America is in control

Chapter 187: New share issue price game and status improvement
"Jerry Yang and David Filo are the most talented software engineers and the best Internet company founders I have ever seen!"

"That's right! They are from Stanford, the same Stanford that gave birth to countless entrepreneurial heroes in Silicon Valley!"

"They are the soul and core of Yahoo! They point the way forward for Yahoo!"

"Under their leadership, Yahoo will seize all opportunities that are beneficial to the company's development and create greater value for investors!"

Liu Jiang walked off the stage confidently and calmly while waving to the institutional representatives and investors in the audience.

Those institutional representatives and investors gave warm applause to General Liu's wonderful speech.

After discussion, Yahoo's shareholders decided to create technology hero characters for Jerry Yang and David.

Let them stand in front of the stage and serve as Yahoo's golden signature, benchmarking against Marc Andreessen, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates.

Who told the American people these days to admire these entrepreneurial heroes with technical backgrounds so much?

Moritz and Masayoshi Son retreated behind the scenes as the 'traders' leading Yahoo's IPO.

The tasks of General Liu and Reuters are much simpler. They only need to use their influence to gain momentum for Yang Zhiyuan and David as much as possible.

"John, you did a great job. You are the most eloquent and powerful boxing champion I have ever seen!"

“The response from those institutional representatives and investors has been overwhelming, and they seem to particularly like you.”

"Follow me! Jon Woodruff, a representative of Goldman Sachs, the lead underwriter, is already waiting for us in the conference room."

Moritz walked up to General Liu with a bright face, handed him a bottle of drinking water and reached out to pat him on the shoulder.

Liu Jiang took the water with a smile, drank two sips, and spoke slowly.

"Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Moritz. This is what I should do!"

"I feel that those institutional representatives and investors are very optimistic about Yahoo, and I just played a small role."

"By the way, does the representative from Goldman Sachs come to us for something?"

A hint of admiration flashed in Moritz's eyes. The young man in front of him had a very good temper.

It's very rare that the other party didn't show any arrogance despite the surge in wealth.

"Most of them are discussing the issuance price of new shares. Don't rush to speak. Everything will be based on my look."

"These damn underwriters are completely vultures, and they will definitely try their best to lower the issue price."

“If it weren’t for ensuring that Yahoo could go public successfully, I would never have approached Goldman Sachs!”

While Moritz was madly complaining about Goldman Sachs and other underwriters, he led General Liu to the conference room.

In the conference room, Jerry Yang and David were on separate sides with Masayoshi Son of SoftBank Group and Jon Woodruff, a representative of Goldman Sachs, and it didn’t look very harmonious.

After General Liu and Moritz sat down, everyone began to discuss the issue price of Yahoo's listing with Jon Woodruff.

"11 US dollars (usually the issuance price range, for the sake of easier understanding, it is written directly into the specific unit price)? Are you kidding me? Do you want to go to the door and listen to the voices of the institutional representatives and investors!"

When Moritz heard Jon Woodruff's offer price recommendation, he became furious.

This time Goldman Sachs and Yahoo cooperated and adopted an underwriting model.

Yahoo issued an additional 260 million shares, plus the original 2740 million shares. Yahoo's total share capital after listing will be 3000 million shares.

According to this issuance price, Yahoo's listing valuation is US$3.3 million.

This valuation is only 10% higher than Yahoo’s valuation in its third round of financing. No wonder Moritz is furious.

In the United States, the issue price when a company goes public is agreed upon by the company's shareholders and underwriters.

Depending on the road show and subscription situation, the company's shareholders and underwriters will engage in intense rounds of games over the issue price.

For companies that want to go public, the higher the issue price, the better!

As a result, the company's valuation will rise, and the more funds will be raised by going public.

But the issue price cannot be so high that it prohibits institutional representatives and investors.

The important institutions and investors in the American securities market are various pension funds, insurance funds, family trust funds, trust departments of commercial banks, investment banks, university foundations, charitable foundations, and the investment departments of some large companies.

These institutions and investors are all extremely savvy, and they often participate in promotion meetings for different types of companies to go public.

They are very familiar with the U.S. securities market and can judge the value of a company's new stock investment relatively accurately.

If you want to fool these guys, few people can do it.

