Although this remote sensing satellite company operates under strict control and surveillance by the national security department, all these measures can be easily bypassed if the buyer happens to be a genuine American, especially a member of the renowned Rothschild family.
Moreover, the company’s founder and shareholders have been eagerly awaiting an opportunity to cash out. So, when they heard that a prominent member of the Rothschild family was coming to discuss the acquisition, they wasted no time in organizing an online vote.
Unanimously, everyone agreed to sell.
As a result, the founder and CEO immediately started negotiating the minimum acquisition price with their partners and investors, while Steve made his way to Houston.
During his journey, a consensus was reached on the acquisition terms. If the buyer pays the full acquisition amount upfront, the minimum price can be lowered to $3 billion. As long as Steve’s offer exceeds this amount, they can proceed with the agreement.
If the payment is divided into installments and the total payment period exceeds one year without any additional conditions, the minimum price will be increased to $3.3 billion. For each additional year of the payment period, there will be a 10% increase based on the $3 billion base.
If the payment is divided into installments and there are additional conditions such as performance-based bets and non-competition agreements, the minimum price will start at $4 billion, with the first installment requiring $2 billion.
With the consensus reached, CEO Carl Lucas suppressed his excitement and waited for Steve to arrive at the office.
***
After Steve arrived in New York, favonovel.com immediately rushed to Houston without any delay.
Initially, favonovel.com could have sent Carl Lucas and the core team to New York to meet him, but in order to gain a better understanding of the company and win over the employees, favonovel.com decided to personally visit. After all, acquiring this company was just the first step in fulfilling Charlie’s requirements.
The most crucial aspect was to stabilize and take control of the company for Charlie’s ongoing operations.
When Steve arrived at the company’s headquarters in Houston, accompanied by a group of bodyguards and entourage, all the executives, including the CEO, were waiting in line in front of the helipad on the rooftop.
Three helicopters arrived, one after another. Since there was only one helipad, the first two helicopters landed, allowing the passengers to disembark, before taking off again. The passengers of these helicopters were all bodyguards, totaling nearly twenty people.
When the third helicopter landed, Steve and his assistants walked down together.
CEO Carl Lucas wanted to approach, but was stopped by several bodyguards several meters away. After being searched by the bodyguards, favonovel.com was allowed to approach Steve.
Upon seeing Steve, Carl said excitedly, “Mr. Rothschild, it’s an honor to meet you. I’m Carl Lucas, the CEO of Skyline. You can call me Carl!”
Steve nodded slightly, shook hands with him, and then said, “Hello, Carl. I believe you already know why I’m here. Let’s find a meeting room and have a good discussion.”
Carl immediately replied, “Of course, Mr. Rothschild. Please follow me. I’ll take you to the meeting room.”
Steve smiled and walked out, surrounded by his bodyguards, with Carl by his side, heading towards the top-floor conference room of the office building.
Once inside the meeting room, the other executives were allowed to enter one by one after undergoing a thorough search.
To prevent chaos caused by too many people, Carl only brought two people along to participate in the meeting: the company’s chief technology officer and chief financial officer.
After Steve took his seat, favonovel.com said to Carl, “Carl, please give me an overview of your company.”
Carl nodded and respectfully began, “Mr. Rothschild, Skyline currently has nearly 800 employees in total. This building, where we are right now, serves as our headquarters, housing approximately 500 employees. Our servers are also located here. The market value of this building is estimated to be around $70 million.”
“At present, Skyline has a total of 29 satellites in orbit. We have formed a partnership with SpaceX, and next month we will be launching three more satellites in collaboration with their Starlink satellites. in the first quarter of next year, we have plans to launch three additional satellites. Our original goal is to increase the number of satellites to 45 within the next year.”
Steve asked, “What is your satellite’s revisiting capability?”
Carl replied, “Under normal circumstances, we can revisit a location four to five times a day. In special cases, we can achieve up to 20 revisits for specific targets. However, this also depends on the lighting conditions of those targets. Our satellites are classified as excellent for civilian use, with accuracy reaching the meter level. However, capturing valuable content under weak light or at night is challenging.”
Steve nodded and inquired, “Are you currently capturing images every day? Is the data updated daily as well?”
“Yes,” Carl responded, “Let our Chief Technology Officer give you a detailed explanation.”
