readease Chapter 207 Goldman Sachs's Inhuman Acts
Chapter 207 Goldman Sachs's Inhuman Acts
Chapter 207 Goldman Sachs's Inhuman Acts
If Ernst was a rogue, then Goldman Sachs was the most vicious rapist, raping the entire Wall Street.
On July 26, Citibank CEO John Reid's angry outburst in front of the media quickly spread throughout the United States, dominating the front pages of major news outlets and becoming the focus of heated discussion across the country.
According to exclusive information obtained by this station, MGM is valued at $85 billion, and its parent company, MGM Resorts International, will issue 2350 million new shares to Goldman Sachs. Ernst's assets have once again seen a surge, with the market value soaring at an astonishing rate.
"It is understood that MGM, a Hollywood giant that once fell into a slump but is now gradually regaining the glory of the MGM era, was first approached by Citibank when it was seeking investment, and was also the only investor to enter into in-depth negotiations."
"Unexpectedly, due to the market buzz generated by the movie Titanic, and the presence of Marvel Studios, Citibank, a financial giant, hesitated when faced with MGM's initial valuation of $65 billion, and was unable to finalize the cooperation for a long time."
"But now John Reed has completely spun his own grave. On the one hand, MGM has reached a consensus with all institutions holding Marvel stock, and once the relevant procedures are completed, it will be able to achieve full ownership of Marvel. Citigroup was also outmaneuvered by Goldman Sachs in MGM's investment negotiations, watching helplessly as the prize was snatched away. It's no wonder that John Reed lost his temper in front of the media."
"Furthermore, according to the latest inside information obtained by this station, Henry Paulson of Goldman Sachs appears to have reached some kind of shady deal with Ernst. In the latest round of financing negotiations for YueDong Games last night, faced with YueDong Games' asking valuation of $40 billion, which was unacceptable to all institutions, Goldman Sachs actually significantly increased its offer, giving an astonishing $38 billion."
"This is a full billion dollars higher than the $27.5 billion valuation Goldman Sachs gave in the previous round of negotiations."
Such a significant price increase completely broke industry norms, and for a time, voices of doubt and dissatisfaction spread throughout Wall Street and Silicon Valley.
"It is said that Goldman Sachs' unconventional actions have not only aroused strong dissatisfaction among many financial institutions on Wall Street, but have also caused an uproar in Silicon Valley's capital circles."
The financing case of Leap Games has been a focus of attention in the financial and investment fields across the United States.
"Before Goldman Sachs raised its price, Sequoia Capital was the highest bidder. But now that Goldman Sachs has offered $38 billion, it has instantly disrupted the previously relatively stable competitive landscape. These financial institutions have had to engage in fierce competition to win over this company that is shining brightly in the gaming industry."
"Silicon Valley Capital, in particular, was thrown into disarray by this sudden turn of events. Everyone in the industry knows that Ernst's companies previously refused to open investment channels to Silicon Valley Capital—it's an open secret. Now that they finally have this golden opportunity to raise funds from YueDong Games, Silicon Valley capital is unlikely to let it slip away easily."
"Many people know that the reason Ernst is somewhat disdainful of Silicon Valley capital is that, compared to the massive size of Wall Street capital, Silicon Valley capital is generally smaller in scale. If they cannot seize this opportunity of YueDong Games' financing and successfully enter Ernst Enterprises' investment circle, Ernst Enterprises' doors will probably be completely closed to Silicon Valley capital in the future, which is a consequence that Silicon Valley capital absolutely cannot accept."
Inside the Sequoia Capital headquarters offices in Menlo Park, Silicon Valley, the atmosphere was unusually heavy.
Doug Leone was watching ABC News's report on Goldman Sachs' price increase. The more he watched, the angrier he became. Finally, he turned off the TV and angrily shouted at the air, "The American financial industry is not Goldman Sachs's private playground. What right do they have to do whatever they want?"
Michael Moritz, standing to the side, seemed much more composed. He shrugged helplessly, his tone carrying a sense of commonplace familiarity. "Isn't this just a regular occurrence? Goldman Sachs, with its deep ties to the government, has done its fair share of dirty work over the years, hasn't it?"
Despite saying that, the dissatisfaction in his tone was hard to hide. Goldman Sachs' shady past is simply too numerous to count.
If Goldman Sachs is unable to become an underwriter for a company's IPO, it will drastically reduce its underwriting fees, forcing other underwriters to follow suit and disrupt market order through low-price competition.
Once someone becomes an IPO advisor for a particular IPO company, they will use their power to exclude other underwriters and monopolize the profits.
