secondary market for live-streaming platforms,

Douhu Platform was of a decent size.

This led its senior management to believe they had the strength to challenge the primary market.

However, from Vice President Li’s perspective,

there was still a huge gap between Douhu Platform and the platforms in the primary market.

Lin Feng briefly skimmed through the files Vice President Li had sent over.

The number of streamers on Douhu Platform had been increasing over the past two years.

It had attracted a considerable audience as well.

‘If you ignore my disapproval of some of the management’s practices, the platform’s future prospects are actually quite good…’

But the moment he thought about some of the management’s dirty tricks,

a scornful smile appeared on Lin Feng’s face.

In Lin Feng’s opinion, the reason Douhu Platform was struggling in the secondary market

was largely due to its decision-makers.

Management was chaotic, and everything revolved around money.

A company like that was doomed to fail.

“Before those fools ruin the company, settle the acquisition as quickly as possible.”

Lin Feng instructed Vice President Li in a calm voice.

However, Vice President Li was now having a headache over this matter.

Sun Qing’s attitude made it clear he had no intention of selling Douhu Platform.

But despite the trouble, Vice President Li decided to give it a try.

After all, he knew that if they could acquire Douhu Platform,

the future profits would be substantial.

Sun Qing had also been dealing with a major headache recently.

Some streamers on the platform had discovered the issue with the revenue cuts.

But these streamers weren’t as “sensible” as the older ones.

They had actually come to the platform with their contracts in hand,

clamoring about protecting their rights.

“Have the legal department handle it. We have legitimate reasons for our fees. These people can’t stir up any real trouble,” Sun Qing sneered, instructing his secretary.

‘If the platform caves just because they kick up a little fuss, it will be impossible to manage them in the future.’

‘Besides, it’s not like streamers haven’t caused trouble before. Didn’t they all just give up obediently in the end?’

‘In any case, the platform’s losses won’t be significant in the end.’

‘On the other hand, the moment we throttle their traffic a bit, those people will cave.’

“Giving them fifty or sixty percent is already very generous.”

“If these people were on one of the primary market platforms, they would have been devoured, with not even their bones left.”

Sun Qing’s words were dripping with contempt.

The other executives at Douhu Platform held a similar attitude toward these streamers.

On one hand, they felt these streamers were just people who couldn’t make it in the primary market and had come here as a last resort.

On the other hand, they had to rely on the traffic these streamers generated to support the platform.

You could say Douhu Platform was a textbook example of hypocrisy.

They disdained the inconsistent quality of their streamers, yet they relied on these very same streamers they looked down upon to make money for the platform.

It was the height of contradiction.