Chapter 175: Inaugural Speech

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Jeff Bezos stayed in the Hanshan Villa for two days, although the time was not long, but during this time, the two had in-depth discussions in several fields such as e-commerce, cloud computing, and book publishing, and sometimes even touched on broader topics such as the political and economic ecology of the United States and the global economic development model.

There is no doubt that Guo Shouyun, who stands at the height of history, has given Jeff Bezos a great inspiration for his views and attitudes on these issues. It gave him a feeling of seeing each other and deepening the friendship between them. Naturally, Jeff Bezos became the first true platinum member of the Cold Mountain Annex.

When he left San Francisco to prepare for Amazon's official acquisition of Thornbird Publishing, Guo Shouyun also began to get busy.

In addition to the second tranche of ABS bonds, which have been secured. The most important thing was to convince Christopher Ritter and the other two shareholders of Thorn Bird Publishing: J.K. Rowling and Neil Murray.

"Bruce, we trust you so much. Amazon is an internet company, though. Does it really have the potential to appreciate?" Rowling said worriedly.

Next to him, Neil Murray also nodded in agreement.

One of them is a writer and the other is a university professor. Although he is no stranger to investment and financial management, he is not a professional financial investor after all. In the context of today's NASDAQ crisis, it is inevitable that there will be ordinary people's financial management psychology of 'chasing the rise and killing the fall'.

"Christopher, you must have that concern, right?"

Looking at Guo Shouyun's eyes, Christopher hesitated for a moment and nodded.

"Three, we're all best friends. First of all, I won't hurt you. This time, my shares in Thorn Bird Publishing will be exchanged for new shares of Amazon after the merger. If you feel that there is a risk involved, you can sell me your stake in Thornbird Publishing at a reasonable price. Second, if you trust me, keep the shares. We have a limit of three years, and if after three years, your Amazon stock holdings are lower than the market price of the new company this year, then I am willing to buy your shares at 130% of the market price of the new company's shares. ”

"Bruce us...!"

"Neil, please listen to me first!" After waving his hand to interrupt Neil Morry's words, Guo Shouyun continued, "Of course, I promise to reduce the risk of investment for you, and there are certain conditions. … Of course, this condition does not require you to contribute, you only need to put the shares of the 'New Amazon' company in your hands into the Phoenix Trust!"

Neil Murray and J.K. Rowling looked at each other, and the latter said seriously, "Bruce, thank you for thinking so much about us. But you know, we're not as talented and discerning as you are in business. Also, we need money to have a wedding and plan for the future of our children. So, we don't want to take the risk of investing in Internet companies. Instead, I plan to sell my shares and make a conservative investment plan. Of course, we are willing to hand over this money to your Phoenix company to take care of. ”

Looking at Rowling and Neil Morley's sincere expressions, Guo Shouyun thought about it and gave up persuasion. Although he thinks that he wants to exchange some Amazon shares in order to obtain greater wealth in the future. But others don't see it that way. When the market fell sharply and the Internet as a whole was not favored, 80% of all his net worth was smashed into it, and Buffett would not do so. As for the three-year guarantee promised by Guo Shouyun, although the risk is avoided, this kind of personal debt is not wanted by everyone.

"Well, I've asked McKinsey to start an asset appraisal of Thorn Bird Publishing. After the evaluation is completed, I will purchase the equity of Thorn Bird Publishing Company in your hands according to the evaluation results. However, my funds are a little tight, so I hope you can give me a year of grace, and I will return all the funds and interest to you before the end of the year!"

"No problem!"

The two smiled and nodded.

Seventy percent of the credit for the Thorn Bird Publishing Company to be where it is today is Guo Shouyun, and without his bestsellers, the company would never have achieved so much in one year. Therefore, strictly speaking, they took advantage of Guo Shouyun.

However, a business partnership is a business partnership. Profit and loss are at your own risk while complying with regulations. However, people are not cold laws after all. Especially Neil Mori, he is grateful to Guo Shouyun from the bottom of his heart. It was precisely because of Guo Shouyun's insistence at the beginning that he even did not hesitate to lend him money that he had assets of more than 10 million US dollars today. This is something he could never have imagined before.

Seeing them nodding, Guo Shouyun breathed a sigh of relief. It was a bit different from what he had planned at the beginning, but it didn't turn out badly.

