New York.
The time is already March 27th.
A business cocktail party is being held in the banquet hall of the Gramercy Hotel in Midtown.
It had been a week since the news of Yigeret Company's external financing was released. Although no intention was reached, the phone calls of all the people in charge were bombarded.
In order to uniformly answer various questions from potential investors, Westeros Company simply held this cocktail party in New York and invited a large number of heads of investment banks and funds on Wall Street to participate.
"Simon, Boeing's recent market value is less than US$12 billion. Do you think a technology company that was only four years old quoted US$15 billion? Is this reasonable?"
In the reception hall.
Simon listened to the half-truth and half-false complaints of Goldman Sachs Chairman Stephen Friedman and said with a smile: "Stephen, if you want to make a stable investment with an annual growth rate of 10% or 20%, you can definitely look for Boeing, Aviation The industry will definitely not be outdated. However, if you want higher returns, of course you need to take some risks. Speaking of which, I have not paid attention to Boeing’s stock price recently. If it is less than 12 billion US dollars, I will let Lawrence do it. Maybe buy more.”
Stephen Friedman knew that the Lawrence Simon was talking about was Lawrence Fink, the head of Blackrock Asset Management, a subsidiary of Cersei Capital.
Blackrock Asset Management has developed rapidly after being invested under Cersei Capital. This mutual fund-type investment company has recently controlled more than 120 billion US dollars in assets.
The investment standards of mutual funds are to pursue low risk and mainly invest in large-cap stocks with stable returns and highly rated government bonds and corporate bonds in order to ensure the safety of funds as much as possible. In this way, although the investment profit will not be too high, relying on the huge size of the fund itself, you can still obtain good returns.
Goldman Sachs cannot be so conservative.
After thinking about it, Stephen Friedman said: "But, Simon, the price of 1.5 billion US dollars is still too high. How about 1 billion US dollars? Goldman Sachs is very sincere in reaching this cooperation, 1 billion US dollars, and Igre The company has promised to conduct an IPO within three years, and we will be able to sign an equity transfer agreement in the near future."
Simon smiled, gestured to the crowd around him, and said, "Stephen, you should understand that this is a seller's market, so you have no room to bargain with me."
Stephen Friedman felt somewhat unhappy when he saw that although Simon had a smile on his face, there was no room for concession in his tone. However, of course, these emotions will not appear in his expression. The young man in front of him is not someone that Goldman Sachs can handle. On the contrary, even if this business fails, Goldman Sachs still hopes to obtain the next Daenerys Entertainment, Ygritte The company and even the IPO underwriting rights of other companies in the Westeros system.
In recent years, only the IPOs of a few companies in the Westeros system have attracted the most attention in the industry.
As for the equity stake in Ygritte, there are not without disagreements within Goldman Sachs. Some people think it should be taken in completely, while others think it contains a lot of bubbles. Stephen Friedman is hesitant. He is already 50 this year. Although he is over 10 years old and has the ability to become the chairman of Goldman Sachs, he does not know much about the emerging Internet industry.
In his view, there are very obvious irrational factors in the recent soaring stock prices of Cisco and AOL.
However, the advantages and revenue data of these companies in the industry appear to be real, which makes it difficult for people to judge the future stock price trend.
Of course, with the announcement of the "Information Superhighway Plan", Stephen Friedman is actually very optimistic about the Internet industry. However, investing in this field now is either too risky or too costly. If you are not careful, it may lead to huge amounts of money. Loss.
Competition within Goldman Sachs is very fierce. Once serious investment mistakes occur, his position as chairman will almost immediately abdicate in favor of others.
For 10% of Eaglet's stock, US$1 billion is a figure that is relatively recognized by Goldman Sachs' core management. Moreover, this is based on the premise that Eaglet must conduct an IPO within three years. By buying these shares, Goldman Sachs also hopes to take advantage of the situation and obtain the underwriting rights for the IPO of Ygriet.
However, looking at the scene at today's cocktail party, Stephen Friedman understood that the possibility of Goldman Sachs wanting to do this business for US$1 billion was almost zero.
