Chapter 504: MADE IN HEAVEN! Let the Acquisition Accelerate! |
The situation has been growing increasingly strange lately.
Carter Walker, his eyes bloodshot, stared at the latest financial report his assistant had sent this morning, sinking into unprecedented panic, even confusion.
To some extent, he had been unable to sleep for over 72 hours.
Perhaps he had managed to catch a brief two or three hours of shut-eye in between, but now, with his head pounding and mind foggy, he couldn't remember at all.
Currently, Illusion Engine's market value had plummeted to rock bottom, with the latest valuation standing at only 11.5 billion dollars.
And as if misfortunes never come singly.
According to the latest reports, a company based in Poland was frantically acquiring their small and medium-sized shares with massive amounts of capital.
Clearly, this company from Poland intended to launch a hostile takeover against them.
The company's market value was collapsing, deteriorating day by day, small and medium shareholders were exiting, equity was undergoing widespread changes, and even capital was attempting a hostile takeover...
What he hadn't anticipated was that the entity launching this massive acquisition against them would be a completely unknown enterprise.
Poland?
When he first saw the location, Carter Walker thought perhaps Aurora Games was making a move, planning to absorb them.
But the problem was, after some investigation, this acquiring company had absolutely no connection to Aurora Games.
It didn't even have a single thread of connection to the "gaming industry"!
Based on the information they currently had, this was a technology venture capital firm founded ten years ago.
The company's scale had never been particularly large; most of its previous investment projects were in mobile communication technology. Its overall investment projects were modest, and the company's development had been lukewarm at best.
Yet, it was this completely unknown, mediocre, utterly unremarkable enterprise that had now set its sights on them.
Though his head was spinning, Carter Walker wasn't completely addled.
This made no sense.
He truly couldn't understand.
You see, typically, hostile takeovers only target companies that have made significant progress within their own field and possess excellent development potential.
After all, the purpose of an acquisition is to make money. Who would acquire a loss-making company? You'd want to run away from it as fast as possible.
Of course, he could speculate that this Polish company was acquiring them to obtain their newly released, fresh-out-of-the-oven Phantom Dream V technology.
But the problem was...
Leaving aside the fact that the acquiring company had never been involved in the gaming industry...
Just the current reputation of Phantom Dream V alone didn't seem enticing enough.
After all, everyone was now saying their Phantom Dream VI and Reality Augmentation Technology were...
"...garbage, trash not even fit for the stage."
Neon.
Komera Chairman's Office.
"Originally, developing in a direction where you already have relative disadvantages is an effort that yields half the result for twice the work. Moreover, its final outcome is unsatisfactory,"
As he spoke, Ito Suke pushed the brewed oolong tea towards the large, oily-faced, greasy-skinned Caucasian man opposite him:
"Please, Mr. Konik."
Indeed!
Just as Illusion Engine was in dire straits, overwhelmed with troubles!
Konik, the Chief Executive Officer of CloudPower, who had previously spoken of their collaboration's boundless prospects and their intimate relationship, had already crossed oceans to arrive in Toukyou, beginning cooperation negotiations with Komera.
"Mr. Konik's decision is absolutely correct,"
Ito Suke said with a smile:
"It's always better to extricate oneself from the mire in time than to lose more resources. Cutting off an arm to save one's life, quite commendable courage..."
Ito Suke's words were dripping with schadenfreude.
Even carrying a hint of mocking, kicking someone when they're down.
Admittedly, while CloudPower and Komera were both now under the Vivendi capital umbrella, theoretically "brother" enterprises.
In reality, the covert and overt rivalry between the two factions had never ceased, always competing in the shadows.
After all, both were giants, pillars within Vivendi's gaming industry layout.
Whoever performed better would naturally win more rewards and secure a larger share of resources.
So, Ito Suke's attitude, while unpleasant, wasn't surprising.
It was just unfortunate for Konik.
Having swaggered for half a lifetime, only to be slighted by a "brother" here.
You damn bastard, finally found your chance to mock and sneer, haven't you...
Konik cursed inwardly, silently calling Ito Suke a petty man reveling in his temporary advantage.
Yet, there was nothing he could do about it.
Who told that useless Illusion Engine to be so disappointing!
Originally, the situation was incredibly favorable!
The blockade and price hike were executed seamlessly; they were poised to dominate the sky with one hand!
But in the end, they failed at the last hurdle!
Now, Illusion Engine had been truly abandoned by their "Vivendi faction."
Just as Carter Walker had thought.
From the very beginning, Illusion Engine was merely a pawn in Konik's hand.
Use it if you can, discard it if you can't.
While there were losses, they weren't crippling.
As for Illusion Engine itself...
What did its life or death matter?
"But I heard there's currently a company aggressively acquiring their shares, with a very strong momentum,"
Hearing this, Ito Suke spoke up:
"Is there something fishy about this?"
Squabbling aside.
The two were, after all, grasshoppers on the same string. Where there was cause for concern, Ito Suke naturally would promptly display his keen sense of smell.