After getting Rowling and Neil Morley, Guo Shouyun focused on Christopher Ritter. In the list of shareholders of Thorn Bird Publishing Company, except for Guo Shouyun himself, he has the most shares. After a series of mergers and acquisitions dilution, there is still 21.8%!

"Christopher, I talked to Jeff Bezos. If you agree, you'll still be the CEO of Thorn Bird Publishing!"

"Really?"

Christopher's eyes lit up, and after nearly a year at the helm of Thornbird, he also had a certain affection for this vibrant company. The most important thing is that he is reluctant to hold that kind of power, and watch the glory of the company growing little by little in his hands.

Moreover, he is different from Rowling and Neil Murray, one of whom is a writer and the other is a university professor. For the thorn birds, it is more about investment than the main business they intend to engage in. But Christopher is different, he is a businessman at heart, and what can he do without Thornbird? Will he become a bookseller again? Obviously, it is impossible. After seeing the big scene and taking charge of a large company valued at more than a billion dollars, who wants to go back?

"Of course!" Guo Shouyun nodded, "However, you have to be mentally prepared for this: Amazon's acquisition of Thorn Bird is not because they have enough interest in the book publishing industry, but to get enough cash flow to develop e-commerce." Therefore, in the future, the company's revenue will be used more to balance Amazon's books. In addition, in order to parallel finance, the revenue of the thorn bird is used to balance Amazon's liabilities, and the latter's equity in the former must exceed 80%. So, Christopher, you're going to give up some of the equity. ”

Christopher Ritter nodded slowly, and his expression fell silent.

"I know you don't want to take a stake in the Thorn Bird company, but Christopher, do you think Amazon and the Thorn Bird are more promising?"

"Of course, it took us just one year to achieve more than $2 billion in revenue and nearly $600 million in pre-tax profits. In comparison, Amazon has only $2.3 billion in assets, $2.1 billion in debt, $2.7 billion in sales, and $1.4 billion in losses, and a market value of less than $3 billion. Bruce, I can't believe that a company like this has a great future. ”

Christopher's complaint was expected by him, and Guo Shouyun had already thought of a strategy to deal with it.

"Christopher, let's put Amazon aside for now. How long do you think the first year of development will last?"

"This...?" Christopher Ritter hesitated.

"Now the vast majority of Thornbird's revenue depends on me and Rowling. Rowling is going to prepare for the wedding and honeymoon next, and the next few Harry Potter films will definitely have to be postponed!"

Next to her, Rowling nodded in agreement.

“… Say me again. As more and more companies I managed, the company grew bigger. I'm definitely going to spend more of my energy on it. I can't get out as quickly as I used to. Of course, ghostwriting is a good way to do it. However, ghostwritten works are difficult to have high-quality works, which can be clearly seen from the sales results of works such as "The Big Bang Theory" and "Tales of the Night". ”

“… So, it can be expected that the development of the thorn bird will become more stable. $2 billion in revenue and $580 million in pre-tax profit are basically the norm for the next three to five years, even if the growth will be limited. In addition, if we zoom in on the international market as a whole, the largest publisher in the world is Pearson. Unfortunately, Pearson's market capitalization is only $6 billion so far. In other words, even if we make it to the top, we are just another Pearson. Not to mention how much time it takes for the thorn bird to reach the height of Pearson, the upper limit of its growth alone made me lose interest in it. ”

“… Let's compare Amazon again. Amazon's main business is e-commerce. E-commerce is a broad concept. These include B2B, B2C, C2C, C2B, and many other different business models. And Amazon's business model is B2C, which is commonly referred to as merchants to individuals. Excluding the Internet, Amazon is actually doing the same thing as Wal-Mart!"

"Walmart?!"

Christopher was surprised.

"That's right. The only difference between Amazon and Walmart is the reality that Walmart is all around us in a virtual community called the Internet. To put it simply, one is online and one is offline! Walmart is the largest retailer offline, while Amazon is the largest retailer online. Although Amazon's market value is now less than $3 billion, Walmart's market value is a staggering $231.15 billion, the gap between the two is huge, and some cannot even be compared. But it gave me a lot of room for imagination. ”

Looking at the enthusiasm in his eyes, Christopher couldn't help but say, "Bruce, are you really so optimistic about Amazon?"

