146: Chapter 146 Van Dijk's Underhanded Tactics

Huang Tianya reached out his hand. "Pleasure doing business with you."

The two hands clasped together; this single handshake was worth billions of dollars.

This handshake changed the future of quite a few companies.

The status of AfriLink as the "favored son" vanished from this moment on. The corresponding search, recommendation, and hardware integration features were all cut. If they wanted them restored, they would have to pay for them...

Guangzhou, Transsion headquarters. When Shen Fei received the message from Huang Tianya, he was reviewing a display test report. The first OLED Screen from the China Star panel factory was currently being tested in the lab.

On the table was another summary report: the Taishan 900 had successfully taped out and was now undergoing testing.

He glanced at it, smiled, and set the documents down.

Zhang Mingzhu asked from the side, "What's the matter? Why so happy? Who's having bad luck now?"

"What kind of person do you take your husband for? In your heart, am I really that kind of person..."

"Hmph... isn't that exactly what you are?"

Zhang Mingzhu took the report, read it, and froze.

"You sold out AfriLink."

"Not sold," Shen Fei shook his head. "Traded."

He took the report back again: "18% of Tencent shares in exchange for 30% of AfriLink, 20% of T-pay shares, and 20% of BeatFlow shares. They think they came out ahead."

He let Zhang Mingzhu process this for a moment: "And I think I came out ahead too."

Zhang Mingzhu looked at him, suddenly understanding his strategic layout.

Different regions, different national conditions. You can be the majority shareholder temporarily, but once a company truly gains regional influence, any foreign majority shareholder must gradually fade away from the center of power...

Whether it's retreating while ahead or cashing out at a high point, it's the correct choice. Otherwise... the state apparatus, in the end, is still the state apparatus.

"I support your decision."

Shenzhen, Tencent Building. Pony Ma stood in his office, phone in hand, his expression changing.

On the other end of the line, Van Dijk's voice carried a hint of an elusive smile.

"Pony, I have some news to tell you. I don't know if this is bad news or good news for you. Your biggest nightmare, the check and balance you wanted to get rid of most, is gone. We've sold another 18% of the Tencent shares held by Naspers, and we've completely become a minority shareholder."

Pony Ma didn't feel happy; instead, his pupils constricted slightly. Sold?

"Who did you sell it to?"

"Someone you know."

Van Dijk deliberately left his sentence half-finished, leaving it to Pony Ma to ponder.

As expected, Pony Ma on the other end began to think. Tencent was currently on a continuous rise and was indeed a hot commodity. It was normal to be targeted; many people wanted to get on board, and he knew of quite a few. Who was it this time? Someone he knew...

"Huaxin Investment."

Pony Ma widened his eyes again, clearly not believing this news. After all, Huaxin had just taken 20% of the shares, and now they had eaten up another 18%. If that were true, their stake would reach 38%... How was that possible? Even with money, you don't burn it like that! What exactly did Tencent have that was worth them coveting so much?

Suddenly, he laughed, and instead asked Van Dijk: "Mr. Van Dijk, what is the meaning of this? Are you trying to cause a misunderstanding between us and make us start fighting each other?"

Van Dijk also laughed: "Pony, don't misunderstand. I absolutely have no such intention. Furthermore, this is just a normal commercial decision. I am still very optimistic about Tencent's development, but I am even more optimistic about the internet in Africa, and I need capital. Huaxin was willing to pay the price, so we sold."

He paused, then twisted the knife: "Besides, the price Huaxin offered was 15% higher than the market price. With such a good buyer, we had no reason to refuse."

When Van Dijk said this, his heart was bleeding too... 15%? It was more like 40%, but he was the one who had made the concession.

"We now have 7% of the shares left." To make Pony Ma think a little more, Van Dijk's voice returned to a calm tone. "Huaxin now owns 38% of Tencent's shares and is the largest shareholder."

Pony Ma closed his eyes. He thought back to 2001, when Naspers invested in Tencent; he thought he had found a long-term partner. That money saved Tencent's life. Naspers had earned over a hundred times their investment, and then turned around and sold the shares to a domestic capital firm. And it was a capital firm capable of devouring people.

"Mr. Van Dijk," Pony Ma opened his eyes, "I will remember this transaction."

Van Dijk was silent for a second: "Pony, I know this matter lets you down, but please don't overthink it. Mr. Shen has no other intentions; he just thinks highly of your development. We have only reached a temporary agreement. To complete the share transfer, it still has to go to the board of directors. The decision-making power is still in your hands."

After saying this, he hung up the phone directly.

Pony Ma stood by the window looking at the buildings in the High-Tech Zone, having fallen into Van Dijk's trap. 38%. He knew all too well what that number meant.

Huaxin Investment, Shen Fei's capital operation platform, had now become Tencent's largest shareholder. And behind him was Zhang Shiqing, who had just been transferred to the position of Executive Vice Governor. A direct transfer from the Commission for Discipline Inspection to Executive Vice Governor; the power behind this was clearly extraordinary. Could this be a coincidence?

Before the new year, he had communicated with Shen Fei a few times. Shen Fei said he had no interest in the social industry, and the gaming market was not being considered either. Those few games were just something done on the side to open up the domestic mobile phone market...

He had originally thought angry birds was just pure trash, but it turned out to be a massive hit, with domestic monthly revenue alone exceeding 150 million. But three games, three massive hits... was this really just a coincidence?

Pony Ma walked to his desk and picked up his phone. He needed to make a call, but he chose to put it down again... If he asked directly, what answer would he get? It would be nothing more than some evasive excuses, and it might even cause the other party to raise their guard prematurely, leading to some unpleasant issues at the upcoming shareholders' meeting... But this problem had to be faced eventually, and in the end, he picked up the phone.

As soon as the phone rang, it was answered on the other side. "Mr. Ma, what a rare guest! Our domestic version of the Transsion phone is about to hit the market. Remember to help us promote it when the time comes."

Shen Fei's voice sounded a hint of excitement, but it was entirely excitement for the Transsion phone; it seemed as if he didn't know Huaxin had become Tencent's largest shareholder.

"Mr. Shen," Pony Ma didn't take the bait, "I just received a call from Van Dijk."

Shen Fei made an "Oh" sound. "That matter! I know, we traded for a few things."

Pony Ma let out a breath. Things didn't seem as bad as he had imagined.

"Mr. Shen, 38% of the shares—what do you want to do?"

On the other end of the line, Shen Fei laughed. "Mr. Ma, don't overthink it."

Pony Ma didn't speak; his silence represented his resistance. He didn't really agree with this transaction.

"I had Huang Tianya make this deal not to seize your control." Shen Fei's voice was very sincere; one could feel that heartfelt sincerity.

"Transsion doesn't have the energy for that. If we really had thoughts in that direction, we could have completely..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Pony Ma said coldly: "38% of the shares, and you say you don't have the ability to seize control?"