sinovels Chapter 109 The Compromise on Wall Street
Chapter 109 The Compromise on Wall Street
Chapter 109 The Compromise on Wall Street
Wall Street.
When Leapmotor's still-wet data report landed on the desks of the CEOs of major financial giants like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, the entire Wall Street seemed to be put on pause.
The air seemed to be filled with disbelief and astonishment; even the usually composed financial giants had expressions of disbelief on their faces.
"Ernst?"
John Reid, the financial tycoon who headed Citibank, gripped the report in his hand with slightly trembling fingers, his eyes narrowed to slits, as if wondering if he was hallucinating from days of hard work.
The secretary stood in front of the desk, dressed in a well-fitting black suit, with a professional smile on her face, but she couldn't hide the surprise in her eyes.
He nodded solemnly again, his voice clear and firm, "Yes, sir."
John Reed leaned back slowly against the large leather office chair, making a slight creak, as if he were about to collapse.
After a long pause, he finally spoke, his tone still filled with unspeakable shock: "You mean, this Leap Games company was acquired by Ernst a few months ago, and then its first game became an instant hit, with the potential to become the second Blizzard, or even surpass Blizzard."
The secretary nodded for the third time, his shock no less than that of the boss.
Even though every piece of data had been checked repeatedly, he still felt that it was all too surreal.
John Reed went even further, expressing his feelings directly: "This is fucking freakish."
The image of Ernst appeared in my mind, that young upstart who seemed to possess the magic to turn lead into gold.
When he acquired MGM with debt, everyone was waiting to see him fail, believing it was nothing more than a doomed gamble.
But who could have imagined that a single film would temporarily pull MGM, the former Hollywood giant, out of its predicament, revitalize it, and give people a glimpse of its revival?
This was followed by the astonishing move of acquiring the Playboy Group.
At the time, some people mocked Ernst for being blinded by his reputation as a playboy.
However, a well-planned program caused Playboy's sales to skyrocket.
John Reed's daily commute took him past Playboy's flagship store in Manhattan.
The spectacular sight of long lines every day has now become a unique feature of Manhattan, attracting countless pedestrians to stop and watch.
He never imagined that underwear would one day become a highly sought-after commodity, not only appreciating in value but also making even the most arrogant and domineering gangsters in New York line up as scalpers and even actively maintain order at the scene.
Don't ask him how he knows so much, because his wife, who spends money like water, and the women he's seeing outside, are all buying these Playboy lingeries at exorbitant prices.
A single set of lingerie can cost thousands of dollars, comparable to top luxury brands.
Even so, demand still exceeds supply.
Those glamorous celebrities and extravagantly wealthy women are all proud to wear Playboy underwear.
They never queue up because even if they did, they might not be able to buy the style they wanted.
Out-of-stock situations became the only drawback of Playboy lingerie that was criticized by outsiders, but it also indirectly proved its popularity.
Where there is demand, there is a market, and scalpers have emerged as a result.
It's common for the price of a set of underwear to increase two or three times, and some limited edition styles can even increase five or six times.
The Los Angeles Police Chief has publicly praised the Playboy Group in the media, saying they have made a significant contribution to the safety of Los Angeles.
After all, with profits several times higher than expected and no risk involved, it's no wonder that there have been rumors lately that American gangsters are turning over a new leaf and switching to selling underwear.
It was also because of this program that MGM was able to develop its own television network. Although its current scale is still moderate, it has shown huge development potential, adding at least several hundred million dollars to MGM's market value.
To Wall Street, MGM Studios is like a juicy steak, with everyone eagerly awaiting its IPO and hoping to get a piece of the pie.
And then there's Google, the internet company that was founded less than six months ago, which became the brightest star in the internet industry after receiving investment from Wall Street.
When Internet Explorer announced that it would adopt Google Search, its market value surged so dramatically that even seasoned Wall Street veterans were stunned.
Now, a game company has suddenly emerged. It was originally an unknown game company, but it has raised more than 60 million US dollars in just one week. The market value given by analysts is no less than that of Blizzard.
It's worth noting that Blizzard's revenue reached $910 million last year, with a profit of $1.02 million, and its current market value is nearly $4 billion.
But this game company, which was on the verge of bankruptcy just a few months ago, became worth nearly four billion US dollars after being acquired by Ernst.
John Reed felt like he was listening to gibberish, the most absurd kind of nonsense. When did money in America become so easy to earn?
Such a rate of wealth growth is something John Reed wouldn't even dare to imagine, let alone have heard of it.
"Send someone to San Jose immediately and investigate every single detail of this Dynamic Games company. Citigroup must be informed immediately if they show any intention of raising funds or going public, understand?" John Reed's voice carried an unquestionable authority, his eyes sharp as an eagle.
The secretary respectfully accepted the order and left, leaving John Reed alone in the office.
He sat in his office chair, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the desk, staring intently at the document about YueDong Games, remaining silent for a long time.
Sunlight streamed through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, casting dappled shadows on his face, but it couldn't dispel the shock in his heart.
After a long while, he finally let out a long sigh of relief, secretly rejoicing.
Fortunately, the Playboy incident eased tensions with this newly rich American, otherwise Citibank would have been excluded from this series of wealth-filled opportunities.
He himself will undoubtedly become the scapegoat, ruining his own career.
This period is crucial for John Reid, as it determines whether he can continue to lead Citigroup, this massive financial behemoth.
After entering the 90s, competition in the American financial industry intensified, and the trend of diversified operations gradually emerged.
As the fifth largest commercial bank in the United States, Citibank is eagerly seeking opportunities to further expand its business scope and scale.
At the same time, Traveller, whose main business is insurance, was also vigorously expanding its financial business. They were acquiring Salomon Brothers' investment arm, intending to enter the financial field.
