"Mr. Murdoch, I learned from the media this morning that ICQ has acquired 29 companies in just one year since its Nasdaq listing last year. What's going on?"
As Kyle and Rupert Murdoch chatted, the conversation naturally turned to ICQ.
Murdoch's expression subtly changed.
He took a sip of champagne and sighed, "It's our own fault for being too eager for quick success. The various representatives on the board believed that leveraging ICQ's massive user base to drive traffic to other industries would lead to quick and substantial profits."
"Driving traffic to other industries, there's nothing wrong with that!"
Kyle frowned.
ICQ is an instant messaging software, and before video and voice chat technologies were fully realized, it primarily focused on text-based chat. Its own profit methods were extremely limited, mainly relying on user memberships and advertising revenue.
However, ICQ boasted hundreds of millions of users!
Centering around the ICQ chat software and radiating into industries like film and television, beverages, apparel, food, gaming, and music, it was bound to attract a massive user base in a very short time, thereby achieving rapid profitability.
Tencent QQ Group rose to prominence precisely this way!
"The key issue is that we were too hasty. Both the management, represented by Wiesg and Vardi, and the shareholder representatives from Sequoia Capital, Goldman Sachs, and my News Corp, spread themselves too thin. In just one year, we acquired 29 companies globally, covering film and television, gaming, media, magazines, toys, food, apparel, finance, banking… numerous industries."
Murdoch said in a deep voice, "Kyle, do you know how much this cost?"
"How much?" Kyle asked curiously.
"5.8 billion US dollars!"
Murdoch's words were astonishing.
Holy cow!
At that moment, even Kyle, who had seen his share of major events, couldn't help but be greatly surprised. 5.8 billion US dollars completely exceeded Kyle's net worth after four years of hard work.
"That's impossible, acquiring 29 companies cost 5.8 billion US dollars?" Kyle blurted out.
"No."
Murdoch shook his head and said, "Acquiring 29 companies cost a large sum of money, and the subsequent integration investments added up to 5.8 billion US dollars. But, do you know how long it's been since ICQ was updated?"
Kyle shook his head, "I don't know. But when I was still with ICQ and serving as Chief Creative Officer, I once issued an instruction that ICQ must undergo minor updates every 2-3 months, and a major update every 10-12 months, to keep users engaged. Hmm, did Wiesg and his team not do that?"
"He did squat!"
Murdoch cursed in a low voice, "From its listing until now, a full 15 months, ICQ has only been updated twice, and the changes were minor, lacking any creative updates."
Upon hearing this, Kyle just shook his head.
A software that fails to maintain a certain degree of freshness, especially when there are other competitors, is undoubtedly on a path to self-destruction!
Furthermore, Kyle also learned from Murdoch that the board was quite dissatisfied with Wiesg, Vardi, and the rest of the management team.
Since ICQ's rise, Wiesg had continuously invested in new internet companies while managing ICQ.
In just over a year, he invested in more than 40 internet companies; among these numerous investments, one graphics processing software company even went public on Nasdaq in early February this year. Wiesg held a 13% stake in this company, bringing him 40 million US dollars in profit.
Consequently, Wiesg became somewhat distracted from his main duties!
"So, it seems you are truly quite dissatisfied with Wiesg and Vardi." Kyle teased.
Upon hearing this, Murdoch gave Kyle an annoyed look… After ending his conversation with Murdoch, Kyle spent the rest of the time chatting with other guests.
IBM executive: Taiwei Schindler;
Intel executive: Smith Williams;
HP executive: Dana Mlitto;
Oracle Chairman: Larry Ellison;
Dell owner: Dell;
And more than a dozen others, who exchanged pleasantries and praised each other with Kyle.
Larry Ellison, in particular, left a very deep impression on Kyle, because his female companion was simply too beautiful.
"Larry, you old man, where did you find such a beautiful companion?" Kyle nudged him with his arm.
"Heh heh!"
Larry Ellison immediately beamed, "Envious, aren't you? I'll tell you, since the beginning of this year, I've already changed nine companions."
"You're a beast!" Kyle's eyebrows twitched.
"Haha, thanks for the compliment."
Larry Ellison continued, "I heard from Jobs yesterday that you increased your stake in Apple last month?"
Kyle nodded, "There's nothing to hide. Even though I don't like Jobs, I'm optimistic about Apple!"
Larry Ellison teased Kyle for a bit, and in front of Kyle, he slapped his beautiful companion's backside, which made Kyle extremely displeased.
That old man, what a playboy!
Looking at the big shots in America's internet and tech fields, Larry Ellison was the most obsessed with beauty. Unlike Jobs, Gates, and others who were secretive and hid their affairs, he dared to tell the media that his biggest hobby was seducing beautiful women.
Listen, how many billionaires in America are like him?
Even Kyle was cautious when he was having his clandestine affairs…
Soon after, under Wiesg's hosting, ICQ's third-anniversary cocktail party officially began!
Wiesg delivered a speech in front of hundreds of guests.
"ICQ was founded on May 15, 1996, and it has come a long way, overcoming many difficulties and hardships. Every member of our team has put in 120% effort. Every ICQ person should feel proud and honored."
"From just a handful of people at the beginning, to today, we have 27,000 employees worldwide."
"From a small company worth less than 1 million, to today's giant company with a market capitalization of 7.2 billion US dollars, the undisputed leader in instant messaging."
"From a single company to a large enterprise with over 40 subsidiaries, centered around ICQ."
"Every step we take is intertwined with the pulse of the times and the changes in technology networks!"
"Distinguished guests, as Chairman of ICQ, I sincerely welcome your presence!"
As his voice fell, applause naturally erupted.
Even though ICQ was in a bit of a rough patch recently, all the invited guests were people who understood how to conduct themselves in public and would absolutely not embarrass Wiesg and the ICQ team at this moment. Who knew if ICQ would win this battle in the instant messaging field?
If they won, then future cooperation opportunities would naturally be abundant.
Those who causelessly make enemies in business never end well.
As soon as Wiesg finished his speech and stepped off the stage, Vardi approached him with an angry expression.
Vardi whispered angrily, "Wiesg, why did you change the speech draft?"
"I didn't." Wiesg denied.
Vardi grabbed Wiesg and whispered, "I'm not joking with you. I mean, in the speech, you deleted all the content involving Mr. Kyle Page. What were you thinking?"
Wiesg was speechless.
"Wiesg, you were the one who first proposed inviting Mr. Page back to ICQ to salvage its current decline. But now, you can't bring yourself to do it. What do you expect us to do?" Vardi gritted his teeth.
Wiesg was fuming inside!
He genuinely couldn't swallow his pride.
"Hello, Wiesg, long time no see."
Just then, a middle-aged woman arrived. Her arrival interrupted Wiesg and Vardi's argument.
Immediately, Wiesg ignored Vardi.
"Idiot!"
Vardi watched Wiesg's retreating back and muttered, "Is pride worth money? If you're not going to Mr. Page, then I will! I will absolutely not let ICQ be destroyed!"
"What if he changes his mind midway?"
Just then, Goldfinger, one of ICQ's founders, walked up to Vardi and said, "He's always been indecisive like that. We shouldn't have trusted him in the first place."
"Yes, if Mr. Page had taken on the role of ICQ Chairman back then, we wouldn't have ended up in such a situation," Vardi sighed.