138: Chapter 138 is not a garbage dump, Facebook's joint venture plan

MTN Africa, Africa's largest telecom operator, has a market cap of tens of billions of dollars and operations in over 20 countries globally.

But Transsion did not use their channels. Mr. Adebayo was a bit puzzled; what were they here for?

"Hello." He said calmly.

"Mr. Adebayo, let's keep it brief. MTN wants to acquire Konnect entirely. Make an offer."

Konnect, as one of the "Three Little Dragons" of social media, was originally ranked second, and now has been ranked third for a long time, but that depends on who you compare it with.

The Huaxin system is third, but when expanded to all of Africa, it is still third. Although its market position has slipped, it still has 40 million registered users.

In Africa, that counts as a very successful internet giant.

Mr. Adebayo thought for a few seconds: "Sorry, Konnect is not for sale."

"We can offer a very high price."

"How much?"

The other party reported a number.

Mr. Adebayo laughed. Who gave them the confidence to think that a failed product has no value?

"Sir, this price can't even buy our servers."

The other party fell silent for a moment.

An 800 million dollar valuation to buy 40 million user data points is conscientious enough, but he didn't expect the other party to refuse so directly.

"Then what do you want?"

Mr. Adebayo thought about it: "We want shares of NVIDIA, Intel, and Apple Inc. As long as you can get them, we can swap at a discount."

The other party was silent for a while, then suddenly laughed out of anger.

"Then I wonder if Mr. Adebayo has any thoughts on merging MTN and Konnect? Although our MTN Social has seen a significant slowdown in growth under the impact of the Huaxin system, it still has some value."

After MTN Social was sentenced to death by Naspers, the parent company also decided to give up. This phone call was less about wanting to acquire Konnect and more about finding a sucker to take over MTN...

"Sorry, we don't want trash like you."

With that, Mr. Adebayo hung up the phone directly.

...

Mr. Adebayo told Huang Tianya about this, and the person on the other end of the phone laughed for a long time.

"Mr. Adebayo, the way you said that, the people at MTN must be furious."

Mr. Adebayo also laughed.

"Mr. Huang, I was just telling the truth. Traditional operators like MTN only have users, no technology, and no ecosystem. What do we want them for?"

MTN was indeed the number one social software in Africa before, but that was built on the strong promotion of Naspers and the parent company.

You had to bind the software when getting a card... It was actually very difficult to use, and many users almost never launched it again after getting the card.

Huang Tianya also nodded affirmatively.

"Well said, don't be timid, you have me behind you. What Transsion wants are partners who can build an ecosystem with us. We are not a garbage dump, and MTN isn't qualified."

Huang Tianya paused for a moment.

"By the way, there's something I need to tell you."

"What is it?"

"The person in charge of Facebook's Africa division has arrived in Lagos. Unless something goes wrong, they should be coming for you, wanting to open a breakthrough from your side."

Facebook? Coming for him.

Mr. Adebayo fell into thought: "Mr. Huang, I don't quite understand. What do they want to do?"

Huang Tianya smiled: "Guess. Don't worry, it's nothing major. Meet them and see what happens, then send a report to headquarters..."

...

March 16th, Lagos, Oriental Hotel.

Mr. Adebayo met the Africa representative for Facebook. A United States woman named Emily, in her early 30s, blonde and blue-eyed, dressed very professionally.

"Mr. Adebayo, I've heard so much about you."

Emily extended her hand, her smile becoming very professional, with deliberate flattery in her eyes and brows, and her tone was soft and sweet.

Mr. Adebayo shook her hand without paying attention to these small actions; he only had his career in his eyes now; women would only affect the speed of his work.

Emily's meticulous preparation not only failed to have any effect but instead aroused his vigilance.

"Ms. Emily, what does your side want to do by looking for me?"

Emily didn't beat around the bush: "Facebook wants to enter the African market. We think the best way is to find a local partner."

Mr. Adebayo looked at her.

"So you found me."

"Yes." Emily nodded, "We have specifically developed a Taishan OS version for Transsion phones. Currently, your company's Smartphone shipment volume is approaching ten million; this is a huge gold mine. Facebook hopes to cooperate with you to jointly develop the African market. Binding with you is our most successful and lowest-cost option."

Here to buy promotion again. He could actually make the call on this, and could even offer a certain discount...

"How to cooperate?"

"This is a preliminary proposal. Facebook can provide technology and content, while Transsion Mall provides users and channels. Both sides share advertising revenue and jointly develop the market."

Mr. Adebayo took the document without opening it; after all, the other party didn't mention promotion fees just now, but instead talked about joint cooperation.

"Ms. Emily, I want to ask a question."

"Please go ahead."

"Why does Facebook need to find a partner? Can't you just come in yourselves? Taishan OS is in a development stage, we welcome all partners, and we have discount services for big clients. That should be more cost-effective than a joint venture proposal."

Emily looked at Mr. Adebayo, who was holding the document and shaking it around without opening it, and smiled.

"Mr. Adebayo, you are very direct."

Mr. Adebayo also smiled: "This is Transsion's style of doing things; we don't beat around the bush."

Emily nodded.

"Okay, then I'll be direct. It's too costly and risky for Facebook to come in by itself. Africa has over 50 countries, each with different languages, different cultures, and different regulations. Although it's not particularly difficult for us, it's very time-consuming. Most importantly, we can't handle you."

What Emily didn't say was that according to their research, as long as they bought promotion, they were Transsion's best partner; but once the promotion fees stopped, Transsion would dump them, prioritizing only the companies they had invested in. This was just like some old ladies in China; they only show up if there are eggs, and if there are no eggs, their faith drops to zero.

"Of course, Mr. Adebayo, I'm not saying your company is doing anything wrong. We recognize your company's plan, which is why we are here to cooperate."

Mr. Adebayo finally opened the document.

Facebook and Transsion would establish an African subsidiary, with each side holding 50% of the shares. Jointly developing the African market...

Mr. Adebayo saw that the contract specifically emphasized not restricting searches in the application store, and he smiled slightly, then scratched his head in embarrassment. Transsion wasn't that kind of person; writing it down specifically made them seem like the bad guys.

[MTN: The grass on my grave is already 3 meters high...]

After reading a few times, he looked up.

"Ms. Emily, I need to take this document back to the Guangzhou headquarters for discussion; this exceeds my authority."

Emily nodded: "Of course. I await your news."