In the hall tonight, the heads of Goldman Sachs, Morgan, Lehman, First Boston and even the struggling Salomon Brothers are already present. In addition, there are also executives of fund companies such as Vanguard Fund, Blackstone Group, KKR and some There are capital forces on the periphery of Wall Street and even overseas.
Although it was traded in the name of 10% of the stock of Ygrit Company, everyone was keeping an eye on the entire Westeros system.
Daenerys Entertainment has cooperated closely with Morgan Stanley in the past few years. For next year’s IPO, unless something big changes, the lead underwriter can basically be determined to be Morgan Stanley. However, Daenerys Entertainment’s IPO The scale will be very large. If Morgan Stanley eats meat, it is not impossible for everyone to win some soup.
In addition, within the Westeros system, companies such as Igrit, LTD Group, Tinker Bayer, and Verizon may all conduct IPO operations in the future. Even after going public, many companies still need to issue additional shares or raise bond financing, all of which are big businesses.
If Simon Westeros is smart enough, he will definitely not only cooperate with Morgan Stanley.
Thinking about this, Stephen Friedman couldn't help but become more concerned about whether to join this group of equity competition. Finally, he chatted with the young man in front of him for a while. Before leaving, Friedman suddenly asked: "Simon, 10 % of the shares, do you plan to sell them all to one company?"
Simon's eyes flashed slightly and he said: "Of course not. US$1.5 billion is indeed a large amount of money. If Goldman Sachs and some capital join forces to purchase it, as long as both parties can reach an agreement, of course there will be no problem."
After getting the answer he wanted, Stephen Friedman said: "In this case, tomorrow... Well, how about next Monday night, let's have dinner together and chat by the way?"
Simon smiled and shook his head: "Next Monday is the Oscars."
"Oh, I forgot about it, then..."
Simon interrupted: "Stephen, I will go back to Los Angeles tomorrow and may not come to New York again for the next week, so if you make a decision, you can talk to James, he is my spokesperson."
Stephen Friedman stretched out his hand to shake Simon's hand again and said: "It seems that this is the only way. I look forward to more opportunities for us to cooperate."
"certainly."
Stephen Friedman left, Simon took a sip of the red wine in his hand, and stood in the distance thinking about what just happened.
Goldman Sachs has a very close relationship with Washington, and it is a standard Democratic camp. After Bill Clinton became president, Robert Rubin, who had served as co-chairman of Goldman Sachs with Stephen Friedman in the previous years, joined the White House as the President's Assistant for Economic and Economic Policy, responsible for leading the National Economic Policy Council established by Clinton. Simon also We know that Robert Rubin will be the Secretary of the Treasury in a few years.
In the past, during the subprime mortgage crisis around 2008, Lehman Brothers went bankrupt and Bear Stearns was acquired. Other investment banks were in trouble. Only Goldman Sachs not only did not lose money, but actually made good profits during the subprime mortgage crisis. And later became the most powerful investment bank on Wall Street, which was definitely influenced by its close relationship with the government.
The relationship between the Westeros system and the White House is already very sophisticated at this time, and there is no need to establish connections with Washington through Goldman Sachs. However, there is definitely no harm in having a good relationship with this investment bank.
Of course, the Morgan family, which has already established close ties, will not give up either.
The only two companies that the Westeros system focuses on in the Wall Street investment banking field are Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs.
This time, Simon did not sell all of the 10% shares of Yigrit Company to a capital company from the beginning.
Wall Street capital seems to control hundreds of billions of dollars in assets at every turn, but in fact not many can actually come up with $1.5 billion in cash at once.
Taking into account the risks involved, a person is willing to invest US$1.5 billion in cash into a new technology company but only obtains 10% of the shares. The openness coefficient of Wall Street does not reach this level.
Joining forces with other capital to acquire this batch of equity actually becomes the best choice.
Faced with the eager gaze of other capital, Morgan Stanley is also very interested in this batch of shares, and is even somewhat worried that these shares will be bought by other companies, thus breaking the good cooperation between the Westeros system and the Morgan system.
Simon's idea is roughly that Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs raise a sum of capital at the same time and jointly take the 10% stake.
As for the other capital forces in the banquet hall at this time, at least in terms of the business in front of him, Simon is already in the PASS category.
