American History 1988
Chapter 282 - 272: The Financial Guru

Chapter 282: Chapter 272: The Financial Guru

AOL, as a genuine internet company, naturally chose to go public on Nasdaq.

Like Byte Company before, all the shareholders arrived in Times Square bright and early.

Then everyone, wearing T-shirts printed with the AOL logo, eagerly posed for group photos here.

As the CEO, Steve Case was undoubtedly the protagonist among the crowd.

Besides being pulled into photos by employees, he was also the target of major media pursuit.

One could tell that he was both excited and nervous facing the throngs of reporters.

After all, going public was a historic moment for the company, and the success of the IPO also put a lot of pressure on Steve Case.

Because he had smiled so often, the muscles in his face were beyond his control.

Dean, on the other hand, was the most relaxed person there, having gone through this experience once before.

"AOL is a great company, and Case is a great manager.

Can you imagine? He led 142 employees and generated nearly 100 million dollars in sales.

And today, he brings these employees to Nasdaq!"

One hour before the market opened, Dean was still tirelessly promoting the greatness of AOL and Steve Case to reporters.

He was a shareholder of AOL, after all, and Dean did everything he could to boost the share price as much as possible.

Making money, after all, isn’t embarrassing.

"Hey, it’s about to start," Richard from Morgan Stanley whispered in Dean’s ear as a reminder.

"Today belongs to AOL!" Dean called out to the multitude of cameras one last time before waving to everyone with a smile and entering the trading floor.

Pre-market trading was about to begin, and it would determine the opening price of AOL.

Dean entered a dedicated conference room where he saw many familiar faces.

Alright, the underwriters for AOL’s shares were still Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch.

Many executives from these two underwriters maintained contact with Dean.

"How’s it going? Can we hit 15 dollars for the opening price?"

Dean leaned over the computer, like everyone else, staring unblinkingly at the screen.

"You can look forward to it, it’s at 13 dollars now," said Jim Kinsey with his gray hair, his eyes bulging, not wanting to miss even the blink of an eye.

He was one of the founders of AOL, and before Steve Case, he was the first CEO of AOL.

"God, if the opening price reaches 15 dollars, I’m willing to run naked around Times Square shouting slogans!"

Marc Seriff’s comment made everyone in the conference room laugh; he was another founder of AOL.

Together with Steve Case, these three people owned nearly half of AOL’s stock.

The remaining major shareholders, including Dean and the publisher of the "Chicago Tribune," each held close to 10% of the equity.

The rest of the shares were divided up by several Wall Street investment banks and West Coast venture capital firms.

In this round of financing, AOL aimed to raise 60 million US dollars by releasing 10% of its equity.

After calculations by Morgan Stanley and others, the final issue price for AOL was set at 11 dollars.

If the opening price could reach 15 dollars, it would mean that AOL’s market cap would exceed 800 million dollars.

This was the most optimistic outcome for Steve Case and his team, especially since CompuServe, with nearly a million users, had a total market value of only around 1.5 billion dollars.

Moreover, the feedback from the previous roadshows was also a good reference, and Steve Case and his team did not have excessive expectations.

"Dean, what do you think the opening price will be?" Durell, who was there for the fun of it, chatted with Dean, arms crossed.

"Of course, I look forward to Marc’s upcoming performance. I think those investment banks won’t let us down,"

Dean shrugged optimistically, believing that AOL’s potential might reach this target.

Just then, a sudden regretful gasp exploded in the conference room.

"14.8 dollars! Damn it, just a bit short!"

"Marc, you’re lucky; you’ve saved your ding-ding from disaster, otherwise tomorrow everyone will know your size!"

"Oh~!" Marc Seriff had a mixed expression on his face.

He was relieved that he didn’t have to undergo public execution yet regretful that AOL’s market cap didn’t reach its peak.

But exposing himself for the sake of a 0.2 dollar difference seemed a bit unwise.

After all, his size... well, never mind~

Marc put on a look of disappointment and loudly lamented his dissatisfaction.

He was eager for a higher market value for AOL and was incredibly looking forward to the original performance.

Ahem~, in any case, he couldn’t lose face.

"Alright guys, it’s time to ring the bell!" Richard once again led everyone toward the media area.

"Great! Finally, the moment has come!" Everyone was thrilled.

Even though the opening price was lower than the original estimate, it was infinitely close, and the subsequent opening was even more anticipated.

The same pattern as usual, the three main founders stood at the forefront, enjoying their moment in the spotlight.

And Dean, a major shareholder, also managed to secure a relatively forward position.

As a self-made Silicon Valley tycoon, he was a natural crowd-puller.

Look at all those flashes; Dean received a baptism of camera flashes just as much as the three founders did.

At 9:30 in the morning, as the electronic bell rang, streamers, cheers, and music burst forth simultaneously within the trading hall!

"It’s green! It’s green!" Everyone unanimously turned their eyes to the electronic leaderboard.

The stock price that started at 14.8 dollars began to rise slowly, surpassing 15 dollars before long.

And it didn’t stop there; as everyone watched nervously, the share price continued to climb.

15.4, 16, 17.1...

Finally, after half an hour of dragging their feet, the number behind the stock code AOL broke through 18.3!

