I Am A Trilionaire - Chapter 16
On April 10, 1987, the West German Publisher House finally went public after months of preparation.
Before that, Henry and Edward speculated some stock prices would definitely rise this time.
Edward believed that the average market value of a medium-sized publishing company would reach eighty to nine million US dollars, but the West German publishing house would definitely exceed 100 million.
Henry smiled, he did not know the final market value of the West German Publisher House.
He and Edward came to Wall Street together to always pay attention to changes in daily limits.
Although West Germany Publishing House is only a medium-sized publishing company in the United States, its performance is good. Coupled with Henry’s share ownership, it has won investors’ chase. The share price rose very well, and the closing price reached 25 US dollars per share. The price surprised Edward Joe, who surprised Henry, it seems his fame did play an important role.
The West German Publisher House issued a total of 2 million shares in this IPO (initial public offering), which is almost 20% of the shares. After today, that means that the market value of the West German Publisher House has risen to US $ 250 million, which is more than US $ 150 million more than Edward predicted. The following day, share prices fluctuated slightly, but did not change much.
All publishers in West Germany are very excited!
In the original IPO, Henry’s shares would be diluted, and then Henry would take advantage of the West German publisher to cash in some of his shares, and ultimately only 23.5% remained. But Henry has an additional twelve million dollars in his hand. In the end, he was still playing finance to make money, but Henry was afraid to trade stocks in a relaxed manner. Stocks are not sure. Under the influence of Henry’s arrival in the world surely triggered the butterfly effect and it is difficult to guarantee that nothing will change. For example, the Internet bubble in 2000 must go further.
However, there are some great things, but I’m afraid he can’t change them, for example the Soviet Union’s disintegration or something like that.
Henry cashed in 12 million US dollars and is not worried about funding for now.
As of April this year, the number of internet users in the United States has reached 100,000. An Internet company is doing very well, and even Henry can’t help but be surprised after hearing his name.
This company is called “AOL”, its name is well known. In the early days of the Internet, he was on a par with Yahoo, and later joined Warner Pictures, with a market value of more than 300 billion US dollars. For this company, Henry did not dare to underestimate it, and immediately ordered his staff to ask for information about this company.
The next day, Henry gets AOL information.
AOL’s predecessor was called Quantum Computer Corporation, which was founded by Steve Case in 1985. At that time, they began providing online information services for computer users. This company is not slower than the Nicholas Bookstore, but the speed of development is not as fast as the Nicholas Bookstore!
Steve Case believes that the Internet has a lot to do, and bankruptcy must also develop online information services. This kind of behavior seems very stupid in the eyes of others, because the network environment at that time was still very severe. Henry has money to use, but Steve Case is not as rich as Henry.
He dared to do this, and it was truly awesome.
In 1986, they made a service system, and then ran to Apple every day, non-stop. Finally, Apple was moved by its perseverance and agreed to install their online service system. Steve Case’s company barely survived. With the development of the Internet, the company has become increasingly attractive, and even its reputation has reached Henry’s ears.
Henry took this information and frowned slightly.
AOL is not terrible, but information shows that Sequoia Capital has contacted AOL. This is the biggest headache for Henry!
Sequoia Capital’s investment in AOL undoubtedly added to the big problem for Henry.
In the past life, AOL’s glorious history, Henry was relatively clear that Netscape’s first acquisition, ICQ’s second acquisition, and Warner Pictures’s third acquisition. If an extraordinary company gets an investment from Sequoia Capital, Henry must take certain actions to suppress it.
Henry doesn’t know how Sequoia Capital and AOL negotiated it. Steve Case is an individual talent. Henry thinks that it is best to use it for his own use. So he sent someone to start talking to Steve and then approached him to see if he could acquire his company. Henry appointed Bookstore CEO Nicholas Geely Hutt to speak directly that day. Geely Hutt’s reputation and status on the Internet can be regarded as gigantic. Let him talk about it, that’s enough to give Steve Case’s face.
Henry intends that it is best to obtain assets that are wholly owned, and obtain controlling shares.
However, the day after Geely Hutt went there, he called Henry back, saying that Steve Case was stubborn and refused his purchase request.
Henry was not surprised when he received the news. Steve Case is an ambitious, talented man, otherwise AOL will not grow in his hands.
Shortly thereafter, Ford Brook, executive director of Sequoia Capital, suddenly called, and Henry heard a proud tone in his tone.
“Henry, how are you, I heard you talked to Steve Case to buy his company?”
“Haha, Mr. Brook, is your news well informed?” Henry snickered.
“Hehe, no. Sequoia Capital is also optimistic about this company and is negotiating with Steve. And he told us about your plans to acquire AOL!”
“Oh, right? Looks like this guy is smart, says this on purpose, so it can be sold.”