After making up his mind, Simon continued to entertain some guests. Simon had just chatted with Steve Schwarzman, chairman of the Blackstone Group, and was about to walk towards Lawrence Fink, the head of Apollo Management Company. Another man in his fifties, Dai A middle-aged man wearing old-fashioned round glasses came over.
Simon took the initiative to raise his glass to the other party, but glanced at Girl A next to him. Alison leaned into his ear and whispered: "Joseph Lewis, Chairman of the Tavistock Group."
Simon was not familiar with the two names mentioned by Girl A. The middle-aged man had already approached, and Girl A was unable to elaborate and took the initiative to step aside.
"Hello Simon, I'm Joseph Lewis, you can call me Joe."
Simon shook hands with Joseph Lewis and said, "Hello, Joe."
After greeting, Joseph Lewis looked around and said: "I came a little late, this is really nice."
Simon looked at the other person and smiled: "Thank you."
Joseph Lewis probably also noticed the confusion in Simon's eyes, and quickly said: "Actually, Simon, I now run an investment company, and I also cooperated with Mr. Soros last year."
Simon immediately understood the approximate nature of the Tavistock Group that Alison had just mentioned.
Financial speculator.
Moreover, he is an international currency speculator who has just "ridden" through last year's pound crisis.
To put it more bluntly, the middle-aged man in front of me must be holding a large amount of cash.
Joseph Lewis noticed the understanding on Simon's expression, and said without further words, he said directly: "Simon, it's like this, I am very interested in these shares of Eagle Reiter Company, but before, with Raybould, When contacted by Mr. Li and Mr. Li, they said that only you can make the final decision. So, when do you think we can talk about the transaction?"
It's really simple.
And bold enough.
If this batch of equity in Ygriet Company didn't contain other meanings, Simon would be happy to say hello to such a person.
However, Simon could only shake his head at this time: "Qiao, thank you very much for your interest in Ygritte Company, but I'm afraid someone has already got in first."
When Joseph Lewis heard what Simon said, he was not disappointed. He seemed to have expected it, and said: "It's a pity, but I think we will definitely have other cooperation opportunities in the future. Simon, I heard that you are trying to acquire the Christie's auction house, right? ?"
The acquisition negotiations for Christie's Auction House are still ongoing. Now that the other party has heard the news, Simon did not hide it and said: "That's right."
"I'm also very interested in collections. Moreover, Melisandre Company seems to be looking for other collaborators. Do you mind if I get involved?"
"Of course I don't mind, but Sofia has always been in charge of this matter. You can talk to him first."
Joseph Lewis smiled and said: "I still think it is more efficient to talk to you. My company owner requires a 20% shareholding and not to participate in the management of Christie's. If the shares are sold in the future, Melisandre Company also has the right of first refusal." . Of course, during the collection auction process, as a shareholder, I still hope to get some special treatment."
Even though he didn’t know the details of Joseph Lewis, Simon was not stingy when the other party was so straightforward. He quickly extended his hand to the other party and said, “Well, Joe, I’m glad to cooperate with you.”
The middle-aged man in front of him was obviously eager to establish a connection with the Westeros system, and the entry point he chose was very good.
Christie's auction house, this is just a business of less than 1 billion US dollars, and it will have little impact on the entire Westeros system. The other party only requires a shareholding and does not pursue control. This kind of sincerity is also very sufficient.
As for the deeper purpose, Simon could roughly guess some of it, but he didn't mind it too much.
The two continued to chat for a while, and Joseph Lewis continued to introduce himself without any disguise.
Lewis is a British man who started his career in chain restaurants and clubs in his early years. In the 1980s, he began to get involved in financial speculation and experienced the 1987 stock market crash, the Japanese stock market bubble, the collapse of the US bond market, and, most importantly, the 1992 pound crisis.
After several operations, Joe Lewis has probably accumulated enough capital. He has recently begun to return to real industry investment. If Simon agrees, the other party does intend to buy 10% of the shares of Yigrit Company in one fell swoop. However, Joe Lewis You probably also understand that Simon’s sale of this share is not purely to raise funds.