Wang An tapped his fingers on the cover of the draft contract twice, without turning it over, but raised his head and looked at Zhao Chen.
"Zhao Zong, the authorization period is ten years, this time--"
He paused, thinking about his words, "Can it be longer?"
Zhao Chen didn't answer immediately, just picked up the teacup and waited for him to continue.
"This is not how Henglong won the original contract between Mololoy and Labobo Copyright."
Wang An's tone was very calm, without any intention of hiding anything.
"When you bought Mololoy Overseas Copyright from Wang Xin, you signed an exclusive contract for twenty years.
It took twenty years to buy Labobo's global license from Long Xiangsheng.
Henglong holds the lifeblood of these two IPs in his hands for twenty years.
But the authorization you gave me is only for ten years."
He pushed up his glasses, and his eyes fell on Zhao Chen's face through the lenses.
"Zhao Zong, ten years is neither long nor short.
Bubble Mary If you build Mololoy and Labobo from scratch to tens of billions of IPs, and after the ten-year period expires, you take Copyright back, what should I do?"
The air in Meeting Room was quiet for a moment.
Chen Xi's fingers stopped on the laptop.
Zhang Qingxue raised his head slightly, moved his eyes away from the legal documents, and landed on Wang An's face.
Zhao Chen put down the teacup and looked calm.
"Wang Zong How long do you want to sign?"
"Twenty years." Wang An hesitated,
"What you signed from Wang Xin and Long Xiangsheng is twenty years, and what you signed for me is also twenty years. Fair."
Zhao Chen did not answer the call.
Wang An waited for a few seconds, saw that he didn't speak, and spoke again.
This time he spoke slower, as if after careful consideration.
"There is another way." Wang An said,
"Henglong completely transferred Mololoy and Labobo's Global Copyright to Bubble Mary. This is not an authorization, but a transfer.
Bubble Mary acquires the contract held by Zhao Zong at a premium. You decide the price."
After these words were spoken, the temperature in Meeting Room seemed to have dropped by one degree.
Chen Xi's brows wrinkled slightly.
Zhang Qingxue's fingers silently pressed on the edge of the contract draft.
Zhao Chen looked at Wang An, his eyes as calm as the deepest section of water in Two Rivers Confluence.
"Wang Zong," he finally spoke, his voice neither fast nor slow,
"You mean, I sold you the IP. From now on, Mololoy and Labobo have nothing to do with Henglong."
"Authorization is never as reliable as having it yourself."
Wang An met his gaze without dodging,
"Zhao Zong, let me tell you something that comes from my heart.
Bubble Mary's revenue this year is likely to exceed 600 million, and next year my goal is 1 billion.
The number of stores will be increased from 68 to 120, and Robot Shops will be sold to 300 units.
If I want to take this team to a higher place, there can be no uncertainties in the core IP."
He took a deep breath.
"No matter how thick the licensing contract is, it is still just a piece of paper. No one knows what the market will be like in ten years.
If Henglong changes the decision-maker at that time, or Zhao Zong your own mind changes, the IP that Bubble Mary has raised for ten years will be taken away overnight - I cannot afford this risk."
Zhao Chen picked up the tea cup and took a sip.
The tea was already cold, so Su Xiaotang immediately got up and refilled the hot water for him.
"Wang Zong, I understand what you said."
Zhao Chen put down the teacup and spoke calmly,
"But Henglong is Listed Company, not the wallet in my personal pocket.
Mololoy and Labobo's Copyright are the assets of Henglong, not the private property of my Zhao Chen.
If you buy the IP, how should I explain it to Board of Directors? How should I explain it to the shareholders?"
Wang An's lips moved.
Zhao Chen raised his hand and motioned for him to let him finish what he said.
"If this transaction is completed, the money will go into Henglong's account.
But Henglong is an investment holding group and has several hundred million more cash on its books, which means little to my shareholders.
What they want is Henglong to hold assets that can continue to appreciate, not a bunch of cash sitting in the bank earning interest."
He paused.
"I sell the IP to you, Henglong gets a sum of money, but what is lost is the entire value-added space of the two IPs in the next twenty years.
Bubble Mary got the IP, paid today's acquisition price, and got unlimited possibilities in the next twenty years.
Wang Zong, you are the founder of Bubble Mary, do you think this transaction is fair?"
Wang An was silent.
Of course he understands what Zhao Chen means.
On the surface, this statement means "cannot explain to shareholders", but in fact it means - the conditions you offered are not enough.
Henglong is not short of money.
What Henglong lacks is High-Quality Assets, which is worthy of long-term holding.
Mololoy and Labobo are exactly what Zhao Chen judged to be "worthy of long-term holding".
Meeting Room was quiet for about ten seconds.
Wang An lowered his head and rubbed his fingers unconsciously on the edge of the conference table.
Su Xiaotang glanced at him and hesitated to speak.
Zhou Zheng stared at Financial Statement in front of him, as if he could find some bargaining chip from those numbers.
Finally, Wang An raised his head.
"Zhao Zong, I will propose another plan."
Zhao Chen nodded slightly.
"Bubble Mart separately issued new shares to Henglong for the acquisition of the Global Copyright contract of Mololoy and Labobo."
Wang An's voice was not loud, but every word seemed to be squeezed out from between the teeth, with a solemnity after making a major decision.
"Henglong transferred two IP contracts to Bubble Mart. Bubble Mary paid shares instead of cash."
The air in Meeting Room solidified again.
Chen Xi's fingers tapped twice on the keyboard, quickly calling up the Equity Structure table of Bubble Mart.
Zhang Qingxue opened the legal documents, found the relevant terms on the issuance of new shares, and scanned them quickly.
Zhao Chen's expression did not change, but the index finger of his right hand placed on the armrest of the sofa was slightly raised.
Only Chen Xi noticed this action.
She had followed Zhao Chen for so long that she knew what it meant - he was interested.
"How many shares?" Zhao Chen asked.
"One point and five percent." Wang An reported the number and then immediately added,
"But after the additional issuance, Zhao Zong your original shareholdings will be equally diluted.
In other words, after the additional issuance is completed, the total shareholding ratio of Henglong will increase from the current 26.3% to--"
He glanced at Zhou Zheng.
Zhou Zheng did a quick mental calculation:
"Assuming that the scale of the additional issuance is 1.5% and the original shareholders are diluted in the same proportion, the shareholding ratio of Henglong after the additional issuance is approximately 27.4%."
Zhao Chen said nothing.
1.5% of the shares, acquiring two global permanent IPs Copyright.
Whether this price is expensive or not depends on how you see the future of Bubble Mary.
If Bubble Mart is ultimately just a Designer Toys chain with an annual revenue of more than one billion, then one point and five points is indeed not cheap.
But if Bubble Mary really grows into the tens of billions IP platform Wang An talks about--
The price is ridiculously cheap.
But there is no tendency on Zhao Chen's face.
"Wang Zong," he finally spoke, "I need to discuss this matter with member Board of Directors."
Wang An's expression relaxed slightly, but quickly tightened again.
He could hear the meaning of this sentence - Zhao Chen didn't refuse on the spot, but he didn't agree on the spot either.
He is leaving room.
"Of course." Wang An said, "Zhao Zong I'll be waiting for your news whenever it's convenient."
Zhao Chen stood up and stretched out his hand.
Wang An also stood up and held his hands together.
"Wang Zong, no matter how the IP matter is decided in the end, one thing will not change."
Zhao Chen looked into his eyes,
"Henglong is the shareholder of Bubble Mary, and I am your partner. This will not change because of any contract."
Wang An held his hand and nodded vigorously.