In its original history, Apple went public in December 1980, but history has changed so much now that it is naturally different. After all, Apple was established about half a year ago, so there is no need to worry about funding. .
At New York International Airport, after Henry Morgan learned that Chen Zhiwen was coming to the United States, he came to pick him up personally.
The two got on the extended version of Lincoln. Henry Morgan said with a smile: "Eric, your HSBC in Hong Kong is really a fat sheep. They found me before and wanted to buy back the shares of Haitong Bank. I reported directly. After paying three times the price, they actually tolerated it and wanted to continue the negotiation with me.”
"SITC is the best opportunity for HSBC to get rid of regional banks. They will not give up until they have to. However, the price of 3 times is a bit too high and the pressure is too harsh. It will only lead to HSBC looking for For other international opportunities, we will lose." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.
"I know this well. I am just testing the bottom line of HSBC's tolerance. Even if it is sold at 2 times the price, we will get a return of five or six times." Henry Morgan said with a smile.
"It's up to you to decide how much money to sell. Just make a good profit. However, I have one more request. I want to trick HSBC again before selling. As for what method to use, you can think about it yourself. I need HSBC to wait until the acquisition is completed." After the epidemic, I still need to spend a lot of energy in the United States, and I will not be able to interfere too much in Hong Kong affairs." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.
When he acquired SITC Bank together with Henry Morgan, the ratio was 49:51. It was Henry Morgan who came forward. Because he is an American and has a strong background, he naturally holds more shares, while SITC holds 51% of the shares. The acquisition cost US$115 million, but the two of them only contributed a total of US$35 million, and the rest was bank loans. Now they only need to pay a certain amount of interest every month. When HSBC buys the stock at a high price, it will earn several times the profit.
However, his purpose is not just to slaughter HSBC. He needs to trap the last backer of British capital in Hong Kong in the United States. He doesn't know how to use it, but he believes that the Wall Street group can often make mistakes in the financial field. A vampire who deceives a sovereign country should have a way to teach a local bank that wants to develop in the United States from a small city. In this regard, HSBC is still a child. It can be a principal in Hong Kong. But when it comes to the United States, that is another story. .
"Okay, I understand what you mean." Henry Morgan said with a smile: "It seems that HSBC has offended Eric in Hong Kong, and it is really ungrateful."
"HSBC in Hong Kong is similar to a central bank, with a lot of funds, and the Hong Kong government and even legal protection behind it. If they had been staying in Hong Kong, I might not be able to do anything about it, but they want to go overseas, come to the United States or Europeans, this is your territory." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.
He still has some plans for Hong Kong in the future, which requires driving out some British capital. If HSBC still interferes at that time, it will be a little troublesome. It is not that he is not afraid of burning money, but HSBC will not confront him. If it is a head-on confrontation, especially when dealing with Jardine, the loss of extra consumption may be as high as billions of Hong Kong dollars or more. However, HSBC is sitting on the mountain and watching the fight. On the contrary, to profit from it, rather than being passive when the time comes, it is better to take action now.
Acquire SITC in advance and then make a small profit from HSBC? That was just the bait to get Henry Morgan to take action. Another more important purpose was that when SIIFeng was in his hands, as long as he cooperated with Wall Street's various financial mines to lay them in advance, they would definitely explode after the acquisition by HSBC. It will be great.
As for legal risks, when people on Wall Street design financial derivatives, they usually prepare weapons to protect themselves. Anyway, as long as the money is in place, it will be fine. If not, they can find a scapegoat.
"Wall Street attaches great importance to Eric. An elder in our family wants me to ask you a question, can you hold Apple's stock for a long time?" Henry Morgan said somewhat formally.
"Your family also wants to invest in Apple?" Chen Zhiwen asked curiously.
"To be precise, I want to invest in Silicon Valley. However, in the past few years, companies in Silicon Valley have been ups and downs, and many investment banks have lost a lot of money. Eric, you have made certain achievements in new technology, and you are also at the forefront of Apple." I chose Apple in the early days, and now Apple can be said to be a star company in Silicon Valley and even the United States. Many people in our family think you must know a lot about technology, so I want to ask your opinion?" Henry Morgan said.
Although the Morgan family has been in the U.S. financial market for hundreds of years, they cannot understand new technology products such as the semiconductor industry. If the investment succeeds, the rate of return is astonishing. If it fails, they will lose everything. The probability is much higher. In this case, they also need to find some professionals for advice.
