Rebirth Tokyo 1986

Chapter 467 Share Allocation
The total valuation of Xinghai Group's internet sector companies is very high; even a 5% share would be worth $13 billion.

This sum of money would be insignificant to China in later generations. But at that time, it already exceeded 1% of China's total foreign exchange reserves.

Therefore, after the two sides ended their communication, the other side immediately convened a high-level meeting.

"Everyone has their own ideas, so let's share them."

"I think I can agree. Xinghai Group's track record in the investment field is very credible."

The reputation that Xinghai Group had built up over the years ultimately gave it an overwhelming advantage at this meeting.

Several key leaders felt this was a great opportunity.

"Okay, of course no problem."

"Sir, you are too kind. Xinghai Group will not let down any investor."

"Yes, yes, that's right, tomorrow is the official signing date."

"Yes, it's all part of it. Bye!"

Although Masato Takeshita was the last to notify the Chinese side, the capital there is more concentrated, so it was actually the first company to reach a preliminary agreement with Xinghai Group.

In a sense, this can be considered an advantage of an authoritarian system.

Time flew by, and soon the day that Masato Takeshita had promised arrived.

This time, the investment shares of American and Japanese capital have also been finalized.

US: Goldman Sachs 5%; Morgan Stanley 5%; Deutsche Bank 3%; Lehman Brothers 2%.

Japan: The four major zaibatsu each received a 2.1% share, with the remaining 1.6% going to Kogyo Bank.

As for Changxin Bank, well, I'm sorry to say, its strength and influence do not meet the group's requirements.

After signing all the contracts, the young man breathed a sigh of relief.

He looked at the investors with a smile and said humbly, "From now on, I hope you will all take good care of me."

"You're too kind, Mr. Takeshita. Let's work together and make progress together in the future."

"From now on, we're family. There's no need for any special treatment between us."

Opinions differed regarding the young man's modesty. However, generally speaking, everyone felt that the companies could achieve rapid development under Masato Takeshita's leadership.

They felt that they could at most play a minor role in recruitment.

As for interfering extensively in the internal workings of a company like other startups, that's simply impossible.

"That's right. From now on, we're all one family, all one family."

Because of Masato Takeshita's strong leadership, investments that would have required extensive deliberation were completed within a few days.

Then, after signing the last contract, he relaxed and said to everyone.

"The celebration banquet is ready and will be held downstairs at the Prince Hotel where you are staying."

"Let's go, let's set off now."

Because of Yoshiaki Tsutsumi's connections, Shinagawa Prince Hotel has become almost the designated high-end reception venue for the Xinghai Group.

However, this preferential treatment will not last more than a few years.

Xinghai Life, a subsidiary of Xinghai Group, is preparing to enter the hotel and resort industry. It aims to leverage the resources of the Xinghai Group to create a new, profitable project.

At the same time, it is also for the purpose of better maintaining confidentiality.

For example, if there are any events that require more privacy in the future, they can be arranged at one of their own hotels.

Resort projects also involve the reuse of existing resources.

Xinghai Group already has over a million employees, and this number continues to grow rapidly.

Although more than half of these million-plus employees are international workers, even the smaller portion from Japan still numbers in the hundreds of thousands.

With so many people, the annual travel expenses for each project team are astronomical.

Xinghai Hotel can fully rely on the employees of Xinghai Group to achieve stable development of the resort project.

As with previous victory celebrations, the young man said a few words and then announced the start of the banquet, after which everyone was free to do as they pleased.

Masato Takeshita was the focus of attention today. As soon as he finished making his announcement, Paulson from Goldman Sachs quickly walked up to him.

"President Takeshita, can we talk over there?"

"Of course, it's an honor."

The young man glanced at the Goldman Sachs president, the current representative of Wall Street and the future U.S. Treasury Secretary, and readily agreed with a smile.

This is a major client; you can't afford to offend them if you want to succeed in the US stock market.

The two went to a corner and chatted for a while. When the atmosphere was right, Paulson asked the question that concerned him the most.

"Mr. Takeshita, do these six companies have any plans to go public?"

Securing funding is important, but for Goldman Sachs, acquiring the IPO rights of several internet companies is even more crucial.

Paulson could then use these shares, along with the toxic assets, to package and sell to investors.

This is a common practice for investment banks when issuing popular stocks, and it is extremely profitable.

