Chapter 456
"Valuation of US$6 billion?" Qin Shaoyan felt a little guilty, "At US$19 per share, is the stock price a bit too high for investors?"
This US$6 billion is fully double Qin Shaoyan’s initial estimate. Among China’s domestic Internet companies, only NetEase has a market value of more than US$5 billion.
Qin Shaoyan understands that everyone wants to make progress, but it is always not good to work too hard because you want to make progress too much.
"Is it high? Where is it high?" Xiong Xiaoge said nonchalantly, "Goldman Sachs is very professional. They have their own reasons for setting this stock price."
"If the market thinks the stock price is high, then you should look for your own reasons. Have you worked hard to speculate in stocks over the years?"
Qin Shaoyan was still a little anxious, "What if the price breaks on the first day? Will it look ugly?"
Xiong Xiaoge suddenly laughed, "There's nothing ugly about this. Stock price fluctuations are normal market behavior."
"Look at Penguin. When Penguin went public in 2004, it almost tripled its price in the first few months. Didn't it rise later?"
Zheng Nan next to him was helping, "That's right, that's right, we're not afraid, so you have nothing to worry about."
"You have to trust the judgment of professional institutions like Goldman Sachs."
"..." Qin Shaoyan suddenly asked, "Which firm is auditing the campus network?"
"PwC." Xiong Xiaoge replied casually, "Why do you ask?"
"I'm just curious." Qin Shaoyan hesitated for a moment, "Can I switch to another one?"
"What should I change if everything is fine?" Xiong Xiaoge was a little dumbfounded. He felt that Qin Shaoyan was under too much pressure to say such nonsense.
"I think PricewaterhouseCoopers is not professional enough." Qin Shaoyan said slowly, "I'm afraid they will make any mistakes or omissions that will affect the stock price of Campus Network."
"You don't have to worry about it. After all, they are also among the top four." Zheng Nan also felt that there was something wrong with Qin Shaoyan's mental state. "Instead of questioning his professionalism, you should think carefully about how to cooperate with the upcoming road show promotion."
"I mean, if...in case..." Qin Shaoyan said bluntly, "If there is any scandal at PricewaterhouseCoopers, will it affect us?"
"For example?" Xiong Xiaoge asked.
"For example, if you were caught making false accounts..."
"..." Xiong Xiaoge was speechless, "Which one of you is not cheating? You are just worried because you are full."
"Taking a step back, do you know how troublesome it is to change a team of accountants? All the company's accounts must be re-audited."
Zheng Nan frowned, "What exactly do you want to do?"
"It's nothing, I just said it casually." Qin Shaoyan also knew that his question was a bit whimsical, "That Lehman Brothers bank..."
"Don't pay attention to that idiot. Goldman Sachs has already communicated with them. They won't have any problems." Zheng Nan said bluntly, "Don't worry, similar problems won't happen again in the future."
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"I really think their people are very unprofessional." Qin Shaoyan said sincerely, "Don't cooperate with them in the future, and don't buy their financial products. I think there will be problems."
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"There must be something wrong with Lehman Brothers hiring someone like Pandey."
Zheng Nan thought Qin Shaoyan was just expressing his anger, so he didn't care and made a few casual remarks.
Xiong Xiaoge, on the other hand, was a little thoughtful. It was not that the company had problems because of the presence of fools, but that the company had problems in the first place, which led to the hiring of many fools.
"Let's get down to business." Zheng Nan took out a document from his bag, "Taylor of Sequoia is very interested in the social 2.0 product you mentioned. It wants to ask you about Weibo. What is the use of this thing? How do you say it in English? ”
Qin Shaoyan immediately became excited, "I call it Twitter!"
"Oh, this is a good name for Twitter." Zheng Nan continued to ask, "He wants to know if this thing can become popular on the American Internet."
"I am very optimistic about the prospects of this thing." Qin Shaoyan quickly gave the answer, "It will be another phenomenal Internet social product."
After hearing the reply, Sequoia's Taylor came to the hotel in person and interviewed Qin Shaoyan.
In addition to Taylor, Davis also rushed over. Together with Xiong Xiaoge and Zheng Nan, the five of them gathered together for a simple meeting.