For the underwriter, the first thing is to ensure that the listing can be successfully completed so that it can charge an 8% commission.

The commission is only a small part, the difference in underwriting and the options that can be cashed out after the company is successfully listed are the real big part.

The lower the issuance price of new shares is, the greater the success of the listing will be, and the higher the profits the underwriters will receive. Of course, they will go to great lengths to keep the price down.

To put it simply, the company to be listed is the seller, the underwriter is the intermediary, and the institutional representatives and investors are the buyers.

"Dear Yahoo shareholders, your first road show in New York was indeed very effective."

"But I have to remind you that Yahoo's current profitability is almost zero!"

“The enthusiasm Yahoo received during its road show may not necessarily be reflected in the stock market!”

"To be on the safe side, I think the IPO price of $11 is a safe choice."

Jon Woodruff was expressionless and gave his reasons coldly.

Liu Jiang couldn't tell for a while whether the other party wanted to lower the issue price so that he could make a lot of money at once.

I'm still really worried about Yahoo's failure to go public, and I'm speaking from the bottom of my heart.

General Liu had no experience in this kind of game, but subconsciously he didn't believe what the other party said.

Let’s listen to how the two big guys respond!
General Liu turned his attention to Moritz and Son. Almost everyone in the conference room made the same choice as him.

"Jon, don't force me to change underwriters! You know I can do it, and Yahoo can afford to pay the liquidated damages!"

Moritz's face was gloomy, his eyes were staring at each other, and he threatened without any concealment.

"We at Goldman Sachs are never afraid of any threats! Even if Sequoia Capital is standing behind you!"

"If you have made up your mind, I will cancel the next road show immediately."

"That's right! Should you pay the liquidated damages now or send it to Goldman Sachs headquarters?"

Jon Woodruff snorted coldly, showing no fear of Moritz's threat.

Moritz was so angry that he wanted to slap the table and scold the other party loudly.

But suddenly he caught a glimpse of Sun Zhengyi's look, which was signaling him to calm down.

He took a deep breath, suppressed the anger in his heart, and swallowed back the words he was about to blurt out.

Sun Zhengyi cleared his throat and said slowly.

"Mr. Jon, I think it's too early to say anything about the issuance price of the new shares! This is just Yahoo's first road show!"

"I prefer to use data to speak. The subscription amounts of those institutions and investors will not lie!"

"If every road show of Yahoo was so popular! I believe you will change your current mind!"

Jon Woodruff nodded silently. What the other party said was reasonable, and he couldn't go too far.

"If Yahoo's subsequent road shows can maintain this hot status, I will take the initiative to increase the issuance price of new shares!"

Everyone in the conference room breathed a sigh of relief. After all, no one wanted to see the talks between the two parties collapse. The collapse of the talks would mean the failure of Yahoo's listing, and everyone's dream of achieving financial freedom would be temporarily put on hold.

As for when Yahoo will launch another listing sprint, no one can say!

General Liu most hopes to maintain the state of fighting without breaking up. After all, everyone's overall interests are the same.

Of course, Goldman Sachs cannot be allowed to earn too much. After all, Yahoo still needs more funds for development.

Moritz and Son discussed with Jon Woodruff for a while, and finally tentatively set a new share issuance price of $11.5.

After hastily ending the negotiations, Yahoo's shareholders are preparing for the next road show.

In Chicago, Liu Jiang raised his right fist high on the stage and shouted loudly.

"Yahoo is a never-ending fighter, just like me, bringing you victory after victory!"

"Investing in Yahoo is equivalent to boarding a ship of wealth!"

General Liu preached hard, and the response from the institutional representatives and investors in the audience could only be said to be okay, but not as popular as the one in New York.

After he got off the stage, Alfonso walked over quickly and shouted, "John, Tom Kane's phone number."

After taking a sip of water, Liu Jiang took the phone and pressed the call button.

"Hello, Mr. Kane!"

"Yes, I'm in Chicago, and the companies I invest in come here for roadshows."

"I'm just lucky. My childhood friend was an intern at Yahoo."

"Mr. Kane, I may not have much time recently, but I promise that I will come to visit you as soon as Yahoo goes public."

General Liu grinned and chatted wordlessly with Tom Kane.

He clearly felt that the other party's attitude had changed slightly, and it was no longer the attitude of coming and going when called upon.

