Arriving in Berlin on February 10, Simon did not leave until the afternoon of February 12 for Finland.
In two and a half days, in addition to supporting the opening ceremony of the Berlin Film Festival, Simon also discussed with Deutsche Telekom about cooperation intentions in the Internet industry, and acquired the tentatively named Films, which has produced a series of classic films in Time and Space. .
As for the contacts with Constantine executives, the Quandt family of BMW and even high-level officials of the German government, all parties only established preliminary contacts and did not start cooperation immediately.
February 13th is Saturday.
Due to the adjustment of the original plan, Nokia management had to give up weekend rest time to accommodate Simon's schedule.
In the past year of 1992, Nokia, which had completed the layout of second-generation digital communication technology ahead of schedule, achieved a leap-forward development by relying on the global transformation of mobile communications from the analog signal era to the digital signal era.
According to the recent financial report, Nokia achieved a total sales volume of 9.3 billion Finnish marks throughout 1992. Based on the exchange rate of Finnish marks to US dollars in the past year, which was approximately 1:6.3, it was equivalent to US$1.47 billion. Compared with 1991, turnover increased by 67%.
Of the total sales of 9.3 billion Finnish marks, Nokia mobile phones accounted for 56%, reaching 5.2 billion Finnish marks.
This part of sales represents 3.76 million mobile phones.
In comparison, Motorola, which currently ranks first in global mobile phone sales, sold only 4.39 million units in 1992.
In the original timeline, Nokia was chasing Motorola in the first half of the 1990s, and it was not until 1998 that it overtook Motorola, and then completely left the old electronics giant far behind.
This time, due to Simon's early layout, the gap between Nokia and Motorola in 1992 was already very small.
With the opening of the North American market to Nokia at the end of last year and the sales channel of Verizon Telecom owned by the Westeros system itself, Nokia will be able to break into the most difficult bone in the North American market this year and compete hand-to-hand with Motorola. , located in Europe, Nokia has a local advantage compared to Motorola.
Coupled with Nokia's accumulation of GSM technology ahead of Motorola, it is no surprise that Nokia will be able to overtake Motorola in mobile phone sales this year.
Of course, it's just mobile phones. Now Motorola has a deep foundation in many fields such as computers and semiconductors. However, it is precisely because of this diversification that Motorola's rebound against Nokia's overtaking in the field of mobile communications is not expected to be too fierce. Therefore, the company cannot know how much of a huge market they have missed.
You know, in 1992, global mobile phone sales were only 13 million units, but within the next five years, this number will exceed 100 million. In less than ten years, Nokia alone will be able to sell more than 100 million mobile phone devices.
Compared with the rapidly growing receivables, Nokia's full-year loss in 1992 was 380 million Finnish marks (equivalent to US$60 million). However, this was actually due to the expansion-focused development strategy developed by Simon.
Simon bought Nokia for US$200 million three years ago. In recent years, he has continuously injected more than US$300 million, with a total investment of more than US$500 million, in exchange for Nokia's revenue of US$1.47 billion in 1992.
Based on Nokia's revenue of US$1.47 billion and its ultra-high annual growth rate, if it were to go public, the company's market value would be conservatively estimated to exceed US$2 billion.
Westeros holds 100% of Nokia's shares and invested US$500 million in three years, in exchange for a market value of US$2 billion. This return on investment is enough to make most investment funds envious.
Relying on the blood transfusions of Daenerys Entertainment, Cersei Capital and other companies, the Westeros system has never been short of money. Even if Nokia still needs a large amount of additional funds in 1993, the Westeros company can fully afford it.
However, Nokia has now shown its ability to catch up with the veteran Motorola. Next, if the company wants to continue its rapid expansion, it will need to face more than just simple business obstacles.
Whether it is European countries that are at odds with each other, or North America on the other side of the ocean, which is already wary of Europe, realizing the rise of a communications industry giant that has little to do with itself, it is almost conceivable that Nokia may encounter almost instinctive suppression by various countries. .
