As time went by, the hall of the Nasdaq Exchange was already overcrowded, and the atmosphere became more and more heated.
The executives and employees of Yahoo, the underwriting team of Morgan Stanley, the guests who participated in the ceremony, the media reporters from all over the world, and the staff of the exchange crowded the entire hall like a box of sardines. Ask the people around you to give up the space, so that you can barely move in the crowded hall.
Several large screens in the exchange scrolled financial news about Yahoo’s listing information from major North American TV channels, but the sound was completely covered by the surrounding noise, like a silent pantomime.
Near nine o'clock, due to the chaotic situation in the hall, Nasdaq Group CEO Frank Szabo had to personally bring a group of employees to maintain order at the scene. Ten minutes later, Yahoo CEO Ian Grenier was able to make his way through the crowd to the media studio for his IPO speech.
At the same time, Eric, Chris, Steve Mitnick, Tina Brown and other core executives of the Firefly system also began to gather at the front desk to prepare for the 9:30 bell ringing ceremony.
Since the earliest stock trading was completely manual, corporate executives at that time would ring the bell on the day the company went public to announce that the company's stock had officially started trading. After more than a century of development, the bell-ringing ceremony has become the pressing of the start button of the electronic trading platform.
A few minutes later, Ian Grenier also came to the stage after delivering his listing speech, and the clock in the hall had already passed 9:25.
The personnel arrived, and under the close attention of countless pairs of eyes inside and outside the exchange, Eric delivered a short speech, and then, together with other people around, pressed the orange button to start the transaction.
The moment the button was pressed, the prepared salute immediately sounded in the hall, and the crowd spontaneously applauded and cheered. Several media broadcasting the news on the big screens around them all pointed their live cameras at the crowd on the stage.
Outside the exchange, a close-up of Eric and others also appeared on the huge outdoor screen of the building near Times Square. At this moment, more than a dozen core members of the Firefly system on the stage became the absolute focus of attention.
Although brought to the stage by Eric, Cindy Crawford and Linda Evangelista consciously stood behind the crowd during the bell ringing ceremony.
At this time, feeling the fiery atmosphere around them, even though they had been used to spotlights for a long time, the two women felt inexplicably cramped in their hearts. Cindy understood that this was probably the power of wealth. Linda, who was somewhat bewildered, watched Eric take the lead and began to walk down the bell-ringing ceremony platform. She only smiled politely, and followed the crowd slowly like a puppet.
The bell-ringing ceremony seemed to start very quickly and ended very quickly, but then no one left in the exchange hall, and Eric and the others did not stay in the crowded hall anymore, but went upstairs where they could A large conference room overlooking the entire trading floor.
It wasn't until she entered the spacious conference room that Linda's mind recovered.
The men gathered around the conference table to rest and chat, while Cindy walked towards the glass curtain wall with Tina Brown and Amy Pascal without any scruples, and looked down at the hall together. Linda glanced at Ai Rui Ke's figure wanted to get closer, but he obediently followed Cindy and the others to the curtain wall.
Finally remembering that she subscribed for 1.5 million Yahoo shares with a little enthusiasm, Linda hesitated for a while looking at the bustling crowd in the hall, before asking Tina Brown next to her: "What's next?"
Before Tina Brown had time to answer, the crowd in the hall below began to focus their attention on a stock price monitor with obvious agitation, and someone even shouted: "Dropped, -2.6%."
Linda's heart tightened, she looked over subconsciously, and recognized it for a moment in a daze. Although she didn't have much stock knowledge, well, she was basically a financial idiot, but she still recognized that it should not be Yahoo stock. Yahoo's stock trading symbol is YHOO, which she still knows. The stock code that fell 2.6% on the stock price monitor was AOL, and the other stock codes that also fell to varying degrees were not YHOO.
However, AOL, America Online.
It seems that it is also his company
It doesn't seem right, he just sold AOL stock a few days ago.
