Chapter 9: I Want to Sell for 100 Million Pounds
William smiled, unconcerned with the silent tension in the room. He kept quiet, letting them stew while he considered his next move.
He knew he had said everything he needed to. These men had spent their lives in the game industry; they understood the kind of wealth a hit game could create. He didn't need to say another word.
The game discs alone could sell for over seventy million pounds, and future versions would bring in another huge sum. Add to that the peripheral products, which could be worth several or even ten times the game's revenue. It would be strange if these companies didn't want this game.
And Blockbuster was about to go public. A massive hit like this becoming popular in the United States would be a huge help for their IPO next year. A single pound of profit could translate to twenty pounds of increased market value. The timing of this sale was critical.
The representative from Best Buy, unable to stand the silence any longer, finally spoke up. "Okay, Mr. Devonshire, we understand you intend to sell the full copyright of the game."
"You've said a lot to convince us of the game's bright future. Let me guess... you want to sell now to make a fortune while the market is good? Invest it in the stock market, and it might double in less than a year."
"If that's the plan, then congratulations, William. You're about to become a millionaire. But I hope you'll finally tell us your asking price for the full copyright."
"The bidding starts at one hundred million pounds."
"FUCK..." Despite being mentally prepared for a high number, the room erupted when William said one hundred million pounds.
One of the distributors even shouted, "Are you crazy? One hundred million pounds? Have you lost your mind?"
William ignored the outburst, his eyes fixed on the man from Blockbuster. "I think Blockbuster would be very interested in spending one hundred million pounds to earn more than three hundred million. It would be a great help to your plan for next year, wouldn't it, Mr. Morris?"
Wood-Morris was visibly shocked by William's pointed stare. *Does this kid know something?* he thought. *Impossible.*
*The board only just agreed to the IPO next year. How could this guy possibly know?*
Morris was startled by William's words. He met William's gaze for a second before looking away, feeling as if the young man could see right through him.
Staring into Morris's eyes, William knew instantly that his gamble had paid off. Blockbuster was indeed planning to go public. In these years, Blockbuster was truly unrivaled in the United States. Netflix had nearly been acquired by them several times. If Blockbuster hadn't been so arrogant, offering too low a price and underestimating the speed of online development, Netflix might not even exist today. So at this point in time, Blockbuster was not short on cash. But that might not be the case after March of this year.
"Regarding the offer, I will have to report to our board of directors. I can't make a decision on one hundred million pounds right now," Morris said, feeling uneasy under William's gaze and hurriedly changing the subject. "Mr. Devonshire, I think that's all for today. We'll be in touch in a few days."
William smiled at Wood-Morris and said, "Okay, that's all for today. I'll wait for your good news, Mr. Morris."
With that, William gave a general nod to everyone in the room, ignored the other distributors who were trying to pull him aside, and left with Anthony and his team from the Yuelida Law Firm.
The group of six went directly to a business suite they had booked in the Hilton. Anthony looked at the young man sitting in front of him, barely twenty years old. He thought silently, *The file says William Devonshire, born December 7th, 1980. That makes him just nineteen years and two months old.* Anthony suddenly thought it would be wonderful if his own son could be like William one day.
"Congratulations, Mr. Devonshire. I believe you are about to become the youngest hundred-millionaire in England. It's truly incredible."
"You have completely changed my view of the youth of this new century. You are truly remarkable, William. Congratulations," Anthony exclaimed.
"Thank you," William said, accepting the glass of wine Anthony poured for him. "I think we need to sign a new contract. I didn't expect things to go this smoothly. The real battle begins in three days."
"I have information that Blockbuster plans to go public. I need your firm to cooperate fully with me to make plans, release news, and attract more potential bidders. After all, something that people are fighting over always sells for a better price."
Anthony nodded and said, "Yes, Mr. Devonshire, the current hourly contract is no longer suitable. You need our Yuelida Law Firm to provide you with a full range of services. We will help you make all preparations."
