"The meeting will now continue."
"All those in favor of initiating Series B funding at this stage, please raise your hands!"
Chairman George Samynuk was very confident. He believed that the vast majority of shareholders and their representatives were on his side, which was easy to judge from the results of the previous two votes.
Microsoft's ambition to acquire McAfee was a result most people did not want to see.
"I agree. I still stand by my judgment that increasing shares and financing will accelerate the company's development," shareholder Sphinx said first.
As soon as he finished speaking, one or two shareholders secretly cursed, "What a bootlicker!"
"I agree too."
The person who spoke this time was the representative of Feng'an Software Company, which had multiple collaborations with Microsoft and essentially relied on Microsoft for its livelihood. Of course, it had to do its part to charge into battle for its master.
"Seconded!"
"Agreed!"
"No question, I support it!"
...In an instant, the shareholding ratio of those who supported initiating Series B funding had already reached 27%.
There were not many shareholders left who had not voted.
"Mr. Page, what is your opinion?" Chairman George Samynuk smiled as he looked at Kyle.
He dared not ignore Kyle's opinion.
With a 15% stake, Kyle became McAfee's second-largest shareholder, trailing only George Samynuk's 24% stake.
Kyle's opinion could be said to be very important.
"But... I'm not worried about him."
"Unless Kyle Page is an idiot, he definitely won't let Microsoft have its way, or he'll suffer losses too."
George Samynuk thought to himself.
"I agree!" Kyle said with a smile.
Whoosh!!!
As soon as he finished speaking, there was an uproar.
George Samynuk looked at Kyle as if he had seen a ghost and said in astonishment, "Mr. Page, I don't think I heard you clearly. Could you please say it again?"
"I agree to initiate Series B share expansion."
Kyle clasped his hands on the table and said playfully, "As Mr. Sphinx said, initiating share expansion at this stage can raise a large amount of cash flow for McAfee, accelerate development, and gain market share. There's nothing wrong with that. I am an investor, and I believe my approach is sound."
"..."
George Samynuk's expression remained unchanged, but... a storm raged in his heart.
He had never expected Kyle to support Microsoft!
"What exactly is going on?" a shareholder whispered to the person next to him.
The person shook his head and said, "You ask me, who do I ask?"
Many people present began to discuss.
"Kyle Page himself didn't attend the previous two meetings, but his representative always sided with Mr. Samynuk. How could he suddenly switch sides?"
"Something's wrong here!"
"Pompey, isn't that nonsense? Everyone knows something's wrong here. He probably stands to gain something."
"Damn it, this is basically inviting a wolf into the house!"
...It should be noted that the original percentage of approval was already 27%. With Kyle's 15% affirmative vote, the votes in favor of initiating Series B share expansion had already reached 42%.
At the same time, Microsoft held 10% of McAfee's shares.
This meant that no other votes were needed, as the total percentage already exceeded 50%.
Microsoft had won this board meeting!
"Heh heh!"
Xinkels, the representative from Microsoft, said proudly, "Although I still need to express my opinion, I believe you already know our stance without me saying much. However, I still want to say that I, on behalf of Microsoft, vote in favor of initiating Series B funding at this stage!"
"Hahaha, it should have been this way long ago," shareholder Sphinx clapped his hands and cheered.
All the shareholder representatives from the Microsoft faction were very happy at this moment.
"Hmph!"
George Samynuk snorted, filled with unwillingness.
He really couldn't understand what Kyle was thinking.
Who in their right mind would agree to let Microsoft take control?
It was well known that for any company controlled by Microsoft, their subsequent actions would inevitably be to increase capital injection and dilute the equity of other shareholders.
However, it was too late to say anything now.
The dust had settled!
...After the meeting...
McAfee Chairman George Samynuk met with Kyle privately again.
"Mr. Kyle Page, why would you support Microsoft?"
"What's in it for you?"
"Aren't you worried that your shares will be diluted by Microsoft?"
George Samynuk asked three consecutive questions.
Kyle shrugged and smiled, "Microsoft agreed to sell me a portion of their Apple shares at market price. Tell me, what reason do I have to object?"
"So you don't care about McAfee's survival?" Samynuk gritted his teeth.
At this moment, he was filled with anger.
His gaze was like sharp knives, staring intently at Kyle.
Damn it, who are you trying to scare?
"Heh heh. Come on, it's just letting Microsoft win one round, what's the big deal? You're being too pessimistic," Kyle said mockingly.
If Kyle didn't support Microsoft, would Microsoft be helpless?
No!
As far as Kyle knew, in the original timeline, two months later, Microsoft would again initiate a Series B funding plan.
And it would be forcibly passed with 54% support.
In other words, even if Kyle sided with Samynuk, Microsoft would still find a way to pass the resolution. Since that was the case, why not trade for Apple's shares through Microsoft?
Furthermore... others might not understand Samynuk, but as a transmigrator, how could Kyle not understand him?
Microsoft was strong, that was true.
But... Samynuk himself wasn't a good guy either!
In 2007, American regulatory agencies investigated McAfee's financial statements for nearly 10 years and found significant problems with non-cash expenditures related to stock option awards. The problematic expenditure amounted to 1 to 1.5 billion US dollars.
As a result, McAfee President Kaveh Wess was fired; up to 12 executives at McAfee resigned due to the scandal;
Even Chairman Samynuk himself was forced to retire early;
Although Samynuk's name was not on the list of offenders announced by the American regulatory agencies, anyone with eyes knew that Samynuk must have been involved.
"Mr. Page, you will regret this sooner or later. Microsoft is a company that devours people whole!" Samynuk left a harsh warning and turned his back on Kyle.
Kyle also sneered coldly.
Regret my ass!
Although Microsoft was incredibly powerful now, with its tentacles reaching every corner of the internet, by 2000, Microsoft was investigated by relevant departments and accused of forming a monopoly. Coupled with the arrival of the dot-com bubble, Microsoft would then have to reluctantly sell off a large number of shares in its holding companies to maintain sufficient cash flow.
Yes, that included McAfee's shares.
"So, what do I have to worry about?"
"Even if Microsoft doesn't give up McAfee then, it's still fine. Compared to Apple's future momentum, what is McAfee worth?!"
Kyle had long coveted the Apple shares held by Microsoft.
Riding home in the car!
Alexander suddenly said, "Boss, you really offended Samynuk to death~"
Hearing this, Kyle said dismissively, "So what if I offended him? In this day and age, who doesn't have a few enemies? What difference does one more Samynuk make? Am I afraid of him? Heh heh!"