"Chairman Ito needn't worry about this,"
Taking a sip of tea, Konik waved his hand indicating no need for concern:
"We noticed this development as soon as it showed signs of emerging,"
"After all, logically, investors would be fleeing from a company in such a precipitous decline,"
"But after our investigation and understanding,"
"The entity launching the acquisition is just a mediocre, ordinary investment group that previously had no involvement in the gaming industry whatsoever, nor any connection to gaming-related industries,"
"Probably trying to pick up a bargain,"
"After all, back in the day, Manhattan's Forton Capital picked up the nearly bankrupt Terps Real Estate Group, which led to its current scale,"
"In the capital's playground, every investor believes they are the one and only chosen one,"
"Greater profits and gambles attract them like moths to a flame,"
"Perhaps Chairman Ito is somewhat unfamiliar with this situation, but in fact, this kind of thing happens every day in the world of capital,"
"Moths burned by the flames are countless,"
"As long as it's unrelated to the gaming industry, we have no need to worry."
After hearing Konik's words.
Ito Suke shrugged, tacitly accepting it.
Who was Konik? What kind of group was CloudPower?
When it came to hostile takeovers, capital operations, in the entire gaming technology industry, how many could claim to be more familiar than them?
This was CloudPower's specialty, their bread and butter!
Since Konik had already said so, he had no further reason to worry.
Thinking this, Ito Suke nodded.
And with this nod.
Illusion Engine's "Vivendi faction ally" had utterly, ruthlessly abandoned it.
"In this regard, Mr. Konik is the expert. I was just being overly cautious,"
Saying this, Ito Suke set his mind at ease, waving a hand dismissively with a smile:
"It's hard to imagine why a technology investment group would—"
...
"Information change?"
A mere week later!
Carter Walker finally managed to get a good night's sleep.
Just yesterday, as one of the major shareholders holding 12% of Illusion Engine's shares, the well-known gaming technology industry investment group Laira Capital announced its withdrawal.
That self-proclaimed mysterious Polish investment company finally, with 30% of the shares, gained complete initiative and stood ready to launch an acquisition offer for Illusion Engine at any moment.
At that moment, all the anxiety and panic finally settled, turning into a helpless sigh.
Nine months.
A nightmare-like experience.
The once influential, wildly successful, hailed by many industry media as the "promising flagship" Phantom Dream engine had ultimately met the tragic fate of being hoist by its own petard.
Very dramatic, very swift.
Perhaps when their market value was as high as twenty billion, no one would have imagined that such a gaming technology group would fall into an irrecoverable predicament in less than a year.
Watching their market being carved up, their flesh being devoured, until finally becoming a dried-up skeleton at home.
One moment soaring to wealth, the next plunging into destitution.
Wall Street never believes in perpetual prosperity.
So-called market value is all virtual; once collapse begins, it will be like a towering building toppling, spilt water impossible to retrieve.
Perhaps from the group's founding to seizing opportunities for frenzied appreciation, Illusion Engine didn't take too long, just a few short years.
Perhaps from the group's founding to seizing opportunities for rapid appreciation, Illusion Engine didn't take too long, just a few short years.
But once the illusory bubble burst, the speed of the collapse and disillusionment that followed was evidently much faster.
《Gone Are the Days! Phantom Dream Overall Stock Price Crashes, Vivendi Remains Silent!》
《Major Shareholder Announces Exit! Laira Capital Withdraws Shares, Adding Frost to Phantom Dream's Snow!》
《Mysterious Company Takes Over from Laira Capital, Shareholding Exceeds 30%, What Are Its Intentions?》
《From Darling to Abandoned Piece: Phantom Dream's Nine-Month Nightmare》
...
One pessimistic report and piece of news after another came pouring in.
Oh no, to be accurate, not "pessimistic."
After all, Phantom Dream's dire situation no longer required any exaggeration or embellishment.
After all, even if he didn't accept it, there was nothing else he could do.
But strangely enough.
When all hope had been shattered, he, as the company's helmsman, became rather more composed.
He was wearing a formal, crisp suit because that mysterious Polish company would arrive in the United States today to issue them an acquisition invitation.
Soon, the secretary notified him that the other party's negotiation representative had arrived at the conference room.
Carter Walker also nodded, let out a long sigh, stood up, and headed for the conference room.
However!
Just as he pushed open his office door and walked towards the conference room!
An assistant ran over, informing him that just moments ago, this Polish company had actually issued an announcement about an information change!
The latest news brought by the assistant made Carter Walker somewhat dazed, his steps slowing slightly:
"...You're saying... this Polish company about to launch an acquisition offer for us just underwent an information change? What kind of change? Shareholders? Or some high-level personnel change?"
"...Neither,"
The assistant shook his head, looking equally confused, and handed the materials to Carter Walker:
"They changed the company's slogan and... the company name."
Hearing this!
Carter Walker took the materials with a frown, muttering in low, puzzled confusion:
"Visual Rendering"
"Physics Computation"
"Artificial Intelligence"
"Sound Reverberation"
"Network"
"Security and Stability"
"Reality Augmentation..."
As he reached this point!
The conference room door opened!
Carter Walker's gaze finally fell upon the great name of this mysterious Polish company—!
【MADE IN HEAVEN】
Made in Heaven!
And the next moment!
He heard the already waiting representative of Made in Heaven slowly rise and speak:
"Good morning, Mr. Carter Walker. Our time is limited,"
"Let's speed up this acquisition."