That was because Manager Li knew that most other clubs would also increase the price following his lead.
That immediately raised the total price by several millions or tens of millions.
This behavior itself made others uncomfortable, but in business, verbal promises were unreliable before signing the contract in black and white. There was nothing to blame.
Manager Li thought that even if Boss Pei did not show his true feelings, he would feel a little unpleasant when he heard an extra one million, right?
If Boss Pei did not accept this, both parties can continue to delay—which was not bad.
However, Boss Pei wasn’t angry at all. Instead, there was some delight in his eyes.
Great job!
Other clubs would definitely follow Manager Li’s initiative to raise the price, each adding one million yuan—which would also be a lot of money!
Pei Qian almost laughed out loud. He tried to control his expression and looked at the other club managers: “Do you want to increase the price, too? What are your demands? Tell me just like Manager Li did!”
The other managers looked at each other, not knowing how to answer.
Of course, they wanted to increase the price and earn an extra million. Where could they find such a good deal?
However, everyone was afraid that Boss Pei would hold grudges against them.
Manager Su of the H4 Club coughed slightly: “Ahem, Boss Pei there is still no need to increase ours. The previous amount has reached the expected price of our club.”
Manager Su immediately felt a few contemptuous glances at him after he finished speaking.
He ignored them.
The owner of the H4 club was not as tough as the owner of SUG.
Manager Su received the instruction that the H4 Club was the first club to cooperate with Boss Pei and the club that gained the most exposure out of it. Tengda’s regulations were nothing more than a standard contract, which did not cross their principles. It was enough to make a little trouble, but it did not really matter to them.
There was no reason for them to follow the other clubs in making Boss Pei their enemy!
Moreover, the owner of the H4 club didn’t really want to really sell the GOG division. They were the champions of the Global Invitational after all.
That 13 million might be a lot, but it was a champion team after all. If it was really sold, it wouldn’t be clear whether it was a loss or a profit.
Therefore, among these managers, Manager Su was the least determined and actively rejected Mr. Pei’s proposal to increase prices, not wanting to make the scene too ugly.
The atmosphere in the conference room became subtle again.
Pei Qian panicked instead.
No, please don’t break the momentum caused by Manager Li!
It would have been a great thing to spend millions more. No one dared to increase the price further this way. Wouldn’t I be in an awkward position?
Pei Qian waved his hand. “How can that do?! We view everyone fairly!
“I think it’s not that everyone did not want to increase prices, but you are too embarrassed to speak up.
“Zhang Yuan, let’s do it this way. Raise the expected price of all clubs by one million; we’ll sign the contract according to this.”
Zhang Yuan froze for a moment. What do you mean? Was it okay for Boss Pei to take the initiative to raise the price?
However, he saw Boss Pei’s firm eyes; he couldn’t ask more on such an occasion. He could only record silently.
The look of contempt that had been cast at Manager Su before disappeared.
Since all clubs had their prices raised by one million, everyone was mentally balanced, and there was no need to worry about Tengda taking revenge on them.
Boss Pei initiated it himself after all!
Pei Qian was also very happy. He smiled and asked: “Okay, now I’ll assume that everyone, like the SUG club, is determined to sell the club at this price, right? If no one objects, I will get the Legal Department to prepare the contract for everyone.”
Pei Qian didn’t plan to ask them one by one. He tried to muddle over and assumed that everyone would sell GOG divisions by default.
The club managers looked at each other, seeing confusion in one another’s faces.
Boss Pei… which side were you on?
Why did it seem like you were on our side?
Why did he seem more anxious than us and wanted us to sell the GOG division as soon as possible?
What was his intention?
Manager Su of the H4 Club suddenly felt that the situation seemed a bit wrong.
Boss Pei was too confident!
The fact that he took the initiative to raise the price of the club was too outrageous, which shows that Boss Pei must have other plans in mind!
The H4 Club didn’t plan to actually sell the GOG division. They just felt that it would be profitable for them to put pressure on Tengda together with other clubs to get rid of the restrictions imposed by GPL on various clubs.
However, Boss Pei seemed to be delighted while the other clubs did not realize something was wrong!
He might not know what Boss Pei’s plan was, but they would most likely lose out if they were to sell now! Most likely, Boss Pei would gobble up all the profits!
Manager Su quickly stood up seeing that Zhang Yuan was about to write down all the clubs: “Hold on!
“Boss Pei, the H4 Club does not plan to sell the GOG division anymore.”
The eyes of the other club managers instantly focused on Manager Su, with thirty-percent surprise and thirty-percent anger in their eyes.
How could you betray us on the spot?
What happened to advancing and retreating together?
Manager Su was unmoved. Don’t drag me down with you to die?! My boss didn’t plan on selling the GOG division. How was I to survive if I sold it for him on my own terms?
Pei Qian looked at Manager Su also with thirty-percent surprise and thirty-percent anger.