The simplest way to maximize the help in this regard is for Nokia to conduct an IPO.
Through the listing, Nokia shares are sold to investors from various countries in Europe and North America, and they have interests. If anyone wants to suppress Nokia, they need to consider whether they are attacking the interests of their own investors.
For Simon, having Nokia listed in North America is naturally the best choice.
However, as a company headquartered in Finland, most of its current business is in Europe. Nokia's most important issue now is to stabilize its base in Europe.
In this case, listing in Europe is the best choice.
Simon came to Finland to discuss the listing issue with Nokia's management team in person.
Regardless of its development speed or financial data, Nokia is the best IPO target for major capital markets, and it is not a big problem to seek listing.
The key is still the valuation at the time of IPO and how much equity will be sold.
For Simon, it is natural to give up less equity, the better. However, if the number of shares issued is too small, it may not achieve the real purpose of this IPO. If too many shares are issued, it will inevitably cause distress.
After all, the current IPO valuation of Nokia is only about US$2 billion.
Such a valuation seems very impressive to many people, but Simon knows clearly that at the peak of the new technology wave around 2000, Nokia's market value was once close to US$200 billion.
2 billion, versus 200 billion. Giving up US$100 million now may mean a book loss of US$10 billion in a few years.
What's more, because the Westeros system's own capital reserves are sufficient, Nokia does not need to raise too much external funds.
After a full day of consideration on Saturday, Simon finally decided to set the proportion of new shares issued at 20%.
Based on Nokia's current valuation of around US$2 billion, issuing 20% of new shares could raise US$400 million. However, if calculated based on Nokia's peak market value of US$200 billion in Simon's memory, this equity would mean US$40 billion. .
Of course, things can't be calculated that way.
If Nokia continues to be completely privatized and the company's interests are not tied to capital from European and American countries, Nokia may not be able to reach its former peak under pressure from all parties.
Therefore, this 20% stake is actually just the beginning.
Simon plans to gradually reduce his stake in Nokia in the next few years, and only pursues an absolute control of 51%.
Because of the differences in relevant laws in European countries, this time for Nokia, Simon does not intend to use a multiple shareholding structure like AOL and Cisco.
In fact, it was probably the collapse of Nokia in his memory that left a deep impression on Simon, and he had no intention of permanently controlling the company.
Alternatively, Simon has no desire to permanently control any company within the Westeros system.
The ups and downs are a historical necessity. No enterprise, no matter how glorious it once was, cannot escape this fate.
Therefore, for companies within the Westeros system, whether it is Microsoft, Cisco, AOL or Daenerys Entertainment in Hollywood, as long as a company begins to decline, Simon will exit as early as possible and invest capital in new ones. field.
On the other hand, although this time it was decided to be listed on the London Stock Exchange in the United Kingdom, in discussions with Nokia's management team, Simon also prepared a roadshow plan for North America and planned to invite North American capital to London to participate in the subscription of 20% of the new shares.
After spending a day in Finland on Saturday to discuss the general plan for Nokia's IPO, Simon flew to Florence, Italy that evening.
The main framework has been determined, and James Raybould and the Westeros team will be responsible for following up on the follow-up matters. From the initial IPO application to the final listing, it is expected to take half a year, and is expected to be in August in the second half of the year. Officially completed.
Florence.
It was early Sunday morning.
Sofia Fessy woke up first, gently let go of the man's arms, and entered the bathroom. When she saw the strawberries on her neck in the mirror, she felt helpless and resentful, but in her heart, she felt sad about the man's obsession with her body. Some satisfaction.
After preparing breakfast himself, the man also completed his routine morning exercises and sat down at the dining table together.
The four major fashion weeks of 1993 will begin one after another at the end of February, and Gucci has been intensively preparing for the upcoming spring show.
After breakfast, the two rushed to the Gucci headquarters in the city.
While admiring Gucci's upcoming fashion shows at the next fashion week, Sofia introduced to Simon Melisandre's company's operating conditions in the past year.
