Return to 1958 and build a century-old giant

Chapter 860 Best Buy's IPO Preparations

The reform and opening up of the mainland was actually the beginning of the decline of Hong Kong's industry, because it gave Hong Kong business owners a place with lower labor costs, but at the same time it was also an opportunity, because it was easier to build a complete industrial chain on the mainland.

However, due to the reform and opening up of the mainland, Hong Kong has become a bridge for communication between the East and the West. A large amount of foreign capital has entered Hong Kong. Coupled with confidence in the future and speculation by Hong Kong capital, housing prices and the stock market have soared. This has led many business owners to realize that their hard work in manufacturing is not as profitable as speculating in real estate and stocks, which is less troublesome.
That's actually true. If Yang Wendong had traveled back to the early 80s, he definitely wouldn't have gone into manufacturing, at least not initially, because it would have been virtually impossible for him to succeed. He would have made a certain amount of money through real estate and finance before considering developing industry in the mainland market, which would have had little to do with Hong Kong's industry.

The decline of Hong Kong's industry was basically inevitable due to a variety of factors and could not be changed. As a time traveler, Yang Wendong could not go against the will of heaven. At most, he could leave behind some industries that did not care much about labor costs in some poor areas of the New Territories, such as Red Bull.
Historically, many of Red Bull's factories were located in developed Western countries, and the beverage industry did not have high requirements for the nearby supply chain, as long as there was water. Hong Kong actually did not lack water after the 90s, and in fact, due to the large amount of fresh water involved in early contracts signed with the mainland, it eventually had to be dumped.

Relocating the industry that I have painstakingly built over 20 years to the mainland is the most suitable option. I can take advantage of the mainland's development to achieve further progress. On the one hand, there is the huge future market in the mainland, and on the other hand, the costs in the mainland are very low, which will give my products a greater advantage overseas.
However, the initial relocation will have to wait until the establishment of special economic zones in the mainland. Many of their highly profitable industries are not currently very interested in the mainland market and it is impossible for them to rush in and operate joint ventures with mainland companies at this time.

July arrived quickly, and Hong Kong dispatched several teams to the mainland to handle the potential cooperation agreements reached between Yang Wendong and the mainland side.

Mini in the UK also dispatched a team, and this was not kept secret from the top levels of the British government, after all, such an operation is a very big deal;

Thatcher also called in person to express her strong disapproval of Yang Wendong's idea of ​​investing in and building a factory in the mainland. She hoped that Yang Wendong could use his connections to persuade the mainland market to directly import Mini cars or other brands of cars from the UK.

Yang Wendong was well aware of these politicians' thoughts, but he still very tactfully pointed out that if they did this, they would be completely uncompetitive when facing Japanese cars. After all, Japanese cars shipped from Japan to the UK could easily outperform Minis produced in the UK. Now, if Minis were to be shipped from the UK to Asia to compete with Japanese cars, wouldn't that be suicidal?
In the end, Thatcher had no choice but to give up. Yang Wendong also gave her some face, saying that even if factories in mainland China started production in the next few years, many parts would be purchased from the UK, which would be enough to boost employment in the UK.
That's absolutely true. He certainly wanted to build an automotive industry chain in mainland China, but that's easier said than done, at least not in the first few years.
Once successful, Yang Wendong will no longer need to care about Mini in the UK, or rather, the UK market will become less important to him, and he can leverage the mainland market to develop the automotive industry.
Of course, Thatcher's face still had to be given. Within his capabilities, he would try his best to maintain employment in Britain. After all, it would take more than a decade for Mini Coopers produced in mainland China to be exported back to Europe and America. Historically, Thatcher only served for 11 years.

By the 90s, British industry had further declined, and we'll see how things develop next then.
After things were temporarily settled in Asia, Yang Wendong went to the United States again.

