Chapter 16

On April 10, 1987, after months of preparation and roadshow, the West German publishing house was finally listed.

Before that, Henry and Edward Joe had guessed how much the share price would go up this time.

Edward Joe thinks that the market value of the average Medium-sized Publishing House will reach 80-90 million US dollars, but the West German publishing house will definitely exceed 100 million US dollars.

Henry laughed. He didn't know what the final market value of West German press was.

He and Edward Joe went to wall street together, always paying attention to the changes of the trading board.

Although West German publishing house is only a medium-sized publishing house in the United States, it has a good performance. With Henry's share, it has won the favor of investors. The share price of West German publishing house rose very well, and the closing price of the day reached $25 per share. This price shocked Edward Joe, which surprised Henry. It seems that his fame really played a role.

In this IPO, West German publishing has issued 2 million shares, almost 20%. After today, it means that the market value of West German press has risen to 250 million US dollars, 150 million US dollars more than Edward Joe predicted. The next day, the share price fluctuated slightly, but not much.

The whole West German press is in a state of excitement!

In the original IPO, Henry's shares had to be diluted. Later, Henry cashed out some shares while West German publishing was listed, leaving only 23.5% in the end. But Henry had an extra 12 million dollars. In the end, he still plays finance to make money, but Henry does not dare to speculate in the stock market casually. The stock market is uncertain. Under the influence of Henry, it is hard to guarantee that it will not change. For example, the Internet bubble in 2000 must be ahead of schedule.

However, there are some things that Henry can't change. For example, the collapse of the Soviet Union or something. If Henry crosses over and the Soviet Union doesn't collapse, even Henry himself has to doubt whether he's pushing too hard!

Henry cashed out 12 million US dollars, not worrying about money for the time being.

By April this year, the number of Internet users in the United States had reached 100000. There is an Internet company with outstanding performance. Even Henry was shocked when he heard its name.

This company is called "AOL". This name is very famous. In the early days of the Internet, it was comparable to Yahoo. Later, it merged Warner pictures, with a market value of more than 300 billion US dollars. For this company, Henry did not dare to look down upon, immediately ordered people to inquire about the company.

The next day, Henry got the information from AOL.

AOL's predecessor, quantum computer company, was founded by Steve Case in 1985. At that time, AOL began to provide online information services for computer users. This company is not slower than Nicholas bookstore, but it is not as fast as Nicholas bookstore!

Steve Case thinks that the Internet has a bright future. He also wants to develop online information services when he loses his fortune. In other people's eyes, this kind of behavior is very stupid, because at that time the network environment was still very severe, Henry had money to burn, but Steve case was not as rich as Henry.

It is admirable that he dares to do so.

In 1986, they built a service system, and then went to apple every day. Finally, Apple was moved by his 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 more and more interesting, and even its reputation has spread to Henry's ears.

Henry held the information with a slight frown.

AOL is not terrible, but the information shows that Sequoia Capital has begun to contact AOL, which is the most headache for Henry!

Sequoia Capital's investment in AOL is undoubtedly a big trouble for Henry.

In the previous life, the glorious history of AOL, Henry is more clear that the first acquisition of Netscape, the second acquisition of ICQ, the third acquisition of Warner film company. If a company like this gets the investment of Sequoia Capital, Henry has to take some actions to suppress it.

Henry didn't know what Sequoia Capital and AOL were talking about. Steve case was a talented person. Henry thought it would be best if he could take it for his own use. So he sent people to contact Steve case to see if he could buy his company. Henry appointed Jill Hutt, CEO of Nicholas bookstore, to talk in person. Geely Hutt's reputation and status in the Internet can be regarded as a giant. It's a great honor for Steve case to let him talk.

Henry's idea is that it's better to take a wholly-owned acquisition, and then get a controlling interest.

However, the day after Geely Hutt left, he called Henry back, saying that Steve case was adamant and refused his offer.

Henry was not surprised at the news. Steve case is ambitious and brilliant, otherwise, AOL would not grow in his hands.

Before long, Ford Brooke, executive director of Sequoia Capital, suddenly called. Henry heard a hint of pride in his voice.

"Hello, Henry. Have you ever talked to Steve Case about buying his company?"

"Well, Mr. Brooke, are you well informed?" Henry sneered.

"Ha ha, nothing. Sequoia Capital is optimistic about this company and is negotiating with Steve. And he told us about your plan to buy AOL! "

"Oh, really? It seems that this guy is smart enough to tell you this on purpose, so as to wait for the price

"Oh, nothing. Originally, we Sequoia Capital could not fully believe the development prospect of AOL, but even Henry, the company you are interested in must not be wrong! The board has decided to invest 15 million dollars in AOL. Steve case also agreed to our company's financing plan. Just now, we have signed the contract! "

"Congratulations. Another gold mine has been discovered." Henry said coldly that Ford Brooke was obviously demonstrating.