"Yes, they will be gradually launched next year. We will need to trouble Mr. Paulson then."

"Mr. Takeshita, you are too kind. This is an honor for Goldman Sachs."

Paulson was delighted; the company would have a large revenue next year, and he would receive a higher bonus.

However, obtaining the qualification to issue stocks is not the end of the process. The most important thing is which company's qualification you obtain.

What he wanted was exclusive distribution rights for Starsea Communications, because the company was best positioned to tell its story to the public.

After all, shareholders may not understand other things, but almost everyone understands the importance of communication.

When Goldman Sachs issues its stock, it can boast to investors that Starsea Communications is just a telephone on the Internet and will at least reach the size of AT&T in the future.

In addition, one can boast about the originality of Starsea Communications.

QQ was the world's first instant messaging chat application, connecting people together via the internet.

Such a great product will definitely see its market value skyrocket after it goes public.

As for the other companies, Paulson is also eyeing them closely.

These companies don't have the same compelling stories as Xinghai Communications, but they're just as good, and perhaps even better at boasting.

Taking Xinghai E-commerce as an example, Goldman Sachs could easily call it the Amazon of Asia.

Once the hype picks up, the market value will easily surpass 10 billion.

In short, Goldman Sachs can do all sorts of things, no matter which company it is.

Without hesitation, Paulson asked directly, "Is it the exclusive right to issue shares of Xinghai Communications?"

"Not quite, but pretty much."

“Xinghai Group will split the stock issuance rights of several companies, and Goldman Sachs will obtain exclusive issuance rights outside of Japan and Europe.”

"As for which specific companies, we'll look into that later."

Starsea Communications and Starsea Mail are global companies, and they will definitely share some of the profits with European capital.

Needless to say, Japan is his home base, and he has to give an explanation to domestic capital.

Furthermore, Xinghai Group's subsidiary, Shanyi Securities, is preparing to leverage this momentum to achieve a comeback in the securities industry. While securing first place is out of the question, shedding its reputation as one of the "Big Four" should be no problem.

"OK, no problem."

Now that the important business was over, Paulson naturally wouldn't linger any longer.

He then exchanged a few more polite words before leaving with his wine glass.

Both he and Takeshita Masato are the focus of tonight's banquet and have many things to do.

The two of them had been staying together, which wasn't good for the banquet that evening.

Paulson had just left with satisfaction when Morgan Stanley's CEO, Pei Xiliang, walked over with a smile, watched by everyone.

Like Paulson, he also came to inquire about going public.

"That's natural. The company will be going public one after another next year. Morgan Stanley is one of the best investment banks on Wall Street, so they will definitely be among the underwriters."

"I am very grateful for Chairman Takeshita's trust. I just wonder if I could elaborate?"

Pei Xiliang knew that his company could not possibly outcompete its arch-rival Goldman Sachs, but he still wanted to know what kind of compensation his company could receive.

"The lead underwriting rights for at least two companies' shares is a promise I can make to President Pei Xiliang right now."

Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs will definitely take the lion's share in future IPO underwriting.

But Xinghai Group also needs to give other investment banks a chance.

In this way, the most suitable allocation is for each of the two investment banks to have two major underwriting opportunities for the stocks.

“We are very grateful for Chairman Takeshita’s trust in us. Morgan Stanley will definitely provide the best underwriting solution.”

Pei Xiliang was very satisfied with the young man's statement.

He knew that Goldman Sachs wouldn't get better terms in this round of competition.

Of course, the gap between the two companies is now evident.

Even if Goldman Sachs were to issue shares in both companies, the size of the issuance would inevitably exceed that of Morgan Stanley.

There's nothing we can do about it; Goldman Sachs has a closer relationship with the US government.
The current Treasury Secretary, Rubin, is the former president of Goldman Sachs.

Morgan Stanley is not so good at this, and has not had any prominent figures in the US government in recent years.

Even more critically, Morgan Stanley is currently embroiled in internal strife. Although it is larger than Goldman Sachs, its resources are not aligned.

The financial industry is highly hierarchical. After Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, there comes Edison, the arrogant head of Deutsche Bank's investment banking division, and Fuld, the ruthless head of Lehman Brothers.

Although one of them claims to be God and the other constantly shouts about crushing Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, they still pay attention to their image in crucial situations.