Taylor said straightforwardly: "What impact will the Twitter product have on Facebook? When will Facebook enable Twitter-related functions?"
"Twitter can be opened at any time. We have a lot of accumulation in technology. I believe Facebook can complete the corresponding development in a short time." Qin Shaoyan paused for a moment, "But I still hesitate."
"Why are you hesitating?" Taylor asked curiously.
"I'm still considering whether Twitter has a corresponding position in the Facebook ecosystem." Qin Shaoyan explained while thinking about it, "After all, the situation on the campus network is different from that of Facebook."
"Weibo is oriented to all user groups of China's Internet, regardless of age, gender, occupation, and education. It forms a differentiated track with the user groups of the campus network, is more open and convenient, and is a complementary plan to the campus network's social ecosystem. .”
“As for Facebook, the product’s user base now exceeds the student group and targets all Internet users.”
"If Twitter is opened again, some social functions will overlap, which is a bit wasteful."
Taylor nodded and smiled, "Very good. In that case, how about we take it apart separately?"
"Take it apart?" Qin Shaoyan looked at Taylor with some surprise, showing an interested expression, "You mean to launch it as an Internet product alone?"
"Yes, I think you can try this thing." Taylor raised the champagne, "A brand new design category, Twitter! This thing is exquisite and compact, and it will be a good new product."
Davis also echoed, "I also think we can give it a try. We at Microsoft are willing to invest in Series A."
"Davis, you old bastard, you are stealing my business again." Taylor joked, and then said seriously, "We at Sequoia are also willing to invest."
Xiong Xiaoge raised his hand, "I can ask the American IDG."
Taylor coughed, "Then let's see how big John's appetite is. How much do you think this thing is worth?"
Qin Shaoyan pretended to think for a moment and raised a finger, "How about one billion dollars?"
"NO! NO!" Taylor immediately rejected the valuation. "John's joke is not funny. Twitter doesn't exist yet. One billion US dollars is too much."
Davis helped, "How about $500 million? We at Microsoft will invest."
"Five hundred million dollars is too much." Taylor still refused, "How about three hundred million dollars."
If it's US$300 million, the first round of financing won't be too much. Sequoia can bring in a few more venture capital investors, and after sharing, the risk will be much smaller.
Qin Shaoyan did not refuse, but looked at Taylor sincerely, "Taylor, how long have we known each other?" "Two and a half years." Taylor waved his hand, "Although we are friends, business is business."
"No, I'm not talking about business." Qin Shaoyan said seriously, "Since I came to the United States to create Facebook, and then to YouTube, have I ever failed?"
Taylor frowned, "You are indeed a very powerful entrepreneur, but..."
Qin Shaoyan interrupted him directly, "Putting aside the facts, just ask whether Twitter is worth 500 million US dollars?"
"I need to be evaluated." Of course Taylor refused to agree immediately.
"It just so happens that I also need to prepare for the next road show." Qin Shaoyan showed a weird smile, "It's okay, don't worry, you can wait."
After sending Taylor away, Davis directly stated, "No matter what the final valuation is, we at Microsoft will definitely invest. I can guarantee this."
"That's great." Qin Shaoyan happily patted Davis' arm and sighed sincerely, "Davis, you are my friend."
If all venture capital investors had the professionalism of Davis, Qin Shaoyan's entrepreneurial journey would be smoother.
Besides, these people’s investment vision is just like that. They don’t know anything about the Internet and Social Network 2.0. They don’t listen to the advice of professionals at all and just pay for it.
Qin Shaoyan looked at Xiong Xiaoge with a smile on his face, "Mr. Xiong, then IDG America will trouble you."
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"Easy to talk to, easy to talk to." Xiong Xiaoge was just watching the excitement and was not afraid of big trouble, so he vowed, "I will try my best to help you lobby."
Anyway, Weibo is tied to the campus network. It will definitely not be separated and set up a separate company, so there is no need for Xiong Xiaoge to spend any more money.
Since it doesn't cost money, Gonghuo is even more exciting.
If Twitter can obtain a high valuation and the news is fed back to China, the capital market will immediately form a positive view of the campus network Weibo.
In short, good for the campus network!
