Since the beginning of his idea of ​​playing Netflix, Ronan has specially hired an economic research company to stare at Netflix. Two years have passed, and he has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on this.

I also gained a lot. Not only did I get a full file cabinet related information, but two investigators from this company also joined Netflix in recruitment, becoming employees with a low position and able to clearly understand the company's every move.

After meeting Reed Hastings at the party, Ronan also asked Robert Lee to contact the other party several times. He wanted to invest in Netflix, but was rejected by Reed Hastings. The latter needed not only funds, but also a platform.

Netflix's initial equity was almost entirely in the hands of two co-founders, Reed Hastings and Mark Randolph. Just like Relativity Entertainment, as long as the other party is unwilling, there is almost no good way to acquire it.

Luo Nan also considered starting a new website company. After all, his last job in his previous life was Internet video business, and his major was also a match. However, after seeing several reports sent by the investigation company, he thought about it for a few years and finally gave up this idea.

Times are different, and business is also different. Netflix's entrepreneurship is not just described as the word "hard".

Seeing the investigation report that Netflix has spent money to build an online leasing and picking system in recent years, streamlining mail channels, establishing a warehousing platform, etc., Ronan knew that he could not take into account both aspects at the beginning of his business.

The money Netflix burned out in recent years in the startup industry is definitely more than the value of the company at this stage.

Ronan is not afraid of difficulties, but lacks funds and energy. He not only needs to develop film production and distribution companies quickly, fool people to invest in movies everywhere, but also needs to complete another version of Netflix's business, which is almost impossible for him to complete.

He always has a clear mind, knowing that he has limited energy and limited funds, and his stall is too big in the entrepreneurial stage, and he is very likely to end up with a regret.

In contrast, when Netflix completes its start-up and builds a basic structure, and when it wants to further expand its business and faces an extremely difficult situation, it will make investments more in line with Ronan's reality.

After years of hard work, Relativity Entertainment has been on the right track, integrating production and distribution, and has accumulated a certain amount of money through several big-time movies.

Now, Ronan can not only take the energy to consider other aspects, but also hold the most critical funds to achieve the goals.

Since March 2000, the Internet industry has been wailing, and Netflix is ​​no exception. From then on, the situation has been bad.

Sitting in the office, Ronan looked through Netflix's investigation and reports in the past year. From the analysis sent by these Netflix insiders, he could undoubtedly clearly see Netflix's condition.

Netflix's main business, Internet leasing and sales of video DVDs, has grown extremely slowly in the past year, with losses growing at a rate of doubling each year. In addition, Reed Hastings has also been constantly adjusting internal management. Just like most startups, when the entrepreneurial stage is completed, Netflix's entrepreneurial team will inevitably be marginalized.

The one who really led Netflix to start a business was Mark Randolph. His initial entrepreneurial team had fallen apart and most of them left Netflix.

However, Mark Randolph and Reed Hastings have a close relationship and have a weak desire for power. They still stayed at Netflix as the president to assist Reed Hastings.

After carefully looking through these investigation reports again, Ronan clearly realized that the best opportunity to attack Netflix has arrived.

Netflix's two entrepreneurs, especially Reed Hastings, not only had the idea of ​​taking action against Netflix, but also looked for suitable candidates everywhere.

Ronan, in his previous life, has studied Netflix somewhat due to the industry he is engaged in. He remembers very clearly that after the bursting of the Internet bubble, Reed Hastings not only wanted to sell Netflix, but even asked for his arch-rival Pepsika without anyone caring about it.

According to the news reports, it was precisely because of his dissatisfaction with PepsiCo's late lease fee that Reed Hastings founded Netflix with Mark Randolph after the software company he worked in was acquired.

Luo Nan collected the information, left only two copies, and read it carefully.

One is Netflix's financing situation in the past two years.

Reed Hastings has not found any funds. As a former executive and shareholder of a software company, he has considerable assets and raised a lot of funds through mortgage loans in the early stages of his business, which also allowed Netflix to last until the end of 1999.

This period of time was when Internet stocks were in full swing, and Netflix also had nearly six-digit registered members. With Reed Hastings' efforts, it finally attracted the attention of the ideal large companies and large fund companies, and gained opportunities for venture capital and big platform promotion.

In early 2000, French giant Arnold Group prepared to invest in Netflix after several rounds of field visits and two months of consultations with Reed Hastings.