Of course, this is also related to the fact that Japanese companies emphasize rules and regulations.

If they were in the United States, the two would have already clashed with Paulson and others.

"Don't worry, Mr. Edison, we will definitely not neglect Deutsche Bank, and you will definitely get what you want."

"OK, Chairman Takeshita will definitely not be disappointed with Deutsche Bank. No matter what conditions Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley offer, I can raise the price by 10%."

Edison was very self-centered, directly replacing Deutsche Bank with himself and completely disregarding the people at the German headquarters.

But that's normal, considering he once said that if you can't earn $1 million before you're forty, you're social trash.

As for when facing strangers asking who he is during a meeting, arrogantly declaring that he is God doesn't actually attract as much hatred.

Of course, he also has the right to be arrogant.

Deutsche Bank's ability to establish itself on Wall Street as an outsider, and even become the third largest investment bank, is entirely due to Edison's efforts.

If it weren't for his personality, Masato Takeshita would have wanted to poach him.

"Of course I have great faith in Mr. Edison's abilities. Entrusting companies like Xinghai E-commerce to Deutsche Bank will definitely yield good results."

"It's incredibly difficult for outsiders to gain a foothold on Wall Street, one of the most conservative boards in the United States."

While Wall Street may appear open, it is actually far more conservative than other industries.

No matter which giant it is, it is extremely difficult to gain a foothold on Wall Street. Even if they enjoy great success for a time, they will eventually leave in a sorry state.

Without Masato Takeshita's guidance and his style of never using leveraged trading or short selling, Xinghai Financial would probably have perished in the clutches of Wall Street.

Just as Deutsche Bank finished its work, Lehman Brothers' Fuld quickly took over.

“Chairman Takeshita, our Lehman Brothers will definitely list our stock at the most suitable price.”

“We are not like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, which are greedy and would harm the interests of investors for their own benefit.”

There are names that are mispronounced, but there are no nicknames that are wrongly given.

Fuld, this bulldog of Wall Street, started tearing into his competitors right from the start, trying to sow discord among them.

Faced with such a situation, the young man would naturally not be foolish enough to agree or refute.

He went on to talk about what he wanted to discuss, gently changing the subject.

Xinghai Group has no major conflicts with Goldman Sachs or Morgan Stanley, nor does it want to have any.

“We have great faith in Lehman Brothers and hope that companies like online marketplaces can successfully list in the United States.”

"Thank you very much. We will not let President Takeshita down."

Besides internet companies, Fuld is also keen to secure underwriting positions for companies like Xinghai Electronics.

However, one must take things one step at a time, and he ultimately didn't say it.

In fact, Paulson and others shared the same idea.

However, Paulson was well aware that companies like Xinghai Electronics were based in Japan, making it difficult for his company to obtain lead underwriter status.

In the end, the Japanese investment companies will definitely reap the rewards, while we and the others will only get scraps.

Since he wasn't in charge, and wasn't particularly interested, he naturally didn't bother asking now.

"Of course, if we didn't believe in Lehman's capabilities, we wouldn't have accepted your company's investment."

The reason for bringing in Lehman Brothers and Deutsche Bank is their competitive strength.

Perhaps after several companies go public, their stock prices will skyrocket.

In fact, both Deutsche Bank's investment banking business and Lehman Brothers were investment banks that grew by taking advantage of the Nasdaq bubble.

This also resulted in both companies having limited connections within Wall Street and the US government.

It doesn't matter, he needs to use these two companies to provoke Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to avoid unpleasant situations.

Of course, the stimulation couldn't be too extreme, so these two companies could only obtain one lead underwriter position.

As for Japanese investment banks, or securities companies, their global influence is insufficient; at most, they only play a supporting role.

The same applies to the European capital market. Apart from Deutsche Bank, which is based in the United States, capital groups such as Barclays can only get a small share of the profits.

As for the Chinese representatives who also attended the celebration banquet, they felt quite embarrassed.

You have an investment share, but there's really nothing I can do about stock underwriting and such.

At that time, mainland China was too poor to underwrite much. Hong Kong Island, as a window into the Chinese world, was more suitable, but it was also in the midst of a severe financial crisis.

Neither the timing nor the location is quite right.

After 05, when both the government and the private sector in mainland China had accumulated considerable wealth, it would be a suitable time for in-depth development.

(End of this chapter)