Soon IDG in the United States also got the news, and immediately sent someone to contact Qin Shaoyan, who also wanted to take part in Twitter's Series A financing.
Qin Shaoyan became very negative at this time and simply stopped talking about Twitter, using the excuse of preparing for a roadshow promotion.
Goldman Sachs is indeed very professional. After Qin Shaoyan's first road show, they immediately began to build momentum in the media.
There are seven or eight newspapers whose reporting stance is biased towards the campus network, and this is only a small part of the media that Goldman Sachs can influence.
Qin Shaoyan's photo has been published on the front page of the Wall Street Journal. Goldman Sachs listed Qin Shaoyan's Internet entrepreneurial achievements in the past few years and packaged him as an Internet genius from the East.
Facebook is desperately pushing all kinds of related news on the Internet, and many Facebook celebrities are also actively reposting soft articles about the launch of Campus Network. From North America to Europe, one after another touting news is circulating everywhere.
After all, he is the major shareholder of his own family. If he doesn't make an effort at this time, why are he waiting?
The CEO of Facebook told the operations department very bluntly, "Every Facebook user must be able to see information that is good for the campus network. They can choose not to see it, but they must not not see it."
There is a reason for Facebook to advocate so hard, and it is not to flatter its major shareholders.
It's because Campus Network is known as "China's version of Facebook" under the promotion of Goldman Sachs. Although it is a bit contrary to Tiangang, Facebook is very willing to promote this concept.
If the "China version of Facebook" performs well on the market, then Facebook as a North American campus network will appear even more powerful.
Regardless of the number of users and scope of influence, Facebook is much larger than the campus network.
So a five-fold increase in valuation is not excessive at all, right?
……
2006, October 1st.
At 9:25 a.m. Eastern Time, the campus network bell ringing ceremony began.
On the observation deck on the second floor of the Nasdaq Exchange, Qin Shaoyan, surrounded by a crowd of people, gently pressed the electronic button and gently rang the campus online listing bell.
Unlike the small clock still retained by the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq is an electronic clock. You only need to press a button and do not need to hold a small wooden hammer to strike.
I can only say that there is a sense of ritual, but only a little bit.
Qin Shaoyan felt that ringing a bell was like ringing a bell.
When going public, the company representative stands on the stage and obeys the instructions, speaks a few words in front of the camera, then rings the bell according to the instructions, then smiles, waves and poses in front of the camera.
The bell rang in the Nasdaq Hall, and a burst of cheers and applause immediately broke out. Countless flash lights lit up, and the media recorded the moment with cameras.
Campus Network, as another newcomer from the Chinese Internet, has joined it.
On the first day of listing, Campus Network's stock price showed strong momentum, opening at $19, but it continued to rise after the opening.
In less than two hours, the stock price reached $25.8. Although it fell slightly afterwards, it quickly rose back up, and the final closing price reached $28.
Based on the closing price on the first day of listing, Campus Network's market value reached US$8.7 billion, making it the Chinese Internet company second only to NetEase in market value.
The news quickly spread back to the domestic Internet, immediately causing shock in the industry.
When Tencent went public in 2004, its market value was only HK$6.2 billion, and its issue price was only HK$3.7. After its listing, the stock price has remained below one yuan, and it did not exceed five yuan until the end of 2006.
NetEase's market value at this time has exceeded 10 billion U.S. dollars, Shanda's market value is more than 2 billion U.S. dollars, Sina is slightly lower than Shanda, and Sohu's market value is barely over 1 billion U.S. dollars, not as good as Ctrip's market value of 1.5 billion U.S. dollars.
Baidu, which went public in 2005, has a market capitalization of over US$4 billion and is booming.
Among China's domestic Internet companies, these are already the leading companies in the industry and belong to the T0 level.
Campus Network's market value of US$6 billion is very eye-catching.
It should be said that those who can IPO in the United States are not mediocre people, but Campus Network is a little different.
These companies all have a common feature: they were all established before 2000, except Campus Network, which was created after the turn of the millennium.
The campus network is too young. It has only been on the market for three years since 2003.
In three years, an Internet company has grown into a domestic Internet giant with a market value of nearly US$9 billion. What an amazing miracle.
(End of chapter)