"This opinion is not suitable for your family. I know that Apple has the potential to develop, but now Apple's scale has reached a point where it needs to compete with companies such as HP, IBM, and Texas Instruments for the market and technology. In the future, it will How about it, I don’t know." Chen Zhiwen shook his head and said.
"Then which companies' stocks do you think are suitable for long-term holding?" Henry Morgan asked again.
"If you want to hold it for a long time, you can consider HP or Intel." Chen Zhiwen thought for a while, but chose one and told him.
This may be a test by the Morgan family, but he will not tell the other party about high-quality companies that can increase a thousand times in the future. He will just choose one with a high return rate. In the future, HP will be one of the overlords of the global PC market, and its stock market returns will certainly not be bad. However, Chen Zhiwen does not know how to invest, because HP has been established for decades, has a wide range of businesses, and its current market value is not low. For Chen Zhiwen, It's not very attractive.
As for Intel, this chip company, like Apple, has become a star in the chip industry. The 8086 chip it released has become the first choice for many electronic products. It is used in Apple 3 and Midea's Famicom. However, this type of company is more sensitive than Apple. Even if Chen Zhiwen can invest, it is limited. Instead of doing this, it is better to sell favors and give them to the Morgan family. In this way, if the Morgan family makes a lot of money from it, then it will naturally Value yourself more. Future cooperation in many fields can also bring rewards to yourself in other less sensitive fields.
"HP? It is indeed a big company. Well, thank you. If it is really a good investment, maybe our family will have more areas to cooperate with you." Henry Morgan said with a smile.
"Okay." Chen Zhiwen nodded and didn't ask any more questions.
The car arrived at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Outside the hotel, there were already several people waiting downstairs.
"Hello, Eric, long time no see." Steve Jobs, the American entrepreneurial hero, was chatting with several blond beauties and making secret glances. However, when Chen Zhiwen arrived, he immediately threw his blond hair aside.
"Yeah, it's been a long time. The last time was the last financing before going public more than a year ago, right?" Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.
Regarding Apple's investment, Chen Zhiwen has no intention of worrying about it. Just like Wal-Mart, he can just go his own way. Moreover, this also shows an attitude that he, as an investor, will never interfere with the company's management and stand on the side of the founder. .
Only when Apple needs financing, which will affect his absolute income, will he come to Apple in person. At other times, even if Midea has some cooperation with Apple, it is done by his subordinates.
"It's a pity that you don't have time to come to this IPO road show. Otherwise, with your reputation, our income may be higher." Jobs said with a smile, while the two chatted.
"My reputation is far behind compared to yours." Chen Zhiwen shook his head and said.
In ancient times, if you had a lot of gold, silver and jewelry, you could bury them somewhere so no one would know how much money you had. But this is not feasible in modern times. The bigger the business, the greater the amount of transactions that need to be made, including the transportation of goods. , a large number of jobs, a large number of suppliers and customers, etc. This situation cannot be concealed.
There are now more than 70 Costcos alone, and there are more than a dozen under construction, involving millions of members and their families. The annual transaction volume is close to 2 billion US dollars, which has become As a new star in the U.S. retail market, coupled with Midea's arcade machines and Red Bull drinks, Chen Zhiwen has become quite famous in the United States. He is called the richest Chinese in Asia by Forbes, surpassing the shipping king Pao Yugang and ranking among the entire Chinese community. Among them, second only to Wang An.
"You're just too lazy to come here." Jobs smiled and said, "Let's go. Woz drank too much last night and was not very energetic, so I didn't let him come out. We'll drink some more together later. Tomorrow I can’t drink it from the beginning, so I can prepare for the launch with peace of mind.”
"Okay." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.
The time soon came to May 5th, this day is the day when Apple goes on the market.
The current size of Nasdaq is far less than that of the Dow Jones, but being small has its advantages. Basically, it is a technology company. In this way, global investors who pay attention to technology companies can easily find suitable investments here. object.
Early in the morning, dense crowds of investors, representatives of investment institutions, and reporters from all walks of life had already surrounded the main entrance. No monkey could squeeze in from here, but as a VIP customer of a listed company that sends money to Nasdaq, , naturally had its own separate passage. Jobs, Woz, Chen Zhiwen and representatives from the two investment banks entered the lounge arranged by the trading center from the VIP passage.
"Looking at the number of people outside, today's IPO of Apple will definitely be a great success." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.
