In fact, Simon had already begun to set up venture capital funds through various channels to seize China's Internet industry. Hearing Chen Qing's words, he just nodded.
Simon's rule is not to put all his eggs in one basket.
The venture capital funds that have been established are under the names of companies related or unrelated to the Westeros system such as Westeros Company, Ygrit Company, Cersei Capital, etc. Another platform on Chen Qing's side does not count. many.
Chen Qing also knows this very well.
Speaking of which, the industries that Chen Qing and Lin Su are responsible for account for only a small part of Simon's layout in China, perhaps less than one tenth. In the final analysis, the two of them are still more lovers than assistants to Simon. This man had no intention of restricting them, but he obviously didn't have high expectations.
This is not what Chen Qing wants.
However, Chen Qing knew better that if she wanted to break through this boundary, she must make real achievements.
Skipping this topic, Chen Qing chatted with Simon about the increasingly prosperous VCD industry on the other side of the ocean.
According to the latest statistics, as of last week, the cumulative shipments of this emerging electronic product in the Greater China market, which VCD is mainly targeted at since the beginning of the year, has reached 5.23 million units. It is expected that the overall shipments in the first half of 1996 will exceed 6 million units. Taiwan, compared with the conservative forecast of 10 million units at the beginning of the year, total VCD shipments may reach around 15 million units throughout 1996.
As the only supplier of VCD video decoding chips, Scobo maintains a high net profit of around US$15 for each VCD video decoding chip, even if it continuously reduces prices in order to promote the democratization of VCD prices and snipe potential competitors. Coupled with revenue from VCD solutions and other parts, Scobo's full-year net profit in 1996 is expected to reach US$300 million.
This expected net profit figure is higher than Scoop's full-year revenue in 1995.
The most amazing thing is Scoop's market capitalization.
Due to the unexpected sudden explosion of the VCD industry, this humble video chip development company, which had a market value of just over US$100 million before Westeros System acquired it last year, now has a market value of US$16.3 billion on the Nasdaq market. According to the Based on the single-quarter financial report released last quarter, the price-to-earnings ratio reached an astonishing 81 times.
This actually proves once again how crazy the current new technology industry is.
Last year, the Westeros System acquired more than half of Scobo's shares, spending a total of US$94 million. Currently, the Westeros system directly holds 47.70% of Scoop's shares, and Chen Qing and Lin Su each hold 2.65%, adding up to a total of 53%. In just over a year, the book value of this part of the invested stocks has increased. to US$8.639 billion, a value increase of 91 times.
Not to mention the paper gains that Simon received from this, the value of the stocks in Chen Qing and Lin Su's hands alone exceeded US$400 million.
Such a net worth has reached the entry threshold for the Forbes 400 richest people in the United States.
As Scoop's stock continues to rise, and both women have become American citizens, there is no doubt that they will enter the Forbes 400 list of the richest Americans in the second half of the year if they wish. In just over a year, two new rich list-level super-rich people were created. Only the Westeros system has this crazy ability to create wealth.
Chen Qing huddled in Simon's arms and chatted about related topics. Thinking of this, even if she had the boldest ambition, she never expected that she could reach this level in such a short period of time: "400 million US dollars, boss, I I don’t even know what to do with it.”
At this stage, there are very few rich people in China with a net worth of 400 million yuan, let alone 400 million US dollars.
Simon felt the warm fragrance of nephrite in his arms and joked with a smile: "Don't be so worthless. Besides, I remember that you pledged this batch of equity. This matter should have been dealt with. Be careful not to backfire."
Chen Qing nodded: "Of course, I am still glad that I only pledged and did not cash out, otherwise I would be crying now."
Last year, in order to subscribe for Yigret shares, Chen Qing pledged her Scoop shares to obtain US$20 million. After the listing of Yigret, the stock price soared, allowing Chen Qing to make a fortune. However, the rise in Scobo's stock price was even more crazy. In order to avoid long nights and dreams, Chen Qing quickly sold part of Igret shares to repay debts and redeemed her own Scobo shares.
Looking back now, Igret's market value has only increased three times since it was listed last year, while Scoop's has soared more than ten times in the same period of time.
Chen Qing is really glad that she didn't cash out last year.
You know, she really had this idea at the time. After all, Scoop's stock had more than quintupled in just half a year, and in her opinion, it was already at a very high position, not to mention that her own boss was also interested in Scoop. Gao Bai's prospects are not very promising, and everyone is more optimistic about Ygritte's future.