"Okay. This deal involves over one hundred million pounds. I think a one percent commission should satisfy your firm. And if this business can be successfully completed, I will hire you as my personal lawyer. What do you think?" William said, looking directly into Anthony's eyes.
Anthony considered it. One percent was over a million pounds. Although the Yuelida Law Firm was one of the best in England, he wasn't its only partner. There were more than a dozen senior partners and dozens of ordinary ones. Cases worth a million pounds in fees didn't come along every year, and when they did, they weren't always his to take. On top of that, his fee as a private lawyer would be 300,000 pounds a year. An opportunity this good was rare.
Without a moment's hesitation, Anthony nodded. "No problem, Mr. Devonshire. Our firm will take the case."
William extended his hand. "Excellent."
"A pleasure to cooperate, Mr. Devonshire," Anthony said, shaking William's hand.
William raised his glass, clinked it against the others', and downed the Scotch whisky in one gulp. He sighed. "I really didn't expect to become a hundred-millionaire so soon. With this money, my plans for after March can be implemented much more smoothly."
After they signed the new contract, Anthony said, "Mr. Devonshire, since I am now your lawyer, I need to remind you of something."
"Go on."
"I think you should get a bank and an insurance company involved. For a transaction involving hundreds of millions of pounds, you must have an insurance company participate to ensure the safety of the funds."
"And you should also think about the problem of reasonable tax avoidance. It matters whether you receive the money in England or in another country."
"Is there a difference?" William asked.
"Of course, Mr. Devonshire. If you want the money as soon as possible, you can pay to have the transaction insured. If the buyer doesn't pay by the contracted time, the insurance company will pay you first, and then they will collect the debt themselves."
"Then there is the matter of the receiving bank. If you set up the account in England, you will have to pay taxes on the money. If the funds are routed to Switzerland or the British Virgin Islands, to a confidential bank in one of these tax havens, then there is basically no tax. As long as it's an offshore account, England has no jurisdiction to check it."
"However, if you ever want to bring those funds back into England, there will be difficulties. To bring it back legally would cost you no less than if you had just paid the corporate income tax honestly in the first place."
Seeing William's eyes light up, Anthony added a word of caution. "But this method has one major disadvantage. If the public finds out you haven't paid your taxes, your reputation in British society will be greatly, perhaps even fatally, affected. Plenty of people have been investigated for years over things like this. Even if they can't ultimately prosecute you, the trouble is immense."
"My suggestion is that you register a company in the British Virgin Islands and hold half of your shares through that offshore company. That way, you would only pay tax in England on half the income."
"Additionally, small and medium-sized enterprises can get a tax refund of 1.5 times their R&D costs."
*Is there really such a good deal?*
William scratched his head. "That's tricky. I don't really have any costs other than food and electricity. I did everything myself. I designed the game, designed the characters, and drew all the art."
Anthony stared at William as if he were looking at an alien. He had assumed the research and development costs for *Plants vs. Zombies* must have been in the tens of millions of pounds. "And now you're telling me you spent nothing? Unbelievable." Anthony's head started to ache.
"Well, I knew you were a genius, but I didn't realize to what extent. I will sort out some other legal tax avoidance methods and report back to you in a few days."
William nodded helplessly. "Fine. I have only one requirement: everything must be legal."
"Of course, sir," Anthony agreed. "I promise everything will be reasonable and legal. No one will be able to find any legal loopholes in these tax avoidance methods. This is what our firm does best."
"That's good. By the way," William whispered to Anthony, "I need you to help me leak some of the data from today's meeting to the press. Not the asking price, of course."
"No problem. As long as you aren't afraid of being followed by a horde of paparazzi from now on, I'd be happy to help."
William laughed. "I'm already prepared for the paparazzi. After today's meeting, I couldn't have stayed hidden for long anyway."
Anthony said, "It's good that you're prepared. Do you have any idea how much Blockbuster wants this game?"
"It's a secret," William shrugged. "I think we should set up the British Virgin Islands company this afternoon."
William's junior mage intuition was telling him that something big was about to happen.