With the Boeing 747, the comfort of the journey was significantly improved. The 747 has more interior space, more entertainment facilities, and a dedicated home theater that can play all kinds of popular Hong Kong and American movies. It even has stereo sound, making it more comfortable than a regular movie theater.
The ability to fly across continents allows planes to take off directly from Hong Kong and land directly in New York, saving nearly 12 hours compared to the previous need to land in Japan and Canada to refuel and wait in line.
For the super-rich, 12 hours is extremely valuable, and Yang Wendong also frequently travels to Europe and America, which saves him a lot of time over the course of a year.

After resting on the plane overnight, I arrived in New York in the morning. The sun was shining brightly, and there was a hint of heat in the air.
The Changxing Group's employees stationed in the United States were already waiting at the airport. Lin Youtian also arrived at the airport and met the boss and others: "Mr. Yang, Mr. Fang."

"You Tian, ​​you've worked hard." Yang Wendong smiled.

Lin Youtian said, "The convoy is ready. Mr. Yang, would you like to go back to the hotel first?"

“No need, I already rested on the plane.” Yang Wendong shook his head and said, “Send my luggage to the hotel, and Fang Sheng and I will go directly to Goldman Sachs.”

The first thing I did during this trip to the United States was to establish a major partnership with Goldman Sachs.
“Okay, I’ll arrange it,” Lin Youtian replied.

Traffic congestion in New York is quite severe, and even the super-rich have no special privileges in this regard. As for helicopters, they are not yet a mature technology and the risks are too high, so he is not planning to purchase one for the time being.

More than an hour later, Yang Wendong and his entourage arrived at the headquarters of Goldman Sachs on Wall Street. Goldman Sachs attached great importance to Yang Wendong's arrival. A vice president greeted him downstairs and then led him upstairs to meet Sidney Weinberg, the current CEO of Goldman Sachs.

"Hello, Mr. Weinberger," Yang Wendong said politely, shaking hands with him.

Sidney Weinberg shook hands in return: "Hello, Mr. Yang, just call me Sidney, or if you don't mind me calling you Eric."

“Sure, Sidney,” Yang Wendong said with a smile.
In Western culture, people with a good relationship tend to address each other by their first names. This isn't a matter of politeness, but rather a way to facilitate business communication.

In Eastern culture, this kind of address is only appropriate for very close relationships or when an elder addresses a younger person. Therefore, it is generally not used in business.

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Sidney said, "Eric, I think the time is right for Best Buy to go public. The IT industry is now viewed favorably by the entire American market. Although Best Buy is not an IT company, it controls the sales and after-sales channels of IT companies, similar to the relationship between gold mines and railroads more than a hundred years ago."
Going public at this time would undoubtedly result in the most successful IPO ever. If we cooperate, and with Goldman Sachs' expertise, I believe our IPO has a chance to surpass Apple's.

"I hope so too, but I still need to carefully choose which company to use as the IPO underwriter," Yang Wendong said with a faint smile.

This trip to the United States is to prepare for Best Buy's IPO;
Apple's success has driven countless investors to the IT industry, and Best Buy has also benefited from it. However, as Yang Wendong knows, Apple is also under immense pressure from other established companies such as IBM. Its internal development strategy is uncertain, and Jobs has clashed with the board of directors on several occasions.
Historically, Apple Inc. was embroiled in internal strife shortly after its IPO, which resulted in its stock price not rising much for several years after its listing. It wasn't until three years later, when the market declined, that the stock price plummeted.
While Apple's failure may not necessarily affect the development of the IT industry, it is a blow to stock market investors who only look at confidence.

Therefore, he also wanted to arrange Best Buy's listing as soon as possible, which was also the demand of Wall Street investment banks. They invested in Best Buy in the hope that Best Buy could go public as soon as possible.

Best Buy, being a large listed company, is a huge pie, naturally attracting countless investment banks, even European investment banks like Deutsche Bank, all vying for a chance.
Sidney laughed and said, "Of course, but Goldman Sachs is renowned throughout Wall Street and even the world, as you know. If you cooperate with us, we will guarantee that the roadshow will be an absolute success."