So, what is the situation now
Linda was puzzled, and Tina Brown next to her took the initiative to explain to the other women: "These are Internet media stocks of the same type as Yahoo, and AOL wants to develop into an Internet media company. Eric gave up the company because of business conflicts. Yahoo’s market share in the industry is too large, so its listing directly caused the overall decline in the stock prices of Internet media stocks of the same type.”
On the other side, Cindy asked curiously: "In this case, will Yahoo be implicated?"
"This," Tina shook her head, and said with a somewhat apprehensive tone, "No one is sure."
Several women couldn't help but became worried again. After a while, Linda asked in a low voice: "Now, what is Yahoo doing? Has it started trading?"
Tina shook her head and explained: "We are inquiring for a price. This process will take about two hours, and the transaction will be officially completed after eleven o'clock."
Linda hesitated for a moment, then asked, "What is an inquiry?"
Tina patiently said: "It is the exchange that determines the official opening price of the stock based on the intended transaction prices given by sellers and buyers around the world."
Linda said: "I also subscribed for some stocks, does that mean that I can also participate in, um, inquiry?"
"Yes," Tina said with a smile on her face, "You can call your stockbroker right now and ask him to submit the selling price."
Linda was moved immediately, feeling that she could participate in a big event, and she was a little excited.
Well, be sure to quote a high price.
I don't know if $100 is okay
The little hand was about to reach into the satchel to take out the mobile phone, but when she noticed that Cindy rolled her eyes at her, she immediately dismissed the idea, and then stared back unceremoniously.
Although Yahoo's stock subscription at the IPO stage is open to global investors, not everyone can buy it, but there is a minimum subscription threshold of 100,000 shares.
At an average offering price of $33, 100,000 shares are worth $3.3 million. This amount of money seems to be nothing to a large investment fund, even a rich investor like Linda. But for millions of investment institutions and independent investors around the world, most people cannot afford $3.3 million.
Including 22.5 million greenshoe options, Yahoo issued 172.5 million shares, and the number of investment institutions that ultimately subscribed was less than 300.
Many small and medium-sized investment institutions often only buy tens of thousands or even thousands of shares within their own capabilities and risk considerations, and individual investors have even lower buying capabilities.
However, due to the large base of these small and medium-sized investment groups, the demand for a newly issued stock among the public investment group is often much higher than the stock issuance volume determined by its IPO. Once there is a shortage of supply, the stock price will inevitably rise. Substantially improved. Therefore, the opening price of many new shares on the day of listing will be much higher than the issue price.
After waiting patiently for half an hour, there was finally commotion in the exchange hall below.
Several women stopped chatting and looked over together.
On a stock price display screen, the most basic information of Yahoo first appeared.
Trading code: YHOO; stock issue price: $33.00; number of new shares issued: 150,000,000.
Then, the display box behind the display lights up, and two sets of numbers appear: 41.00-43.00.
Although she had made a judgment in her heart, Linda was still a little uncertain.
Sensing a pair of big hands wrapping around her waist unconsciously from behind, and the familiar breath coming, Linda turned her head, only to find that Eric and others had also walked to the glass curtain wall.
When she was in the lobby not long ago, Linda noticed that this is not a one-way glass. The women were all standing at the front. Eric was holding her arms at this time, but it was easy to be caught by the people below, and even stayed behind. Seen by reporters in the hall.
Her body froze, but Linda quickly leaned back.
Anyway, he didn't care, he was a little woman, why should he care so much.
But obviously, the crowd in the exchange obviously didn't have the energy to pay attention to these people by the curtain wall on the second floor. Looking at the two sets of red numbers printed on the display screen, after a moment of silence, there was a burst of warm applause and cheers in the hall. Cheers.
Seeing the reactions of the people downstairs, Linda finally settled down, and leaned her cheek slightly to the man's ear: "Eric, is this the opening price? Didn't it say it would take two hours, but it has increased a lot?"
Eric smiled and kissed the woman on the cheek, shook his head and said, "No, this is just the first round of inquiry, and we will continue in the future."
Linda felt Eric's kiss and shrank her neck. I couldn't help but look at the monitor downstairs, even if it was only based on 41 dollars, the 1.5 million shares I bought had already made a profit, um, um.