"Ha ha... Where." Ford Brooke grinned triumphantly.

"I'm very curious. How many shares did you take?"

"Er..." Ford Brooke laughed awkwardly and said, "25%, Steve is a tough guy, you know, ha ha..."

"Only 25%? Oh, it seems that if I hadn't sent someone over, you wouldn't have spent so much. Ha ha, I'm so sorry to have blocked you up! "

Ford Brooke was stunned and said with a smile, "Oh, nothing, nothing."

Henry hung up with a bad look on his face. After half silence, he made a phone call to Geely Hutt and told him to keep an eye on the development of AOL. Later, Henry began to think about the future development plan. He had only 22 million dollars in his hand. As we all know, the Internet was very expensive in the early stage. Henry had to find a way to raise money. Now there are four companies controlled by Henry, including Nicholas bookstore, Cisco, Pixar and Noah Ark. Among the four companies, only Cisco has made money, but for the sake of development, there is basically no dividend. As for the other three, they are all money pocketers.

Henry thought for a long time, and finally decided to split Netscape browser to market, and then circle the money. The importance of the browser is self-evident, but it is less important than others. If Henry makes more than a billion dollars or more through Netscape, he won't have to worry about money at all. Then create all kinds of Internet companies that will make money in the future. If there is no money one day, then split up a company to go public and continue to earn money!

Listing financing is the king way!!!

Henry thought for a long time, and finally came to this conclusion!

Then Henry went back to Nicholas bookstore and had a good afternoon's talk with Geely Hutt.

The next day, Nicholas Bookstore announced an important event.

"The board of directors has decided to split Netscape browser for listing and financing in the near future, and the board of directors has decided to start the equity incentive plan. The employees of the company can subscribe for the corresponding shares according to the contribution standard to be announced by the company soon!"

Geely Hutt announced the end, and the whole company cheered.

On June 1, Nicholas Bookstore officially split Netscape browser, set up a separate subsidiary, and held a press conference.

At a news conference, Geely Hutt announced plans to launch Netscape on NASDAQ.

As soon as the news came out, the media became a sensation. This will be the first listed Internet company since the rise of the Internet!

Newspapers, television, radio and other media have reported.

Sequoia Capital heard the news and immediately called Henry.

"Henry, I heard that Netscape is going to launch its listing plan?" Asked Ford Brooke.

"Yes, we have submitted a listing application to NASDAQ." Henry responded.

"You know, Sequoia Capital is very optimistic about your Netscape browser. Do you think you can subscribe for some shares before listing?" Asked Ford.

"It's not impossible to subscribe for some shares. Let's exchange Apple shares." If Sequoia had not invested in AOL, it would not have been impossible for them to subscribe for some shares, but Henry does not want them to take advantage now.

Ford said with a pause, "I have to discuss with the board."

Sequoia still believes that holding Apple shares is more valuable than Netscape. Henry didn't say much. When Netscape came into the market, they would regret it.

After a while, Geely Hutt was very busy. He was CEO of Nicholas bookstore, CEO of Netscape browser, and also busy with roadshows all over the country. However, Henry gave him 2% shares of Netscape browser. After the listing, at least one million dollars, Henry Hutt was in pain and happy.

In September, Netscape was officially listed.

All of a sudden, the United States was shocked.

Netscape IPO, issued 2.5 million shares, accounting for 20% of the total equity. As soon as the stock of Netscape was listed, it went up slowly, just like taking a rocket. But people were scared. The speed of the rise was not slower than that of Microsoft. The issue price was $2 a share, but over the course of the morning, the share price soared to $18, a nine fold increase. In the afternoon, the stock price did not decrease at all. At the end of the day, Netscape's share price soared to $40, a miracle on NASDAQ.

That night, the media all over the United States went crazy, and the media all over the world also went crazy, competing to report the legend of Netscape browser's launch one after another!!!

Netscape this listing, the final market value of $500 million!

"Netscape's listing has been a great success and Internet companies will prosper," the New York Times said

"The Washington Post reported:" a company with less than 10 employees is worth US $500 million. It's crazy. Investors are crazy! "

……

No matter the media or praise, or doubt, Netscape's share price is still rising the next day, but the rise is not as obvious as the first day, the share price only rose $2.

The success of Netscape's listing stimulated a large number of people, and many investors began to invest in Internet companies. Sequoia Capital is one of them. In addition to investing in AOL, they are also actively looking for new targets.

Through this IPO, Nicholas Bookstore raised more than $70 million.

Next, it's time to do something big（ Vote...)