“Haha, it’s nothing. Initially, we at Sequoia Capital were not entirely sure of the prospects for developing AOL, but even Henry, the company you like, must be right! The board of directors has decided to invest 15 million US dollars in the United States. Online. Steve Case also approved our company’s financing plan, and just now, we have signed a contract! ”
“Congratulations, another gold mine was found,” Henry said coldly, and Ford Brooke’s words clearly indicated.
“Hehe … modestly and modestly,” Ford Brook smiled triumphantly.
“I really want to know, how many shares did you take?”
“Uh …” Ford Brook smiled awkwardly, and said, “25%, this person Steve is very difficult, you know, haha …”
“Only 25%? Oh, it seems like if I didn’t send someone here, you wouldn’t spend so much money, hehe, I’m really sorry, that adds a burden to you!”
Ford Brook was stunned and grinned, “Haha, it’s okay, it’s okay.”
Henry hangs up, his face unpleasant. After a long pause, he called Geely Hutt and told him to pay attention to AOL’s development. Furthermore, Henry began to consider future development plans, he only had 22 million US dollars in his hands, as we all know, the Internet spent money at an early stage, and Henry had to find a way to raise money. There are now four companies controlled by Henry, Nicholas Bookstore, Cisco, Pixar, and Noah’s Ark. Of these four, Cisco itself has made money, but for development, basically there is no dividend.
Henry thought for a long time, and finally decided to share the Netscape browser on the market, and then raise money. The importance of the browser is clear, but compared to others, it’s not so important. If Henry generates billions of dollars or more through the Netscape browser, he doesn’t need to worry about funds at all. Then create various internet companies that will make money in the future. If one day they run out of money, then they will divide certain companies to go public and continue to raise money!
Financing lists are the king’s way! ! !
Henry considered it for a long time and finally came to this conclusion!
After that, Henry returned to the Nicholas Bookstore and chatted with Geely Hutt until the afternoon.
The next day, Nicholas Bookstore announced a big event.
“The board of directors has decided that the Netscape browser will soon be split for IPO funding, and the board of directors has decided to start an equity incentive plan. Employees of the company can subscribe to shares according to the company’s upcoming contribution standards!”
Geely Hutt announced finally, and the whole company cheered.
On June 1, Nicholas Bookstore officially divided Netscape Browser, established a separate subsidiary, and held a press conference.
At the press conference, Geely Hutt announced that the Netscape browser would be registered on Nasdaq.
As soon as the news comes out, the media becomes a sensation, this will be the first Internet company to go public since the advent of the Internet!
Newspapers, television, radio and many other media have reported.
When Sequoia Capital heard the news, he quickly called Henry.
“Henry, I heard that the Netscape browser will launch the Netscape browser?” Ford Brook asked.
“Yes, we have applied for a register with Nasdaq,” Henry replied.
“You know, Sequoia Capital is very optimistic about your Netscape browser. Can we have a few shares before registering?” Asked Ford.
“It’s not impossible to own a number of shares but to exchange Apple shares.” If Sequoia Capital did not invest in AOL, it would not be impossible for them to own several shares, but Henry now does not want them to take profits.
Ford’s tone stopped, then he stopped, “I have to discuss with the board of directors.”
Sequoia Capital still believes that holding Apple shares is more valuable than the Netscape browser. Henry doesn’t say much, they will regret it after the Netscape browser starts going public.
For a while, Geely Hutt was busy. He held several positions, both CEO Nicholas Bookstore and CEO of Netscape Browser. He was also busy with traveling across the country, but because of his hard work he was given 2% of Netscape’s browser shares by Henry.
In September, the Netscape browser was officially registered.
This shock shocked the entire United States.
The Netscape IPO browser, issues 2.5 million shares, accounting for 20% of total equity. As soon as Netscape’s browser shares were registered, it rose quickly, like driving a rocket, but scared people. The rate of increase was not slower than Microsoft. The issue price was US $ 2 per share, but after one move, the stock price jumped to US $ 18, a nine-fold increase. In the afternoon, stock prices rose non-stop. At the close of the day, Netscape’s share price jumped to $ 40 doing a miracle on the Nasdaq.
That night, national media went crazy, and global media went crazy too, hurriedly reporting the legend of the launch of the Netscape browser! ! !
Netscape went public this time, and the final market value was US $ 500 million!
The New York Times stated: “Netscape has achieved great success on the list, and internet companies will thrive !!!”
“Washington Post” reports: “A company with less than 10 employees has a market value of US $ 500 million. Crazy. Crazy investor !!!”
…
Regardless of whether the media praised or questioned it, Netscape’s share price continued to rise on the second day, but the increase was not as on the first day. The stock price only rose by $ 2.
The successful Netscape list stimulated many people, and many investors began investing funds in Internet companies. Sequoia Capital is one of them, besides investing in AOL, they are also actively looking for new targets.
Through this list, Nicholas Bookstore has collected more than 70 million US dollars.
Next, it’s time to start the big step.