Yigret has risen from the IPO level of US$100 billion to the current level of US$300 billion. Due to its size, the growth rate is also terrifying.
It’s just that it’s not as crazy as Scoop’s after all.
After all, Scobo's size is small enough. In addition to its own performance and the aura of Westeros concept stocks, it also facilitates speculation in the capital market.
Fortunately, I met Bill Spurter from First Boston, Grace Spurter’s husband, who helped introduce her to pledge channels without having to cash out.
This also shows once again the importance of connections.
Because of this, even though the wings are now somewhat hardened, Chen Qing has no idea of leaving the man next to her.
If she leaves, she may not be able to spend all the assets she has in her lifetime, but at the same time, she will also lose many steps to climb up. This is actually the most ideal outcome. In fact, without Simon as a support, Chen Qing felt that she would probably become a child walking through the city holding gold nuggets, which would inevitably attract a lot of covetous people with evil intentions.
This world is far from as peaceful as ordinary people imagine, especially at the top of the pyramid. The higher you go, the more dangerous the situation becomes.
The explosion of the VCD industry also started in 1996, and it was only in 1997 that it reached the sales level of tens of millions. Under the influence of Simon, the big butterfly, certain things were obviously ahead of schedule. However, stimulated by the explosion of the VCD industry, overseas corporate giants who were still wrangling over issues such as DVD standards and potential copyright disputes have put aside their prejudices and begun to reach an agreement, and the promotion of DVD has also been significantly advanced.
Therefore, the rapid growth and rapid decline of the VCD industry is almost inevitable.
Simon thought this and said to Chen Qing: "Also, don't forget what I said to you at the beginning. Now we can transform or cash out Scoop. My goal here is too big, so I can only take my time." , your and Lin Su's shares are both below 5%, and the restrictions are relatively small. It is best to clear your positions as soon as possible, and don't think about waiting for the stock price to be higher. The end of greed is usually not good."
Chen Qing nodded obediently and said: "Scooper's DVD decoder chips can start shipping by the end of the year at the earliest. Since the boss says that DVD is the future, even if VCDs in Asia are declining rapidly, we can continue to occupy the DVD industry. A certain share, which can continue to support Scoop's performance. In addition, boss, although you, as the major shareholder, cannot directly cash out too much, but with Scoop's high market value at this time, we can definitely take it. Scoop's stock is used as cash to initiate acquisitions, isn't it?"
When Simon heard what Chen Qing said, he was stunned for a moment, and then smiled appreciatively: "It seems that you have not relaxed your homework on Wall Street."
The most classic case of using highly valued stocks as 'banknotes' to initiate acquisitions is AOL's acquisition of Time Warner at the peak of the new technology bubble in Simon's memory.
After this transaction was completed, the new technology bubble burst, and AOL's value quickly shrank by up to 90%. This is the true value of AOL. Without this merger, the value of AOL shareholders' shares would have shrunk by 90% after the new technology bubble burst. Even if the situation worsened and AOL went bankrupt, it would be worthless.
In comparison, although Time Warner's stock price was equally high during the new technology bubble, it had a substantial amount of media assets and was relatively valuable. When AOL and Time Warner merged according to a 55:45 share exchange ratio, it was actually equivalent to AOL shareholders exchanging AOL shares worth only one-tenth of one-tenth for valuable Time Warner shares.
To put it figuratively, AOL shareholders are equivalent to replacing the silver in their hands, which is so overvalued that it is equivalent to gold, with half silver and half gold. When the frothy silver price falls back to normal levels, the remaining half of the gold is actually real. Really.
Similarly, the full amount of gold in the hands of the original Time Warner shareholders has become half gold and half silver, which is equivalent to the direct evaporation of more than half of the value.
The current market value of Scoop is not entirely a bubble. After all, the annual net profit of US$300 million is certain. However, the prospects of the VCD industry doom this company's high market value to only be short-lived.
In this case, Simon, as the major shareholder, is unlikely to cash out too much in the short term. Using Scoop's shell to launch an acquisition is undoubtedly the best solution. Launching an acquisition now, as long as you choose the right target, is equivalent to exchanging actual silver for gold of the same weight.
When the tide of the VCD industry subsides, there may be another gold mine left in the Westeros system.
