Six years later, it is possible that the literature website Banyan Tree will return to its founder, William Zhu. It was reported that William Zhu was negotiating with Joy Media, hoping to take back the Banyan Tree website. The intermediary for this acquisition was Jinbo Lu, originally the chief editor of Banyan Tree and a network writer known as Xunhuan Li. Yesterday, William Zhu confirmed the above news: "We have offered the most reasonable price and basically reached a consensus. We may sign an agreement within two weeks." William Zhu stated that Banyan Tree must be taken back and then combined with his new online game company Storm to create a community-based online game strategy.
Banyan Tree was a personal website founded by William Zhu in 1997. Later, after receiving $1.2 million in financing, it became the largest original literature website in the country. Subsequent websites like起点 Chinese and Hongxiu were all developed based on the Banyan Tree model. At its peak, Banyan Tree had over 100 employees and millions of members, and its offline publishing business also achieved profitability. In 2002, William Zhu sold Banyan Tree for about $10 million to Bertelsmann, the world's largest publishing group. Due to poor management, Banyan Tree was resold to Joy Media for $5 million in 2006.
William Zhu expressed that he initially had high expectations for Bertelsmann, but the development of Banyan Tree over these years has greatly disappointed him. "Due to limited funds and capabilities at the time, I sold Banyan Tree to Bertelsmann, and I don't regret it," said William Zhu. After joining Bertelsmann, the condition of Banyan Tree deteriorated continuously, and the quality of the website plummeted. Xunhuan Li also told this reporter that during the years since Banyan Tree was sold, it has become increasingly silent. While websites like起点 Chinese and Hongxiu have achieved significant development, the business model of Banyan Tree has remained unstable. "Joy Media completed financing just before acquiring Banyan Tree, which was their richest period. Now, due to the impact of the financial crisis, the price is definitely much lower than before," said Xunhuan Li. Both parties have had two rounds of verbal talks, and the obstacle remains the issue of price. He also indicated that the Wanrong Publishing Company he co-founded with the publishing media is currently doing well, and he has no intention of returning to Banyan Tree this time around.
According to William Zhu, there are already many plans for how to reorganize Banyan Tree after taking it back. Last year, after leaving United Century, William Zhu founded a new online game company called Storm Entertainment using his own funds, successively launching several games such as "Prophecy Online." William Zhu stated that Storm has started to become profitable. "We will combine Banyan Tree with Storm Entertainment to create a community-based online game strategy."
In recent years, the value of original literature websites has been increasingly recognized. The Shanda Literature Company established based on起点 Chinese has combined original literature with online games and has begun to develop online games based on novels. According to relevant personnel from Shanda Literature, the extremely popular novels "Ghost Blows Out the Light" and "Stellar Transformation" from起点 Chinese have both been developed into games. Besides publishing and other value-added industries, Shanda Literature also provides materials for Shanda online games, promoting mutual development.
Xunhuan Li believed that although起点 Chinese has far surpassed Banyan Tree now, the users cultivated by Banyan Tree over 11 years are still largely present. "After reform, Banyan Tree still has the opportunity to lead again." William Zhu also believed that although the model of original literature was created by him, Banyan Tree does not necessarily have to be remade into another起点 Chinese.