The venture capital is divided into two rounds, with US$30 million invested in mid-2000 and US$100 million invested in early 2001.

At the same time, Arnault Group will be responsible for vigorously promoting Netflix.

Big groups, big platforms, big investments, if this transaction can be reached, Netflix will definitely not be in the current situation.

At that time, Ronan had already obtained the relevant report, but he just kept a close eye on it and did not do much, because there would be the first investment in mid-2000.

As expected, after the Internet stock crash in March, Arnault Group canceled all investment plans for Netflix.

This is not the situation that Netflix is ​​facing.

The bursting of the Internet company bubble is a storm in the Silicon Valley version. Young software engineers are taking worthless stock options as rewards and appearing in abandoned office parks, looking for jobs in vain. Many people have to return to school to become lawyers or accountants.

It is too difficult for Reed Hastings to prove that Netflix still has a bright future in the wave of collapse of the Internet company.

After more than a year of persistence, there was a corresponding second report.

This is something that just happened last week.

Reed Hastings flew to Texas and went to Dallas to meet Ed Stead, the president of PepsiCo.

Ronan judged based on the situation sent by the investigators that this should be what Reed Hastings was planning to sell Netflix to Pepsi in memory.

In my memory, the two sides did not reach a deal. Even if they really reached an agreement, Ronan had time to take action. Reed Hastings was a businessman after all.

The report obtained also proves Ronan's speculation.

Reed Hastings did not attract any attention from PepsiCo. After Ed Stead met him, he threw it to his agent John Antioke.

This actually shows PepsiCo's attitude.

But Reed Hastings did not give up and explained his proposal to the PepsiCo staff led by John Antioch: PepsiCo will acquire Netflix and turn Netflix into PepsiCo's right-hand man on the Internet.

In his opinion, this is a win-win result, which can save PepsiCo to convert the vast amount of video tape inventory into DVDs, and enable PepsiCo to open up the situation on the Internet. Netflix can effectively utilize the more than 20 million active users accumulated by PepsiCo's stores.

Netflix, which has become a subsidiary of PepsiCo, will focus its main business on old movies and niche movies, and leave its new film business that accounts for 80% of its business volume to PepsiCo.

At the same time, Netflix can put promotional materials and registered computers in every Pepsika chain.

Reed Hastings developed a strategy that looks pretty good in order to sell Netflix.

Moreover, his asking price is not high, $50 million.

This number is far from the money Netflix burned in recent years.

It would be a good deal if we look at this transaction from a future perspective. PepsiCo can not only get the opportunity to enter the Internet, but also achieve transformation.

But in the current environment, some things look completely different.

PepsiCo, led by John Antioch, have no interest in Netflix at all. They have expressed serious doubts about the viability of Internet companies and said that the market overestimates the untested business model.

This is not just PepsiCo's opinion. In the report Ronan received, when John Antioke mocked Reed Hastings' proposal, Netflix's accompanying staff was not surprised at all.

Even Netflix executives do not believe that PepsiCo will buy Netflix for a high price of $50 million.

At the subsequent Netflix meeting, Reed Hastings swore that PepsiCo made a mistake and they would soon regret it.

Ronan believes that this is very likely to turn into reality, but Reed Hastings is actually bluffing because after the meeting with PepsiCo executives ended in Dallas, Reed Hastings did not give up on the idea of ​​selling Netflix.

Judging from the investigators' exact analysis, Reed Hastings is currently hesitant.

On the one hand, companies that do not want to let go of their business are looking for ways to push Netflix on the right track.

On the other hand, Netflix lacks funds for sustainable development, Reed Hastings is plagued by debt, and wants to sell Netflix to get rid of its own difficulties.

Just like Ronan runs Relativity Entertainment, it is not easy for any startup company to develop.

Netflix now has a complete platform architecture, and the funds burned out of these architectures far exceed the actual value of the company at this stage.

From this point of view alone, if Ronan takes the acquisition, it will be very cost-effective.

In the past few days, Ronan convened senior executives of Relativity Entertainment, especially Mary, Robert Lee, George Clint and Garcia Rodriguez, to explore the feasibility of relativity Entertainment's acquisition of Netflix.

But what surprised Ronan was that before Relativity Entertainment contacted Netflix, Reed Hastings took the initiative to find Embassy Films.
Chapter completed!