But Travelers is clearly not satisfied with this and recently approached Citigroup, hoping to facilitate the merger of the two giants through a stock swap.
Both sides have high hopes for this merger, hoping to expand their influence in the global financial market through complementary advantages.
This matter has entered the initial contact stage and is Citibank's top priority at this stage.
If the merger of the two giants is successful, the newly formed Citigroup will have total assets of $7000 billion, annual revenue of over $500 billion, business operations in more than 100 countries around the world, and approximately 1 million customers.
This would allow Citigroup to surpass Chase Manhattan and become the world's largest financial services company.
At the same time, the new Citigroup will become the first financial giant in the U.S. financial industry to achieve one-stop shopping, providing customers with a full range of financial services from savings and consumer credit to securities and insurance at a single branch, thereby realizing the operational synergy brought about by cross-selling.
For John Reid, the position of CEO of the new Citigroup is something he is determined to obtain.
Although there are reports that he will co-lead the new Citigroup with Travelers Group CEO Sandy Weir, it is clear to everyone that this is just a transitional period for integration.
Once the two groups have weathered the initial adjustment period, one of them will inevitably have to leave.
During this period, whoever can make a greater contribution to Citibank will gain the upper hand.
Ernst's sudden emergence undoubtedly gave John Reid a huge advantage.
One Google may not be enough to change the situation, but what if more companies like Google emerged?
If he can lead Citigroup to participate in the development of these companies, his influence in the eyes of the board will undoubtedly increase significantly.
Due to considerations of his own interests, John Reed changed his attitude towards Ernst.
Meanwhile, on Wall Street, another financial giant, Goldman Sachs, was also closely watching this young tycoon.
The atmosphere was equally somber in the office of Goldman Sachs COO Henry Paulson.
Robert Rubin, who had been in charge of the Google project and had contact with Ernst, was also present.
"Luck?" Henry Paulson looked at the report in his hand, his tone full of sarcasm.
Robert Rubin also said that it is ridiculous for some people to attribute Ernst's success to luck.
"One success might be luck, two successes might also be somewhat attributable to luck, but what about three or four times? MGM..."
Google, Playboy, and now Leap Games—even the Son of God might not have such good fortune.
Paulson understood this principle, of course; he just found Ernst's previous statement somewhat ridiculous.
After Playboy's success, a reporter asked Ernst in a public place if there was any secret to the success of his projects.
Ernst simply smiled and casually said two words: "luck".
"Genius?" Paulson threw out another word, then couldn't help but laugh at himself. "America has no shortage of geniuses."
"A genius may achieve success, or even greater success, but it is absolutely impossible for one to create miracles in multiple industries like Ernst did," Robert Rubin said with certainty.
What about Bill Gates? He's the world's richest man.
But how did he achieve his success? Even though Microsoft subsequently released many successful products, they all relied on the Microsoft platform.
If you ask him to expand his industry now and develop a project that has absolutely nothing to do with the Internet, he might not be able to figure it out.
"Something's weird here."
This was the conclusion the two men ultimately reached, and like John Reed, they found it unbelievable.
It is said that success breeds success, but no one is like Ernst, who can create a huge impact in any industry he enters and launch products that shock the entire United States and even the world.
"I heard Google is about to release its own email service?" Henry Paulson changed the subject.
As one of Google's shareholders, Goldman Sachs has a better understanding of Google's internal workings.
"That's right, the date is set for a week from now." Robert Rubin nodded in response; he had been closely monitoring Google's progress.
"I remember you told me that at Citibank's charity gala, Ernst mentioned that Google had found a profitable business model, and a groundbreaking one at that?" Henry Paulson's eyes flashed with anticipation.
Robert Rubin nodded again. "Yes, but no one knew exactly what the model would be before. It's said that no more than five people at Google knew about the plan, and we tried a lot of things but couldn't find out anything."
Henry Paulson leaned back in his office chair, lost in thought.
The office fell silent for a moment, with only the ticking of the wall clock.
Two minutes later, he sat up straight, placed his arms on the desk, and looked at Robert Rubin with a determined gaze.
"If Google Mail performs better than we expect, you tell Ernst that Goldman Sachs supports his decision, that we are willing to participate in Google's investment as a pure investor, and help him deal with other institutions on Wall Street."
Henry Paulson paused, then added, "However, we also have a condition: Google must go through another round of financing before it goes public."
During Google's Series A funding round, although Ernst had the upper hand on the issue of market capitalization, the two sides still had differences on the issue of forming a board of directors.
Wall Street investors certainly wanted to be involved in the company's management, but Ernst only wanted them to be pure investors.
It was precisely because of this disagreement that Ernst used excuses to delay the establishment of Google's board of directors.
Now, seeing Ernst keep throwing out one tempting offer after another, Goldman Sachs has chosen to compromise.
Wall Street investors' desire to join the board is simply a way to maximize their profits by influencing Google's management.
But Ernst is becoming increasingly incomprehensible to them.
Perhaps the approach he chose was the right one; Google seems to have always been on a path paved with gold.
If that's the case, then there's no need to join the board of directors.
Robert Rubin carefully took notes of Henry Paulson's instructions, his heart filled with emotion.
Having worked his way up on Wall Street for so many years, this was the first time he had ever met someone who could get Goldman Sachs to make concessions.
The tremors on Wall Street continue, with discussions about Ernst and his companies becoming the focus of conversation among major financial institutions.
Some people envied his good fortune, some admired his foresight, and some were secretly on guard against him.
Is the bulwark not against Ernst, but against its Wall Street counterparts?
But in any case, a new era seems to be slowly unfolding because of this young upstart.