What the f*ck…? Were you here to wreck everything?!
Was there anything wrong to say in private? What if the other clubs won’t sell it, following your lead here?
Seeing that two or three club managers were shaken by Manager Su’s statement, Pei Qian hurriedly raised his hand and said, “Be quiet, everyone!”
“It’s everyone’s personal choice to sell or not to sell. Don’t always be influenced by others. Don’t you have opinions?
“Manager Li says to sell, and you all want to sell; Manager Su says not to sell, and you don’t want to sell.”
“Can you be firmer?!”
“Primary school students knew that they had to keep their words, and they all know that they have no regrets. Why did the problem become so complicated with you all?”
“Manager Li is very assertive; I appreciate it very much.”
“That will be all today. Everyone, wait for Zhang Yuan to contact you and sign contracts one by one.”
Pei Qian felt that the wind direction changed to his disadvantage so he stopped quickly.
These clubs had to follow Manager Li, not Manager Su!
Boss Pei’s remarks fitted the managers’ intentions, and it so happened that Tengda needed a certain time for the contract to be drawn up. They could use this time to reconsider.
Manager Su got up directly, ignored the other managers, and left on his own.
What else could he do since everything had reached this stage?
He was not afraid of offending the other clubs.
GPL would be launched soon enough after a while. These clubs were all for profit. Who would always hold grudges?
Naturally, other club managers would not say anything on such an occasion so they left silently.
Seeing that the club managers were all gone, Pei Qian leaned on the chair and let out a sigh of impatience.
Too gritty!
They have discussed it two or three times. Why haven’t these managers made up their
minds?
Hurry up and sell me the GOG divisions. Wouldn’t it be good for you to happily make a fortune?
Forget it, anyway, it was almost the last step. After signing the contract, Tengda would lose the money.
Good things come to those who waited!
Pei Qian stood up and instructed Zhang Yuan again before he left: “Remember, the news of the auction of these clubs’ GOG divisions should only be spread in a small area. Don’t make a big fanfare.”
Zhang Yuan nodded in confusion: “Understood, Boss Pei.”
Chapter 711 - Boss Li: Buy Two Clubs First!
November 1st, Tuesday…
Zhang Yuan did not supervise the training of the players of the DGE Club today. Instead, he was busy doing things that Boss Pei tasked him to do.
The legal department was taking the time to draft out the contract, to be signed with the clubs.
There would be no retreat for either party once the contract was signed.
Tengda must give these clubs the prices they asked for; otherwise, it would be a breach of contract. Other clubs must also sell the GOG division; otherwise, it would similarly be a breach of contract.
Of course, it did not mean that they could never go back, but they would have to pay liquidated damages if they were to breach.
The liquidated damages were thirty percent of the club’s intended price, which was a figure acceptable to both parties.
For example, if the intended price of a club was 10 million, then the penalty would be 3 million.
If Tengda were to breach the contract, it would pay the club 3 million; if the club defaulted and did not want to sell, it would pay Tengda 3 million.
It was just that something interesting was about to happen as the contracts were about to be signed.
Two clubs changed their minds and did not want to sign like the H4 club!
Obviously, the managers of the two clubs went back, spoke with their bosses, and felt that they didn’t really want to sell the GOG division. However, the signing of the contract meant that there would be no turning back. Either selling the GOG division or pay the breach—both were painful to them.
They, therefore, secretly called Zhang Yuan and told him that they did not intend to sell anymore and fully accepted the GPL regulations.
Some clubs also came to listen to Zhang Yuan in private, wanting to know what Boss Pei’s true thoughts were.
Was he really ready to give all the clubs a lot of money, or was he just bluffing and scaring the clubs into retreat?
Zhang Yuan was very tight-lipped about it.
Of course, he couldn’t even if he wanted to… because he didn’t know what Boss Pei was thinking!
Boss Pei’s schemes were too deep.
If even Zhang Yuan himself was very confused, how could others hear accurate news from him?
Of course, some clubs—such as Manager Li’s SUG Club—still decided to sign this contract.
Zhang Yuan took a look. In the end, six clubs decided to sell, including the SUG club and the EK club. These were old acquaintances.
The EK club won the runner-up previously but still wanted to sign this contract, which was unexpected to Zhang Yuan.
However, thinking from another perspective, it was precisely because the EK club took the runner-up that they were selling for the highest price at 13.5 million yuan.
A single GOG division sold at such a high price in the current domestic esports circle that was not yet mature… was very eye-catching.
The ideas of these clubs were actually very realistic: regardless of whether there was a third-party bidding or not, the price of the GOG division was already very high so they wouldn’t be making a loss even if they were to sell them.
What was the big deal? They could always re-organize a new GOG division and get back into the GPL after the sale.
Wouldn’t it be beautiful to make millions if they just flipped their hands?