The improvement of wealth brings about changes in status. This is a truth that applies to everyone, especially in the United States.

After hanging up the phone, Liu Jiang was about to return the phone to Alfonso, when another call came in.

He glanced at it and saw that it was Bob's phone number again.

The frequency of calls from the other party has been too high recently! Almost one every day!
Reluctantly, Liu Jiang answered the phone and began to play Tai Chi with Bob.

"Boss, what do you want from me?"

"I'm in Chicago for a Yahoo roadshow."

"I haven't thought it through yet. I'll wait until Yahoo goes public."

During these days, Liu Jiang and Yahoo's shareholders traveled to major cities in the United States.

Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Houston
With the capital feast set off by Yahoo's road show, Bob's inner defense began to gradually collapse.

He kept making phone calls to test Liu General's attitude, and from time to time he would release some information that was difficult to distinguish between true and false to whet General Liu's appetite.

General Liu was really fed up with the other party's constant use of such tactics, and he vaguely guessed what the other party was planning.

Don't you just want to wait until Yahoo goes public to comprehensively judge the possibility of quitting professional boxing?
He simply followed Bob's whim and pushed all the boxing match stuff to Yahoo after it went public.

In his previous life, Yahoo was able to successfully go public. Liu Jiang does not believe that now that he has one more person, he can bring Yahoo down.

Since it was almost impossible for Yahoo to fail in its IPO, he was still worried and could just wait for Bob to relent.

After some deliberation with Bob, Liu Jiang hung up the phone.

Moritz's hoarse voice suddenly sounded in his ears.

"John, stop getting distracted by other things!"

"Concentrate! I need your 100% commitment!"

"We are about to return to New York to make the final push for Yahoo's IPO!"

Liu Jiang turned his head to look at Moritz, who looked tired. The other person's energy was a little sluggish, and he was obviously tired.

He didn't know how much the other party heard, and it was impossible for him to talk back to the other party at this time.

The intensity of the road show is nothing to Liu Jiang. He is in good spirits.

"Don't worry! Mr. Moritz, I won't let you down!"

"I have been looking forward to this moment for a long time! I will devote myself to it."

"Mr. Moritz, you don't look good. You must take care of yourself!"

Liu Jiang looked at the other party with concern, and at the same time assured him.

"You kid, don't do this to me! I know my body well!"

"You've been doing pretty well this time, keep it up!"

"Hurry up and pack your things! We will be very busy next time!"

Moritz cursed with a smile, the smile on his face fleetingly turned serious again.

General Liu could tell that the other party was under great pressure.

"Okay! Mr. Moritz."

After the last road show in Chicago, Yahoo's shareholders took the team back to New York, where the road show started.

They set up a temporary 'command center' in a hotel not far from the Nasdaq exchange.

Liu Jiang saw with his own eyes that the originally clean and tidy conference room gradually became messy.

There are piles of documents on the table, lunch boxes and drink cups randomly placed in the corner, and dirty suits hanging on the back of the chair.

Liu Jiang sat upright in his seat and watched as Moritz kicked two employees who were lying on the table to catch their naps out of the conference room.

When Yahoo shareholders and Goldman Sachs representative Jon Woodruff arrived, Moritz got straight to the point.

"The only agenda today is to determine the final offering price, which will determine the value of the Yahoo IPO!"

“Our roadshows were almost full, and the amount of subscriptions from institutions and investors far exceeded expectations!”

"I think the issue price of US$12 is still too low (the price was raised once during the road show), and US$16 is a more reasonable price!"

As soon as Moritz finished speaking, Jon Woodruff couldn't help it anymore, and he started to attack directly.

"Your current profits have only just covered your costs. If the issue price is set too high, it will easily break!"

"Once it breaks, those institutions and investors will lose confidence in Yahoo!"

"Do you understand what the consequences of this will be? Yahoo's stock price will stay low for a long time!"

"This will be the beginning of a vicious cycle, Moritz, take a long-term view!"

Moritz slammed the table with a bang.

"Bullshit! You just want to eat the price difference of the underwritten new shares!"

Not to be outdone, Jon Woodruff put his hands on the edge of the table and stood up, causing his chair to be ejected far away.

"FXXK you! Eat yourself!"

(End of this chapter)