Jobs, who walked together to the window sill where he could see the scene below, also said confidently: "Of course, in the previous road shows, every city we visited, the local investors were very concerned about our Apple company. Eric, you You can only see these people, but in fact, there are dozens or even hundreds of times more people who will buy our stocks over the phone.”
"IPO is just the beginning. With so much funding, what are you going to do next?" Chen Zhiwen asked.
"Of course, it is to develop more advanced personal computers. Although the current sales of Apple 3 are not bad, IBM, HP, and Texas Instruments are all developing computers. Their team strength cannot be underestimated, and their funds are much stronger than Apple's. Only more Only high-quality products can ensure Apple's position in the personal computer market." Jobs replied.
"Yes." Chen Zhiwen nodded and smiled, then asked: "What is your internal estimate of the market value for this listing?"
If Midea does not participate in the personal computer market, Chen Zhiwen would not mind helping Apple in some aspects, but for now, let nature take its course. Steve Jobs does have a great vision in the market, but if you are a little early, you will be a god, and if you are a little early, nothing will happen. No, in the next few years, Jobs spent too much money in order to create the perfect personal computer in his mind. However, the exponential growth trend of the semiconductor industry, which doubled every year and a half, still could not keep up with Jobs' requirements. As a result, this perfect personal computer The personal computer was too expensive and there was no market for it, which ultimately led to Apple's huge losses and Jobs being kicked out.
"Goldman Sachs investors believe that our market value after going public can exceed $1 billion." Jobs said.
"Then you and Woz will become billionaires." Chen Zhiwen smiled and said, "But I guess there will be more."
"More?" Woz, who didn't say much at the side, said in surprise: "Isn't that higher than Intel?"
"Intel also has great potential, but it is not a civilian product and will not attract too many people's attention. In the stock market, it is not enough if it is not well-known." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.
"That's right to think so." Jobs understood this better and nodded.
"Gentlemen, it's almost time." An exchange employee came over.
"Eric, let's go and ring the bell together." Jobs said with a smile to Chen Zhiwen.
Chen Zhiwen shook his head and said: "This limelight belongs to you, I'd better not go."
The bell ringing for Apple's listing is of great historical significance, but Chen Zhiwen doesn't care about such fictitious things. Today's scene will obviously be widely exposed by various media across the United States, and some stock-trading TV stations are even broadcasting it live. Americans who are interested in technology and stocks are paying attention here, including US government officials and congressmen.
This historic moment in the Silicon Valley of the United States will look very dazzling if a Chinese also runs up to ring the bell. The United States is currently in a period of election competition. Many congressmen have nothing to do and are just looking for something that can easily attract everyone's attention. Regarding the topic, Chen Zhiwen doesn’t want to be targeted by a certain congressman. Maybe there won’t be much trouble, but if the White House is asked to consider the restrictions on foreign shares in American high-tech companies in advance, he will lose money.
Everyone went down, but Chen Zhiwen stayed on top, looking down. As Jobs and Woz rang the bell repeatedly, Apple's stock officially landed on the Nasdaq market.
Once the stocks were issued, they were immediately scrambled for. Traders in white shirts were struggling to receive a steady stream of investors and an increasing number of telephone trading requests. Some investment institutions have already arranged for personnel to snap up shares issued by Apple.
6 million shares of Apple stock were being sold at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the stock price was also increasing at a high rate. Later, another 5 million shares were invested in the market.
Before the market closed, Apple's stock closed at $31.85 per share, an increase of 76%, and its total market value exceeded $2 billion.
Before the listing, Chen Zhiwen owned 22% of Apple's shares. However, when it went public, all shareholders needed to put a proportion of it into the stock market. Therefore, his total share ratio dropped to 16.6%. According to the current market value , worth $320 million.
Back and forth, Chen Zhiwen invested almost 10 million US dollars in Apple, and now he has directly doubled his net profit by 30 times. And if you only look at the first investment, the income is hundreds of times.
However, as an original shareholder, Chen Zhiwen cannot cash out within half a year, but he is not in a hurry. Apple's decline will still have to wait a few years, and the next two years will be Apple's highlight moment, and its market value will continue to rise. When it's almost time, I will have enough time to clear out so many stocks in my hands.
Liquidating the stocks in hand will inevitably lead to a sharp drop in the stock price and dissatisfaction of the board of directors. But as long as Midea launches its own computer in a year or two, it will be considered a competitor. By then, it will have a reason to withdraw, and everyone will probably be happy. .
(End of chapter)