Take the SUG Club as an example. It sold players from its own GOG division and transferred the rented training base and the GPL quota given by Tengda for free. It did not sell the SUG Club’s name.
If it was the other clubs buying the GOG division of SUG, it must be a new club with SUG’s original team.
SUG could always find some internet-addicted teenagers again and come back. The results would definitely plummet in the short term, but there was still a year before the World Invitational next year so there was no need to worry.
Most of these clubs even felt that Tengda would not follow through.
If no one bought it, then Tengda would only have two options: either to buy it all by themselves or to obediently pay a 30% penalty.
These clubs felt that the latter was very likely. After all, the magnitude of loss from liquidated damages was smaller.
They felt that Boss Pei might be ‘bluffing’ when he came out with this contract, and if they bought such ‘bluffing’, he would definitely make a fortune and win a big one.
Therefore, in their view, the risk was not big. However, the benefits were great, and it was worth a try.
Zhang Yuan sighed slightly. Experience told him that Boss Pei’s plan was definitely not as simple as these clubs thought.
These clubs, who have been cooperating with Boss Pei before, have experienced the treatment of allies so they subconsciously underestimated the cunning of Boss Pei.
Dare to stand on the opposite side of Boss Pei now? Then, they would have to experience the treatment of the enemy.
Such a Boss Pei was not a friendly image of a ‘win-win-win situation’.
Of course, Zhang Yuan knew that it was useless if he said it himself. These clubs would not listen.
Humans always felt that it’s not over ’til it’s over.
Zhang Yuan then quickly sorted out the information of these clubs’ GOG divisions, including player information, player value, previous World Invitational results, base address, etc.—plus the club’s expected quotation—and made a detailed table.
Boss Pei said that this news should only be spread within a small area.
How to define this ‘small area’ was a more troublesome question.
Zhang Yuan felt that it shouldn’t be considered as a wide range as long as they did not deliberately buy hot searches and make the heat spread all over the internet, letting everyone know that GOG players from these clubs were on sale, right?
Since that was the case…
Then, send a notice to the various departments within the group company and tell everyone that there was no need to deliberately hype it up, so that companies closely related to Tengda would definitely get the news.
This should meet the ‘small area’ mentioned by Boss Pei, right?
…
Afternoon, Fu Hui Investments…
Li Shi and a group of investors each had a form in their hands, on which stated detailed information and quotations of each esports club to be transferred.
Li Shi was definitely the first to obtain such information.
Li Shi put the form on the table and said, “I sent someone to inquire about the situation. At present, this information is only circulated within Tengda and has not attracted much attention on the Internet.
“It was probably a deliberate intention by Boss Pei.”
The other investors looked at each other with a puzzled look on their faces.
“Boss Li, is this unreasonable?”
“It states that there is bidding. In that case, the wider the news, the better; and the more people participating in the bidding, the better.
“For the clubs, they could transfer at high prices; for Boss Pei, it can also bring heat and attention.
“The interests of both parties in this matter should be the same?
“Why would Boss Pei just spread it in the small circle of Tengda Group?”
Li Shi chuckled: “Isn’t this in line with Boss Pei’s usual style? Only those who follow him the closest would be able to benefit. This is obviously a screening. All the
people who follow him closely are screened out so that everyone can get the news in advance and can prepare to bid early!
“I think it’s impossible to hide this. Even if Boss Pei doesn’t publicize it, these clubs will definitely make noise to sell at high prices.
“However, Boss Pei’s behavior is equivalent to giving us an information gap and a time gap, so that we can have more time to raise funds and prepare early. Won’t we be able to pick the best club?”
The investors only understood after listening to Boss Li’s analysis.
So that was why!
Knowing this information in advance might not allow them to spend less, but they could at least pick a satisfactory club in advance!
The quotations were not too different across the six clubs. For example, the EK Club wanted 13.5 million, and the SUG Club wanted 12 million. The former was the runner-up, and the latter was in the top four. It seemed like the former was more cost-effective.
Moreover, the bidding would not increase dollar by dollar. A transaction of tens of millions of dollars would start from at least one million yuan.
In other words, if Boss Li and others saw the EK club first, they could spend 13.5 million to buy it. The latecomer who wanted it would bid at 14.5 million. Compared with SUG of 12 million, it seemed very uneconomical.
This was equivalent to giving Boss Li and others a chance to strike first.
It was Boss Pei’s consistent style of giving a benefit to those who followed him closely, but it did not make this bid unfair.
However, someone soon raised new questions.
“Wait a minute, Boss Li. This time, Boss Pei is going to sell the esports club!
“I heard that the domestic esports clubs are purely money-burning, and they can’t make any money at all. What if you spend 10 million to buy a club without making money?
“Moreover, Boss Li, what if someone’s bid increased it to 20 million or even higher? Then, we wouldn’t be able to afford it.
“Yes, there is too much uncertainty.”
The investors fell into a dilemma again.
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