They might even first reach a cooperation agreement with major financial institutions on Wall Street, then turn around and betray them, pocketing all the profits for themselves.
Goldman Sachs has done all of these things; there are too many to count.
"But what can anyone do? With the government backing Goldman Sachs, everyone can only dare to be angry but dare not speak out."
Goldman Sachs occupies a significant portion of Wall Street's famous revolving door system.
The position of U.S. Treasury Secretary, in particular, has almost become Goldman Sachs' exclusive post. Whether it's an elephant or a donkey, they all have deep-rooted interests tied to Goldman Sachs.
Against this backdrop, even if other financial institutions suffer injustice, they can only silently endure it.
"Let's quickly think of a way to deal with the current situation," Michael Moritz said calmly.
The damage has already happened, and there's no point in dwelling on anger and complaints; the key is to solve the problem.
For Sequoia Capital, this round of financing for YueDong Games was a must-win situation.
"The biggest problem now is funding. With Goldman Sachs raising its price, YueDong Games' valuation has increased significantly. If various capital groups engage in vicious competition due to their own self-interest, the valuation of $38 billion may not be enough, and the final price may be even higher."
What troubled Michael Moritz even more was that "Leap Games is only offering 20% of its equity this time, and has made it clear that it will only select four investors, with each investor holding an average of 5% of the equity. Even based on a valuation of $38 billion, each investor would need nearly $2 million to acquire 5% of the equity."
While Sequoia Capital has considerable financial strength and it's not entirely impossible for them to come up with $2 million, they would never gamble everything and disrupt all their previous investment plans just to invest in YueDong Games.
Such a large investment company can't possibly have all its employees revolve around just one project, YueDong Games, can it?
There are many other investment projects that will require funding, so we must make a good overall financial plan.
"Start another round of fundraising?" Doug Leone frowned and offered a seemingly feasible suggestion.
Unlike most companies, Sequoia Capital employs a dual CEO system, meaning that such important decisions must be made jointly by Sequoia Capital and Michael Moritz.
After listening, Michael Moritz shook his head and said helplessly, "I'm afraid it's too late."
Fundraising is no simple matter. It requires preparing a lot of complicated documents such as a fundraising prospectus, as well as repeated communication and negotiation with potential investors. This process takes at least several dozen days or even several months, which is far slower than the fundraising progress of YueDong Games.
"While YueDong Games is indeed very attractive to investors, such a high valuation will definitely make many investors hesitate, worrying about the high investment risk. Moreover, those institutions on Wall Street will never give us enough time to raise funds. Once they know that we are short of funds, they will definitely take the opportunity to accelerate the financing process of YueDong Games, not giving us any breathing room."
Doug Leone thought about it carefully and realized that Michael Moritz made a lot of sense.
Originally, this lucrative business of Ernst's was exclusively enjoyed by Wall Street capital. Now that Silicon Valley capital suddenly wants to join in and get a share, how could Wall Street possibly be willing?
If they can use this incident to show Ernst the gap in financial strength between Silicon Valley capital and Wall Street capital, then Silicon Valley capital will probably have no say in Ernst's future financing needs.
Thinking this, Doug Leone's eyes hardened. He turned to Michael Moritz beside him and said, "Then there's only one way. Let's contact other capital in Silicon Valley, unite, and join this battle to get our tickets in first."
Michael Moritz lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then nodded. "Although doing so would mean giving up some of our profits and allowing small capitals that were not originally qualified to participate to get a share, now is not the time to consider profit distribution."
"The most urgent task is to secure an investment stake in YueDong Games, open the door to Ernst Corporate Finance, and pave the way for future cooperation between Silicon Valley Capital and Ernst. As long as this goal can be achieved, sacrificing some profits temporarily is worthwhile."
When the two were discussing a joint investment in YueDong Games, a capital battle sparked by Goldman Sachs that swept across Wall Street and Silicon Valley was about to begin.
After his initial anger subsided, Citibank CEO John Reid began actively seeking solutions.
"Goldman Sachs has gone too far this time; we can't let this go. Although the MGM and Marvel deal is beyond repair, we must fight for the funding of Leap Games."
An emergency meeting was also being held in Morgan Stanley's conference room. "$38 billion? That old man Paulson really doesn't treat investors' money like cash!"
However, complaining won't help; the current problem is still the financing issue for YueDong Games.
The entire American financial world was abuzz with the financing case of Leap Games, while everyone was secretly cursing Goldman Sachs for being the instigator of this passive situation.
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