[Chapter 851: The Confused Consortium]
For Arican financial conglorates, their current situation felt incredibly uncertain. As the world landscape beca increasingly bizarre, risk-averse funds began pouring into the United States. Bonds, mutual funds, and those so-called blue-chip stocks had beco their options.
The Big Blue had perford well lately, so it was no surprise that it had beco a blue-chip stock. NBC and Disney were in the mix too--what a wild situation to be in.
"Why aren't financial and real estate stocks doing well? Why aren't military stocks appealing?"
They weren't interested; recent stock price performances spoke volus. Disney would drop, and imdiately there would be funds swooping in to buy the dip. Even if Citigroup cleared the air, insisting they had no investnts in xico, investors didn't seem to buy it.
If that was all, it might remain within the comfort zone of that group of old-tirs. During the most challenging economic tis, Disney and NBC were both turning profits. It was only natural they attracted investor interest.
But now, the state of the Nasdaq seed perplexing. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley had turned down Old Steve Jobs's IPO; initially, it seed likely he would secure more funding. At that point, whether a lot or a little, they could snag so cheap shares.
Unfortunately, that arrogant guy had no intention of compromising. Not only that, but Pixar had already found underwriters.
"What? Are you sure?"
"Yes, boss. They've lost their minds. At twenty bucks a share, this movie company's valuation is eight hundred million. And so far, they haven't completed a single film."
"Cough, cough. What does Andy say?"
"He believes Steve Jobs will compromise. According to him, Jobs cares deeply about his company's control; he won't agree to let William White continue investing."
"Eight hundred million valuation?" The head of Morgan Stanley had a headache. They had outright rejected the idea; even if they wanted to invest, anything over two hundred million was off the table. In their eyes, managing to issue at three to five hundred million would have been impressive.
anwhile, a group of managers at Goldman Sachs were agitated. If Pixar's IPO flopped, it would confirm their judgnt; going public now was indeed inappropriate.
But what if it succeeded?
"Avery, do you have anything to say?"
"Sir, everyone, I stand by my opinion. It can't exceed five hundred million. Jobs is acting crazy, just like that early Apple; he wants to replicate things too simply. Should we apply so pressure?"
"Shut up. Don't you know who the second-largest shareholder is? Normal business behavior, and no one would say anything. Any underhanded tricks will absolutely not be tolerated."
"Cough, understood, boss."
Avery Martin wasn't naive; he'd just been venting his frustrations. Wall Street had unwritten rules: never go up against William White. It wasn't that the man had imnse power, but he certainly had a knack for being cunning.
A security firm that guaranteed 100% task completion wasn't the sort of adversary one wanted to provoke. And for the sake of a small company, crossing William White was foolish.
Of course, many people thought differently from Avery Martin. The current Nasdaq was all about concepts. You said Pixar had a high valuation, but had NetScape ever had a low one?
Microsoft's operating system had a browser; yet, didn't NetScape still claim a thirty billion valuation?
They called a completely free toy worth thirty billion just because they could? The most ridiculous part was that there were indeed people willing to invest.
William White's So Easy was even more absurd. Another company that had yet to turn a profit but was claiming an eighty billion price tag.
By their logic, next year's IPO price might shoot straight to the two hundred billion range. The Big Blue's market value from last year was just about that.
"Man, are they out of their minds?"
A group of value investors led by Warren Buffett clearly couldn't comprehend these numbers. To him, the tulip frenzy from years prior seed more reasonable. His point was plain: it was just passing the buck--another bubble.
Looking at the current state of the Nasdaq, a shiver ran through the consortium. No wonder Citigroup constantly butted heads with William White; were their eyes just too greedy now?
"A bubble? What is that? I didn't catch that--is it a song?" Just out of the airport, William White found himself surrounded by a swarm of reporters. They sure had the guts to block the VIP entrance.
"Cough, cough, Mr. White, Warren Buffett ntioned that today's tech stocks are like the tulip craze--a complete waste of investnt."
"And then?" William White watched the provocative journalist with interest. His sudden inquiry left the reporter montarily speechless.
"Hey, don't overthink it. I'll tell you this: Buffett isn't wrong. What's his investnt philosophy? Look for great companies one can see. Arican Express, Coca-Cola, Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, Walmart. Sure, why not? These are solid investnt targets.
Ladies and gentlen, I'm quite tired right now. I'd like to head ho and sleep. Can you clear the way, please?"
"Mr. White, Mr. White, I'm a reporter from the Wall Street Journal. Your investnt portfolio at White Funds doesn't include those great companies you ntioned. Do you not consider them great?"
"Ha! You again? Is there only one reporter from your newspaper? Alright, at least you did so howork this ti.
I need to correct you; I am the largest individual shareholder of Coca-Cola, so how could I not have shares? As for the others, you might not believe this, but I haven't used a credit card in ages, so Arican Express is out.
As for the others, I don't shop at supermarkets, nor have I purchased personal care products. Honestly, I have no experience to compare. Buffett likes to invest in companies he understands--I do too.
However, I'm different; if I don't understand sothing, I won't judge it. That's all, I'm really tired."
A group of reporters felt disheartened. They'd stuck around for two days just to catch him. With the remarks he'd made, they could spin a host of stories and headlines.
Those who flaunted their age could be quite insufferable sotis. If he claid not to understand tech stocks, why didn't he just keep his mouth shut?
"Cough, cough, cough, that jerk." Looking at a slew of sensational headlines, Buffett nearly spat blood. One thing needed clarifying: he hadn't ntioned any tulips.
If he couldn't understand what obstructing soone's financial path led to, he'd truly wasted his ti reaching this age.
William White's words were indeed jarring, yet Buffett had to admit he wasn't wrong. He not only knew precisely what he was doing, but he also understood what others were doing.
With a shake of his head and a rueful smile, Buffett realized he had no grounds to argue. You liked certain things and familiar products, while that guy didn't seem to care in the slightest.
Well, now the Arican public knew that the wealthy didn't frequent supermarkets, regardless of whether it was Walmart or Costco.
Did he truly not need a credit card?
That was simply astonishing.
Of course, those familiar with him felt unfazed; he simply didn't use his credit card.
As for why he chose to say such things to the reporters?
The ssage was clear: I didn't say you were wrong; if you didn't want to keep pushing it, it would be best to stay quiet.
*****
spatreon/Sayonara816.
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