Major American investment banks and financial investment companies are naturally interested in ICQ. Of course, some multinational companies in Europe and Asia have also expressed their willingness to participate in ICQ's Series B financing.
The board of directors, represented by CEO Weisger, of course, welcomed it.
The main purpose of ICQ's financing this time is to win over powerful allies from the global market and gain more support for ICQ in countries outside North America.
You have to know that although those companies are not as powerful as Microsoft and Goldman Sachs, they are like local tyrants in their own countries and regions, and have great influence in the economic, political and other fields. With their participation, ICQ's globalisation strategy will naturally develop more rapidly.
Microsoft: "Support share expansion!"
Goldman Sachs: "We also support share expansion!"
News Corp: "But there is a question, that is how many shares are to be put up this time?"
Sequoia Capital: "Regardless of how the shares are diluted, we at Sequoia Capital will follow up and ensure that our shares are not diluted."
HP: "Regarding the Series B financing, we have decided to invest additional capital, hoping to acquire a larger stake in ICQ."
Amazon: "Don't bully me, a new director. We've decided to invest."
There is no doubt that representatives of the six major shareholders, including Microsoft, have expressed their intention to make additional investments to prevent their shares from being diluted.
Equal dilution?
Hehe!
Of course, the representatives of the six major shareholders would not agree.
So what's the question?
They don't want their shares to be diluted, so it will be Kyle and the ICQ founding team's shares that will be diluted.
The six largest shareholders are all powerful, while Weisger and his group are relatively weak. Naturally, they will contribute the lion's share of the capital raised in this round of financing. However, Weisger and his group, including Kyle, will receive a large sum of cash.
After several meetings, it was finally decided that ICQ would give out 30% of its shares.
....
June 30th.
On this day, ICQ's Series B financing was officially completed.
The speed is so fast that it is simply astonishing!
ICQ's rapid growth and immense market acceptance led investors from around the world to invest heavily in acquiring shares. Dell, Nintendo, Citigroup, First Bank, Philips Europe, and other major companies all jumped in. How could it not be fast?
In this round of financing, among ICQ's original shareholders, only Goldman Sachs and News Corporation saw their shareholdings increase slightly, while the shareholding ratios of other shareholders all decreased to varying degrees.
Microsoft was the loudest in its Series B financing, but the reality was that it gave up part of its shares without hesitation.
This has made representatives of multiple shareholders more vigilant.
Bezos said: "What is Microsoft going to do?"
Kyle frowned and said, "Perhaps Microsoft will withdraw from the market. You know, Microsoft has a monopoly on computer system users worldwide. If they launch their instant messaging software, ICQ will likely end up like Netscape."
"Um!"
Bezos nodded solemnly. "Judging from Microsoft's usual greedy behaviour, they have this idea. So, my investment in ICQ was a complete mistake! Kyle, you bastard, I regret this."
Kyle said he would never give you a chance.
In the original time and space, Microsoft noticed the cake in the instant messaging field shortly after ICQ came out. They wanted to enter the market as soon as possible, but they were engaged in a browser war with Netscape and had no extra energy.
But!
The situation is different now!
Microsoft's IE browser, with its huge number of users and rogue method of forced installation, suppressed the living space of Netscape Navigator in one fell swoop.
It is only a matter of time before Microsoft wins this battle.
In other words, once Microsoft achieves a complete victory, when they have time, they will inevitably make a big move into the instant messaging market.
"In the original time and space, MSN instant messaging was born under such circumstances!"
"Are you afraid of Microsoft's rogue tactics?"
Of course, ICQ, which now has many allies, is not as easy to bully as it was in the original time and space. As for who will win the war in the instant messaging field, Kyle, as a time traveller, cannot predict who will win in the end.
However, it's not Kyle's turn to worry about it!
12%!
This is Kyle's current shareholding in ICQ.
The shares have been diluted a lot, but the market value is still very valuable.
"If I wait until ICQ goes public, then even if the shares are diluted again, my wealth will skyrocket again because of the value of these shares!" Kyle thought.
Especially at the current stage when investors are crazy about the Internet!
Therefore, Kyle has great confidence.
In the late 1990s, global investors were crazy and blind when it came to Internet projects.
One "Internet company myth" after another continues to emerge, stimulating investors again and again.
In 1996, Yahoo officially went public on the NASDAQ. In just a few years, its stock price increased an incredible 64 times, and its total market value reached a staggering $45 billion.
Amazon, the online bookstore founded by Jeff Bezos, has created another myth.
The company's stock was listed on NASDAQ on May 15, 1997. In the following year and a half, the company had no profit. However, by the end of 1998, its stock price had risen by 230%. Three months later, it rose by another 400%, and its total market value reached a huge $40 billion!
Crazy!
The market has gone completely crazy!
At this stage, even if you don't have a company office address, even if you haven't invested a penny, as long as you have a relatively detailed high-concept Internet plan, you will be able to get investment!
Of course, there are also scams.
Generally speaking, all Internet companies saw a surge in market value in the late 1990s.
"EToys toys are the most famous representative among them!"
eToys, founded in 1997, mainly sells various toys through its website.
During the dot-com boom of 1999, the company's stock was listed on the NASDAQ. Its market capitalisation reached $8 billion upon opening, significantly surpassing the $6 billion market capitalisation of the established toy company R-Toys, shocking the entire industry.
However!
The latter's operating performance is much higher than the former's!
In 1998, the former's sales were only US$30 million, while the latter's were as high as US$11.2 billion, almost 400 times that of the former; at the same time, in terms of profitability, the former lost US$28.6 million in 1998, while the latter made a profit of US$376 million.
The fundamentals of the two are so different!
The stock price is inverted!
This just shows the extent to which investors' rationality has been lost in the Nasdaq market at this moment.
"Crazy!"
"The crazier you are, the more money I'll make!"
"Both the 12% stake in ICQ and my 2% stake in Yahoo will reap enormous benefits from this frenzy."
"Of course, you have to get out before the dot-com bubble hits."
Kyle's mind was full of fantasies.
Of course, it will pass as soon as you think about it. This is not a recent thing. Kyle is currently busy dealing with the Asian financial crisis.
Opportunity!
An opportunity that can make Kyle's wealth soar again!
....
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....
For more chapters support me on Patreon.
You can access advanced chapters on Patreon:-
patreon.com/Stories_hub739