If you think about it carefully, this matter is very feasible. After all, there are not many people who can accurately see the future of the VCD industry. Simon knows that the prosperity of the VCD industry will only last two or three years. Others are watching the miracle of the VCD industry. But I don’t necessarily think so.
The question now is which target to choose
Holding the soft jade in her arms, Wenxiang discussed for a while, but there was no result for a while.
The VCD industry in Asia can still maintain its peak period for at least two years, so this matter is not urgent, so we turn to talk about other things.
Before I knew it, it was already late at night.
Occasionally, she grabbed the man's arm and glanced at the Patek Philippe watch, and found that it was already more than ten o'clock. Chen Qing slipped out of Simon's arms with a charming look on her face, knelt on the carpet at the man's feet, and looked up with a rich expression. Simon, who was interested, reached over with his little hand.
But was blocked.
Simon held up the woman's delicate chin and stretched out an index finger to quickly trace Chen Qing's forehead a few times.
Chen Qing blinked and reacted.
This is a 'forbidden' word.
Come again.
Without giving up, she put her hands on the man's knees. Chen Qing continued to look up at Simon in a posture that stimulated the man's senses: "Boss, it's not bad to be less restrained occasionally, isn't it?"
Simon just pushed the girl: "I'm not a tough guy, now, go to the coffee table."
Chen Qing persisted for a while, but seeing no effect, she obediently moved her body and climbed onto the coffee table behind her. Then she discovered another question: "Boss, am I the only one?"
Simon crossed his legs and waited to watch the show, smiling: "There is no Lin to bully you tonight, you can only bully yourself."
Chen Qing said nothing more, but her expression quickly turned resentful, she bit her red lips lightly and began to change her posture.
The next day is Saturday.
Simon got up early as usual. Chen Qing, who had a hard time performing alone last night, rarely stayed in bed. She didn't get up until Simon rushed to Manhattan after breakfast. After a busy morning in Manhattan, Simon took a helicopter to fly to East Hampton, Long Island, to have lunch with a mother and daughter he raised here.
Choose to rest in the afternoon.
Instead of going to the nearby Guofeng Art Troupe, he sat under the eaves of the backyard of the villa and read the script. One of them that piqued Simon's interest is called "The Deep Chill," written by "The Mummy" director Stephen Sommers himself.
Of course I know about this project.
This is a typical failure case of Disney in the late 1990s. With an investment of 45 million US dollars, the local box office only exceeded 10 million US dollars.
Looking back carefully, in the past history, Disney experienced a series of turbulences such as the departure of Jeffrey Katzenberg and the expulsion of Michael Ovitz in the late 1990s. Metropolitan ABC Group, with Michael Eisner still in power, is far less dazzling than it was in the early 1990s.
It can be said that from 1995 to 2005, it was almost a lost decade for Disney. During this period, the only thing Disney could offer was Pixar's 3D animation.
However, Pixar does not belong to Disney.
Because of its dependence on Pixar, the 3D animation film company has continued to grow, further eroding Disney's own resources, and even a huge oolong has occurred. Regarding "The Sixth Sense," this phenomenal horror film , although the cost reached 40 million US dollars due to the participation of Bruce Willis, the global box office was 670 million.
To outsiders, with such a return on investment, Disney must be making a lot of money.
This is not the case.
Due to the continued sluggish performance of the film, Disney did not have any confidence in this new horror film directed by a newcomer. With the joining of Bruce Willis, the cost of 40 million US dollars made Disney more cautious. As a result, it made a blind move and released "Supernatural" in advance. The Sixth Sense was packaged and sold to an independent production company, with Disney retaining only distribution rights.
The results are predictable.
In the end, Disney only earned a distribution fee from the huge box office revenue of "The Sixth Sense". From the subsequent video tapes and TV broadcasts, Disney could only get soup.
Thinking of these, Simon couldn't help but reflect on himself.
Daenerys Entertainment is now in full swing, but it's not to the extent that Simon can rest easy.
When a company is too big, various problems will inevitably arise.
With more and more things at hand, Simon gradually began to hope to let go of Daenerys Entertainment as much as possible, but he also knew that once he let go, this huge media and entertainment empire was likely to fall into the Steve Ross situation a few years ago. After death, Time Warner is in a state of internal strife with mountains and hills. Only by Simon himself maintaining strong control over the company can Daenerys Entertainment, which has a flat corporate structure, be firmly united.