Chapter 102: Joint Blockade
Chapter 102: Joint Blockade
Chen Mo frowned and put down the book he was holding. “They notified you this late? Is it that urgent?”
“That’s the main point.” Zhao Min’s tone was not good.
They had already reached an agreement today. The terms for cooperation between both sides were settled, and all the details of the contract were finalized.
They were originally planning to sign the contract tomorrow morning, but the other party notified them at this late hour tonight. All the contracts discussed today were now void, and the signing ceremony was canceled.
This meant the other party wanted to renegotiate the contract, or perhaps not cooperate at all.
“Why did this happen?”
“I’m not sure. The talks went very well today, and they seemed very sincere. The reason for their sudden change is unclear for now. They might explain it during tomorrow’s discussion,” Zhao Min said.
“A sudden change like this is a bit suspicious. If the cooperation doesn’t work out, it’s fine. We can return to China first. The European Market can wait for a while.”
“Understood. I’m informing you in advance this time. I’m afraid this trip to Europe won’t yield much success.”
The sudden change meant the other party definitely wanted greater benefits. And greater benefits were something they couldn’t concede. If both sides couldn’t agree, this trip to Europe would end with nothing gained.
“Let’s leave it at that for now. You should rest early. If they aren’t sincere tomorrow, we’ll return to China first. There’s no need to linger.”
“Okay.”
After putting down her phone, Zhao Min rubbed her temples and slowly walked to the window.
It was late at night. The Danube River under the lights was dreamlike and enchanting, easy to get lost in such a night view. This was one of the most prosperous corners of the world, but behind the prosperity, who knew what bloodshed was hidden.
It wasn’t as peaceful here as back home. In areas controlled by capital, profit was supreme.
After calming her mood, Zhao Min walked back to the bed and lay down.
This trip to Europe would probably end without results. The internationalization of Legion Ant Company still needed more time.
She would deal with whatever came tomorrow. Zhao Min didn’t think too much and closed her eyes.
The next day.
Zhao Min followed Zhu Li and the others out of the hotel. With the convoy picking them up, they soon arrived at the Altice Group headquarters.
“Mr. Kang Bomin, we need an explanation. Wasn’t everything settled yesterday? By the timeline, it should be time to sign. Why was the cooperation suddenly canceled?”
As soon as she saw Kang Bomin, the CEO of Altice Group, Zhao Min spoke up. Her tone was not good; she felt like she had been played.
After spending so much time and effort negotiating the terms, only to have them simply canceled with one phone call from the other side—no one would be in a good mood.
“Ms. Zhao, please calm down.” After listening to the translator, Kang Bomin adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose, smiled slightly, and pointed to the seat opposite the table. “Let’s sit and talk first. The board of directors didn’t agree to yesterday’s terms. There’s nothing I can do.”
“So how do you want to cooperate now?” Zhao Min sat on the chair, calming herself as she spoke.
“We’ve decided to change the mode of cooperation. We’ll acquire 10% of the shares of Legion Ant Company. Using our company’s resources, we can help Legion Ant Company grow rapidly and squeeze Apple out of the European Market. We will gain greater benefits,” Kang Bomin said.
He had once been the CEO of Alcatel-Lucent and was very familiar with the software and hardware markets of the European telecommunications industry. It had to be said that the Butterfly Eye Phone was an excellent product. Becoming its agent in Europe would surely bring significant profits.
But the contract was vetoed by the board. The board only wanted shares in Legion Ant Company to obtain greater profits, not just the benefits from distributing the Butterfly Eye Phone.
The higher-ups were very firm. If they couldn’t get shares in Legion Ant Company, they wouldn’t allow them to enter the European Market. And they meant what they said; they could certainly do it.
After all, Europe wasn’t that big. The large consortiums and capital had long been the uncrowned kings of this region.
“Impossible. We will absolutely not sell any shares.” Zhao Min’s face darkened.
Just as she had thought, the other party indeed wanted greater benefits. But setting their sights on the shares of Legion Ant Company was clearly impossible.
“Ms. Zhao, you should think carefully. The European market is huge. With our help, you can quickly take a piece of this cake. The profits here are worth much more than 10% of Legion Ant Company’s shares.”
“No interest. Since your company doesn’t wish to cooperate, I can only regret it.”
Zhao Min stood up and turned to leave.
“Ms. Zhao, if you leave here, you’re leaving the entire European Market. It will be difficult to enter later. It’s only 10% of the shares, and we would just be holding them without participating in the company’s operations.”
Seeing Zhao Min leave so decisively, Kang Bomin frowned deeply.
“No interest. Goodbye.” Zhao Min bid farewell and left with Zhu Li and the others.
When it came to company shares, there was no possibility of further discussion. Chen Mo would never offer shares of Legion Ant Company. Staying at the table to talk endlessly would just be a waste of time.
Seeing Zhao Min leave so decisively, Kang Bomin made a phone call. “Sir, Legion Ant Company refuses to give up any shares.”
“If they won’t submit, then they can get out.” A decisive voice came from the other end of the phone.
As soon as Zhao Min left, the heads of major European telecom operators collectively received a message: they were not to engage in any cooperation with Legion Ant Company.
The spread of this message indicated that Army Ant phones would almost certainly not enter the European Market.
In Europe, it wasn’t the government that had the final say, but the large capital, families, and unions that put those politicians in power.
“It seems they want to block our path completely.”
That evening, in the hotel, Zhao Min put down her phone, her face somber. They had tried to find another partner, but this happened, and their plans fell through.
Now Legion Ant Company was being blocked by Europe’s major telecom operators.
Zhao Min checked the time and called Chen Mo.
“How did it go?”
“Just as I expected, the people from Altice Group indeed changed their conditions. Their condition was 10% of the shares in Legion Ant Company.”
“Can we switch to another partner?”
“I refused their request. The largest operators in Europe have collectively joined forces to block us, preventing us from entering the European Market. The sudden change from Altice Group was probably orchestrated by these telecom giants working together,” Zhao Min said.
“Is there a way?” Chen Mo asked.
“Throughout Europe, the majority of telecom software and hardware is controlled by these few operators. They practically monopolize the entire market. As outsiders, it’s impossible for us to break through,” Zhao Min said.
Huawei had developed very well in Europe, but even Huawei wouldn’t easily offend these telecom operators for their sake, much less help them enter the market.
Because this market was already a big cake for Huawei. Letting Army Ant in would mean creating a competitor for themselves, which wasn’t in their interest.
“It seems we still have to rely on ourselves,” Chen Mo said with a laugh.
“Let’s take it slowly. This is just the beginning; there’s a long road ahead. Legion Ant Company has been through a lot on its journey so far,” Zhao Min said.
“Since we’re blocked, staying in Europe isn’t useful. Return to China. It’s not convenient to talk on the phone; we’ll discuss it when you’re back.”
“Okay.”
The next morning, Zhao Min and the others took a flight back to China.