"I'm very bullish and I'm willing to bet on her future. After a pause, "Christopher, if you are still not worried about the development of Amazon, you can divide your shares in half into half, half for cash, and half for the shares of the new company after the merger of the two parties." In this way, both safety and growth are taken into account!"

Christopher hesitated. Although he has always been suspicious of the Internet, Guo's talent in business and investment made him not want to give up.

"Bruce, will your new book be published by Thorn Bird Publishing in the future?"

Otherwise, Jeff Bezos wouldn't have agreed to the acquisition. Guo Shouyun nodded.

"In that case, I would like to realize one-half of the equity of Thorn Bird Publishing Company, keep one-fourth of it, and exchange the remaining one-quarter for shares of the new company. ”

Looking at his affirmative expression, Guo Shouyun opened his mouth and sighed in his heart. He understands Christopher Ritter's choice. In his view, cash is equal to a currency fund, the equity of Thorn Bird is equivalent to a bond fund, and Amazon's equity is equivalent to a hybrid or equity fund. Low, medium and high, different risks, can ensure the stable preservation and appreciation of his property.

In the context of the NASDAQ crisis and the general underestimation of Internet companies, this choice is indeed the most appropriate. But in Guo's view, it is on the conservative side. However, Christopher Ritter was not an aggressive businessman in the first place, and such a choice is in line with his character.

Speaking of which, the four of them have reached an agreement. Like Rowling and Neil Murray, Christopher sold the shares of Thornbird he wanted to monetize to Guo Shouyun, and of course, like Rowling and the others, paid cash and interest after a year.

As a result, Guo Shouyun's stake in Thorn Bird reached 82.74%, except for Neil Morley's 10%. The remaining 7.26% is in the hands of some minority shareholders. These shares were ceded by Thorn Bird when it acquired other publishing companies and expanded its global network. Guo Shouyun, who has already raised enough equity, doesn't bother to ask one by one. Just ask Christopher Ritter to call, and if he is willing to sell, he will buy it, and if he is not willing to buy it, forget it.

As it turns out, there are very few people who are as optimistic about the future of the Internet as he is. When Guo Shouyun promised to buy it at 10% higher than the market price, it was basically sold. There are also those that have not been sold, but they are not willing to exchange for shares in Amazon, but retain their equity in Thorn Bird.

After this toss, Guo Shouyun's equity in Thorn Bird increased to 88.2%.

McKinsey's assessment of the Amazon and the thorn bird is still ongoing. However, Guo Shouyun has left San Francisco and has come to Washington, the heart of the United States.

As Guo Shouyun, who once contributed nearly $3 million in huge political cash to the incoming President Bush Jr., it was natural to receive an invitation from the White House.

Moreover, for this meeting, he also came quite punctually with a different purpose. However, Xiao Bu~shi, who was busy taking office, did not receive him. Guo Shouyun, who had been mentally prepared for this, was not much disappointed. After all, he also knows that although he has a lot of political cash, it is the big business groups and big families that really put Bush Jr. on the presidential throne. $3 million is only enough to buy some incense, but even that is enough.

With the initial contact, it will naturally be much easier to strengthen the contact later.

The inauguration of the President of the United States has a set of established procedures, including eight parts: worship services, rushing to Capitol Hill, senators' speeches, pastors praying, vice presidents inauguration, presidential inauguration, presidential inaugural speeches, and celebrations.

Of all these procedures, the most important is undoubtedly the presidential inaugural speech. Guo Shouyun, who had watched the broadcast on TV before, sat directly in the audience this time. Although he is not too front-row, the immersive scene combined with the memories in his mind always gives him a feeling of time and space disorder.

"President Clin~Don, distinguished guests, my compatriots: This peaceful transition of power is rare in history, but it is common in the United States. With a simple oath, we solemnly uphold the old tradition and at the same time start a new journey...... We need to work together to improve school education in the United States, and not let ignorance and indifference swallow more young lives. We need to reform the social health care and insurance system...... We need to cut taxes, restore the economy, and reward the hard-working American people. We need to be precautionary, and slacking off will lead to trouble. We also need to stop the proliferation of weapons and rid the new century of the threat of terror......

"Do you believe what he says?"

When Guo Shouyun was distracted, a voice with disdain suddenly came from his ears. He didn't have to look at him to know that sitting on his right hand was a young man who was not a few years older than him. Because the two sides didn't know each other, and the occasion was relatively serious, Guo Shouyun didn't say hello to the other party.