The Chief Technology Officer adjusted his glasses and began to explain, “When our satellite orbits the Earth, it captures images of the areas it passes over, following a predetermined path. Each area is labeled, and the satellite photographs these labeled sections one by one. These images are then sent to the backend for stitching and synthesis…”
“The satellite decides whether to take pictures based on the lighting, weather, and visibility of the areas it passes. As our CEO mentioned earlier, our technology and hardware aren‘t as advanced as the US. military‘s Keyhole satellites. Therefore, we generally don’t take photos in the evening or at night, and we avoid capturing images during cloudy or stormy weather…”
“Typically, photos are only taken when the lighting is optimal, and there are no clouds or fog. The images are automatically filtered, and only those that meet clarity standards are added to our database.”
Glanced at Steve and Carl, the Chief Technology Officer continued, “Once in the database, the images are sealed with a timestamp. After the security department’s fixed time limit has passed, the system automatically replaces the old images with new ones…”
“However, since the Earth’s surface is vast, it usually takes us more than two months to capture a comprehensive and high-quality set of images of the world’s land. Our database allows users to view changes in any area of the Earth’s surface over the past decade, with updates every few months. This feature is a paid service within our software and a significant source of revenue for our self-operated business.”
Carl then said, “Mr. Rothschild, since we‘ve touched on the subject of income, let our Chief Financial Officer introduce our current financial situation.”
Steve waved his hand, “No need to rush. I’d like to ask, can you access the data that the security department requires you to seal internally?”
“Yes,” the Chief Technology Officer replied. “All data captured by the satellite is immediately transmitted back to our server’s database. However, the security department mandates that this data be sealed, with no set expiration date. It cannot be made public until that time.”
Steve nodded slightly. As long as the requirement was just to keep the data private, it would be fine. At least Charlie would have access to the first-hand data as soon as possible.
Then, Steve asked, “if I’m particularly interested in a specific location and want the satellite to focus on it continuously, is that possible?”
The Chief Technology Officer responded, “It is possible, but frequent requests of this nature will impact the satellite‘s original planned tasks.”
Steve felt relieved. Buying this company wasn’t about making money; the most important thing was to ensure the satellites remained in orbit constantly. He didn’t mind having all the satellites focus solely on Charlie’s areas of interest and continuously capture images for 24 hours. As for the company’s original business, it was of no concern to him.
With this in mind, Steve turned to the chief financial officer and said, “Now, let’s discuss the financial situation.”
The Chief Financial Officer respectfully stated, “Mr. Rothschild, Skyline has undergone four rounds of financing, with a total funding amount of $670 million. The most recent financing took place early last year, amounting to $300 million…”
“Our annual revenue last year was $230 million, with a net loss of $50 million. This year is not yet over, but our projected revenue is around $270 million, with a projected net loss of $1 00 million. This is mainly due to significant hardware investments this year. i can provide you with more details on fixed assets later… If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask.”
Steve waved his hand and looked at Carl, speaking seriously, “Time is limited, and we can leave detailed discussions to the professionals in the future. Let me state my acquisition requirements, and then we can determine a price. Let’s focus on the core issues. What do you think?”
Carl immediately replied, “No problem, we‘ll follow your lead.”
“Good,” Steve nodded. “I’ve gathered information about your company’s valuation from reliable sources. It’s estimated to be in the range of $3 billion to $4 billion. But as you know, valuations are subjective. Even if your valuation reaches $4 billion, it’s merely the price at which others are willing to invest…”
“I believe in your company’s potential, and I’m willing to invest S400 million in exchange for a 10% stake, taking a gamble on the future. However, this $400 million won’t be handed to you directly. it will be placed in your company’s account for business development. If you want to pocket it, that won’t be an investment, but rather a private equity transaction. in that case, no one would accept a valuation of $3 billion.”
“However, I can offer you a condition that you won’t find elsewhere. I will directly acquire your company for $5 billion. I can provide $2.5 billion upfront, making all of you instant billionaires. Then, all the shareholders must stay here and continue operating the company for me. I won’t offer additional salaries, but I will give you the remaining $2.5 billion within the next three years…”
“At the end of the three years, if I still require your services, we can renegotiate the terms. If you accept this offer, we can initiate the acquisition process today. And… If not, I’ll return to New York. This offer is valid for three days. If you change your mind, contact me within that timeframe.”
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