The official detailed financial report will not be released until next week. Simon only heard a rough outline, but he can confirm that Melisandre has just passed a year and the financial data is also very gratifying.
Because of the excellent financial data support, during lunch, Sophia talked about another acquisition plan that surprised Simon.
"Christie's? You mean, the auction house?"
Sitting in a historic Italian restaurant in Florence, Simon was a little surprised when he heard Sofia's name.
Sophia nodded and said, "Yes, Christie's."
After saying this, noticing the man's strange expression, Sofia asked: "Is there any problem?"
Simon quickly smiled and said, "It's nothing, I just feel a little weird."
"Um?"
"Look," Simon smiled even brighter and said, "In the future, when my children grow up, it will be very advantageous to compare and show off with their friends. Others may say, my mother just bought a Gucci handbag, and my father I spent $10 million on a painting at Christie’s, but my son can say that Gucci belongs to my family, Christie’s also belongs to my family.”
Sofia imagined the scene described by Simon, and couldn't help laughing, and said: "Your son only needs to say that my father is Simon Westeros."
Simon nodded sympathetically: "Yes, indeed."
Sophia rolled her eyes at Simon and said, "So, you agree?"
Simon waved the tableware and gestured slightly, and said: "I don't know anything about Christie's or even the auction industry. Also, why would such an old company choose to sell it, and what is the approximate price?"
Sophia said: "If it were in the past, we really wouldn't have the chance to buy this company. Christie's already has a history of 200 years. However, you also know the economic situation in recent years. Japan rose in the 1980s, and the North American economy continued to The world's major auction houses are enjoying a very prosperous life. However, starting from the 1987 stock market crash in North America, due to the ongoing economic crisis, wealthy people have begun to reduce their spending. The Japanese stock market bubble burst, causing Asia, a new market with great potential, to Rapidly growing. The auction industry also has a Matthew effect. Christie's has probably occupied about 30% of the auction market in the past few years, which is lower than Sotheby's 40%. However, these two companies account for more than 70% of the auction market. There is a huge gap in the performance of auction houses."
Having said this, Sophia paused, sorted out the information in her mind, and continued: "In the past year, Sotheby's annual profit was US$265 million, but Christie's was only US$52 million. The market share gap between the two companies is almost the same. To 10%, the profit is five times different. The market shrinkage in North America, Europe and Asia has not stopped. We are worried that this situation will continue, so Christie’s has released rumors of seeking a sale.”
The North American stock market began to recover after the Gulf War, but the overall economic situation is still not optimistic. Japan in Asia is now going downhill. The Japanese rich who bought all over the world have also stopped. Last year's pound crisis caused European countries to fall into a state of economic crisis. , looking at it this way, the world economy is at its lowest point in the past decade.
Simon knows better that this is also the lowest state in the next ten years.
Christie's is worried that the auction industry will continue to be reshuffled, eventually causing the two giants Christie's and Sotheby's to coexist and become Sotheby's alone. This worry is not unreasonable.
As the market weakens, wealthy people who still have the ability to buy expensive collectibles will obviously prefer the more powerful one. This will only cause Sotheby's to become stronger and stronger. If Christie's wants to maintain its market share, it can only Taking measures such as reducing commissions or increasing marketing expenses will further compress its profit margins. However, doing so will not necessarily improve the operating conditions of the auction house. On the contrary, it will make the gap between it and Sotheby's wider and wider. big.
If Christie's wants to get out of this predicament, the most important thing is for the auction market to prosper again.
However, the global market is in a downturn. Although everyone is aware of the economic cycle, no one knows whether Christie's can survive this downturn.
Under such circumstances, it is not surprising that he chooses to sell himself.
For Simon, this is the best opportunity.
Because no one knows better than him that with the rise of the new technological wave, the global economy will recover rapidly in the next few years. At the same time, although Japan's economy will fall into a long-term downturn, Asian countries will also suffer from it in the next twenty years because of The rapid growth of the economy has become an upstart consumer in the collectibles industry.
Buying Christie's now would definitely be an excellent bargain hunt.