"1 billion dollars! AOL is worth 1 billion dollars!" Steve Case was so excited that he even tore off a button on his suit.

"It’s incredible!" Marc Seriff stared at the giant screen, repeating this sentence over and over again.

He seemed not yet accustomed to the fact that his net worth had already exceeded 100 million dollars.

A market value of over 1 billion dollars meant that AOL had become a unicorn company.

Becoming a unicorn in the internet industry is no easy feat; currently, there are only two such companies.

"Dean, it looks like the situation is quite favorable," Durell said, smiling broadly.

KeyPoint Ventures also made a tidy profit this time, roughly a few tens of millions of US dollars.

"I’ve said it before, the internet is the future."

Although Dean’s investment had yielded a return of over a hundredfold, he seemed completely unsurprised.

"Don’t you plan to cash in some of your stocks?" Durell asked curiously.

Given AOL’s current potential, it would be difficult for the stock price to see much increase in the short term.

So just now, Durell had already called KeyPoint Ventures’ stockbroker.

Seizing the peak value of AOL’s opening, they quickly dumped the shares they held.

Since KeyPoint Ventures held less than 5% of the shares, there were hardly any restrictions on selling them.

"I’m a major shareholder; there’s a lock-up period," Dean answered matter-of-factly.

Even after a round of IPO dilution, Dean still held nearly 9% of AOL’s shares.

In the latest round of financing, he continued to invest in AOL to ensure that his shares remained around 10%.

"Come on, lock-up periods are no issue for people like us," Durell complained about Dean’s evasiveness. If they always waited until the end of lock-up periods, how could venture capital firms cash out quickly?

They spent so much money on lawyers and accountants every year, not just to have them join in on the excitement.

"OK," Dean decided to speak frankly, "I plan to hold onto this stock for the long term."

"Really?" Durell raised his eyebrows, "You’re that optimistic about AOL’s future?"

"The NSFNet is doomed to become history, which means something will take its place."

"But that’s three years from now, and a lot could change in that time." To Durell, three years was too long.

Every venture capital fund has a liquidation deadline, after which KeyPoint Ventures would need to return the earnings to the investors behind the fund.

Although he could persuade those investors to keep the fund, it would be troublesome.

Gathering a fund usually involves several investors, and convincing each one would take a lot of time.

So after receiving a confirming look from Dean, Durell, after much consideration, decided to abandon the plan to hold for the long term.

"Maybe I should start looking for my next investment." Having already exited the scene, Durell planned to fly to New Jersey tomorrow; he had business there.

"How about lunch? Edison Hotel?" Having woken up early, Dean was starting to feel hungry.

"I have no problem with that." In the entire Nasdaq trading hall, only the two of them were the most relaxed.

One didn’t care much, the other had already completed the cash-out.

Meanwhile, Steve Case and the others were still staring at the big screen, probably unable to eat at this point.

After greeting them, Dean and Durell prepared to leave.

But before they could exit the hall, Dean was swarmed by reporters like bees to honey.

"Mr. Price, according to AOL’s shareholder list, the value of the stock you hold is now close to 100 million dollars!

This is crazy! Your net worth has increased by another 100 million dollars in just one morning!"

"Thank you! Thank you!" Faced with reporters more excited than him, Dean could only keep smiling and thanking them.

"Mr. Price, what is your secret to success? Now all Wall Street analysts have shifted their focus to you.

People are saying, rather than listen to Wall Street’s nonsense, it’s better to see which company Dean Price has invested in!"

"That’s an exaggeration, an exaggeration~" Dean laughed with his mouth wide open, "I just have more faith in the internet, it’s all luck."

"Do you have any upcoming investment plans?" When the reporter asked this question, not only the people on the scene but also the viewers in front of the TV perked up their ears.

"The stocks I invest in are for the long term; they have no reference value in the short term," Dean said, not needing to show off in public; it was meaningless to him.

"So... would you care to share which stocks you hold long-term?" Clearly, the reporter didn’t plan to let him off easily.

"OK," Dean spread his hands helplessly, "Byte, Cisco, Intel..."

However, he had only mentioned two companies, and everyone burst into laughter.

Everyone knew he was a board member of both companies, with the former being his own startup.

The reporters thought he was avoiding the question, so they did not press further.

Dean could only shrug; he was, in fact, telling the truth.

Never mind, the AOL listing was settled for now, next he had to handle negotiations with IBM.

With the CIX Alliance growing stronger, they had backed IBM into a corner.

Dean’s sense of ease and nonchalance transmitted into countless households with the television signal.

Click, Hillary turned off the remote control in her hand and looked at Clinton with crossed arms, asking,

"William, shouldn’t we pay Dean another visit? It’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other.

Look, he has never let anyone down when it comes to creating wealth."

"You’re right! But I can’t leave now, you know I’ve just won the party’s nomination."

Clinton was busy, but he couldn’t afford to lose Dean, the patron; his wealth was too enticing for anyone to reject.

"Hillary, I’m sorry, but you’ll have to make another trip," Clinton looked apologetically at his wife in the end.

"I’ll handle it," Hillary said, genuinely willing to attend Dean’s party.