"Then please inform us of your roadshow plan," Yang Wendong said, nodding.
Before the internet, people could only rely on television and newspapers to learn about what was happening in the outside world. However, the time resources of these two media channels were limited, and due to business needs, most of the resources had to be used to entertain customers. Otherwise, who would watch a bunch of advertisements? For a new company preparing for an IPO, it is very rare to be able to use these two channels, and it is not cost-effective because there is no screening mechanism. Even if it appears on television, 99.9% of the audience may not be interested in it.

Therefore, roadshows are the best way to spread the word. After taking on an IPO task, investment banks do more than just sit idly by. They need to organize and arrange professional teams to travel to major cities in the United States to promote the IPO.
This is similar to the current Hollywood film industry, where the lead actors' teams also need to promote a new movie in various places before its release.

The success of a roadshow can determine the outcome of a company's IPO. After all, there are thousands of companies on the stock market, and several companies go public every day. If you don't promote yourself, who will know about you? In this era, without the internet, you can't even find out if you want to.

“Okay, let’s go to the conference room now. A professional team will come and give you a presentation,” Sidney said with a smile.

Yang Wendong said, "Okay."

He also knew that a CEO of Goldman Sachs would not personally participate in the roadshow; he was just being received. And he only needed to have a slight understanding of the roadshow.

After an hour-long meeting on roadshow rules, Sidney looked at Yang Wendong and asked, "Eric, what do you think?"

"I think it's pretty good, but I'm not a professional, so let the professionals evaluate it," Yang Wendong replied with a smile.

Sidney nodded and said, "Okay, I'll have someone compile the relevant information and send it to your company."

After leaving the conference room, the two went to the top floor of the Goldman Sachs building, where the view was excellent, overlooking Central Park, the Statue of Liberty, and various skyscrapers across half of New York City.

"The scenery here is really beautiful," Yang Wendong couldn't help but praise.

Sidney laughed and said, "Buildings in New York still hold their value very well. Eric, with the scale of your businesses in the United States now, you should also have a decent headquarters building there. Why not consider it? Goldman Sachs would be happy to reach such a cooperation."

“Haha, sure, but as you know, I have a lot of business in the US, so I plan to set up a headquarters in the East Coast and another in the West Coast to handle different business areas,” Yang Wendong replied.

For industries involving electronics and entertainment, Los Angeles is definitely a better location; while for industries involving finance and manufacturing, New York is also a good option, which can make full use of the talent and infrastructure resources of both cities.
He has no intention of getting involved in the US real estate industry; the cost-effectiveness is too low, far inferior to that of mainland China or even Japan.

However, if there are other business needs, it is still necessary to purchase some property here.

Sidney said, "No problem, I can also help you find a suitable building in Los Angeles."

“Okay.” Yang Wendong nodded. Two buildings were not a big deal for him. He had never thought about buying two of the city’s most prime locations. It was just because of the needs of various businesses. It didn’t have to be in the city center.
Sidney added, "Eric, your KFC is also preparing for financing, right?"

“Yes, besides discussing Best Buy’s IPO, KFC is also preparing for its first round of financing this time in the United States,” Yang Wendong nodded and said.

In industries in the United States, where money is earned in the United States, it's not good to monopolize the profits in the long run. In fact, these industries don't have much to do with his foresight advantage, so he should choose suitable strategic partners just like any other normal company.

In addition, this industry is not bad either. Although it cannot compare with electronics and automobiles, the profits can be quite high if done well. If KFC does not accept Wall Street capital, then Wall Street capital will invest in KFC's competitors, such as McDonald's and Burger King.

Sidney asked, "What is KFC's valuation?"

Yang Wendong said, "My psychological valuation is $12 billion."

“12 billion? That’s way too much!” Sidney frowned and said, “McDonald’s market value is only $8 million. While it can’t compare to KFC, the two should be about the same, right?”

Yang Wendong said, “In the United States, McDonald’s now has 6000 stores, I’m sure it’s close to 7000, that’s right; but it’s different in Asia. KFC already has 2500 stores in Asia and has successfully become a top food in the local area. The profit of each store also exceeds that in the United States. Considering their value, $12 billion is not much.”

PS: Please give me a monthly ticket
(End of this chapter)