I haven't counted it, but there are obviously a lot.
Thinking of this, Linda asked again in a low voice: "Eric, the next inquiry, the stock price should still go up?"
Eric hugged the woman in his arms and looked down at the hall below. He didn't give an affirmative answer, but said: "We need to see the results of the next round of inquiries to determine the price trend."
Just the first round of inquiries, Yahoo's stock price rose by 24% on the basis of the issue price.
Although the subsequent price trend is still a bit worrying, what is certain is that on the first day of Yahoo's listing, there will never be a "tragedy" that Facebook directly fell below the issue price in the original time and space. However, thinking of Facebook, Eric turned around again, found Steve Mitnick, and said, "Steve, is the technical team still guarding the computer room?"
Except for Facebook in Eric's memory, since the Nasdaq exchange was established in 1971, there has never been a bloody incident where a company suffered a system downtime on the day of listing. Steve Mitnick actually felt that Eric is a little worried. However, he is actually a cautious person in his bones. Feeling the great situation at this time, he nodded and said, "I'll go and have a look."
After Steve Mitnick's figure left, Eric turned his gaze to the hall below again.
The first round of inquiry took a long time and took half an hour.
However, the subsequent inquiry time was shortened a lot.
Fifteen minutes later, the results of the second round of inquiry appeared on the monitor in the exchange hall.
46.00-49.00.
Compared with the lowest quotation of US$41 just now, the lowest quotation of US$46 at this time directly increased Yahoo's stock price by 39% on the basis of the issue price, which is already considered a skyrocketing increase.
Prior to this, the Yahoo team’s boldest expectation for the company’s stock price on the first day of listing was only about a 40% increase, but only the second round of price inquiries had already declared all previous forecast data made by the Yahoo team invalid.
However, no one at the scene showed a disappointed expression. In the applause and cheers that resounded in the hall, Ian Grenier, Tina Brown, Katzenberg, John Chambers, Jeff Bezos, Victor McNairy, Amy Pascal and other core executives of the Firefly system also applauded involuntarily.
Everyone understands that based on the surge in the first round of inquiries, the results of the second round of inquiries mean that the stock price of Yahoo will only go up or down in the next few rounds of inquiries.
What happened next was not only within everyone's expectations, but it was obviously beyond everyone's expectations.
In the exciting and fiery atmosphere around, time passed slowly and quickly.
After the results of the second round of inquiries were released at 10:15, the results of the third round of inquiries were released soon at 10:30.
49.00—51.00.
Immediately afterwards.
The fourth round: 53.00-57.00.
The fifth round: 56.00-59.00.
Sixth round: 61.00-65.00.
Finally, at 11:30, the results of the seventh round, which was the last round of inquiry, appeared on the big screen, and everyone was already in a state of shock and frenzy.
67.00—69.00.
After another burst of applause and cheers erupted from the crowd in the hall of the exchange, the representatives of Yahoo! and the Morgan Stanley team began urgently negotiating the final opening price based on the results of the last round of inquiries. The person in charge also announced to everyone that the official opening time will be postponed to half an hour later, which is twelve o'clock at noon.
In the meeting room on the second floor, I have received congratulations from the on-site guests and Nasdaq executives. Except for Ian Grenier, Eric and his team did not leave this meeting room, and continued to wait patiently by the curtain wall last moment.
Eventually, Yahoo stock opened at $68.50 and shot to a high of $70.29 in an instant.
70.29 US dollars, compared to the issue price, a surge of 113%.
As a result, Yahoo's market value soared to a terrifying $88.2 billion.
Looking at the already boiling hall of the Nasdaq Exchange, Eric took a deep breath, calmed down the same excited mood at this time, then reached out and patted Linda who was also a little erratic in his arms: " Now, call your stockbroker and get out at once."
Although leaning against Eric's arms, Linda subconsciously raised her hands to protect her body, like a little girl about to be robbed of her doll, she resisted with a hoarse baby voice: "No, it can still go up."