I’m in Hollywood

Unlike the big news at the end of the media entertainment version, Yahoo's IPO is a news event at the whole society level.

While the Nasdaq index broke through 2,500 points this week, the market value of major technology companies on the market has reached new heights.

According to the closing data of Eric when it arrived in New York on Wednesday, Microsoft, the well-deserved king of the Nasdaq market, has reached a staggering $335.9 billion in market capitalization. In addition, among other star technology stocks, Intel has a market value of US$157.2 billion, Cisco has a market capitalization of US$133.5 billion, AOL has a market capitalization of US$66.7 billion, and Sun has a market capitalization of US$38.6 billion...

Among them, even the most profitable Microsoft, the price-earnings ratio has reached more than 100 times the bubble level, so the Nasdaq market at this time can only be described by the word 'crazy'.

Although only in the first three quarters, Yahoo has achieved revenue of $1.296 billion, more than double the amount of $636 million in the previous year. It is expected that the company's annual revenue growth rate will still be close to 200%. However, even if it is only calculated according to the single-issue price of 33 US dollars, Yahoo's market value of 33.7 billion US dollars, combined with Yahoo's profit forecast, will still bring about 200 times the price-earnings ratio.

Often, unless you are extremely optimistic about the development potential of a company, if the price-earnings ratio is more than 30 times, it is difficult for the company to attract investors.

It is conceivable that there are basically no rational investors in the Nasdaq market. Under the temptation of huge short-term arbitrage trading profits, everyone is betting wildly, and then secretly praying that they will not be the last receiver before the Nasdaq crash.

Yahoo is listed in this tight state of tension, and the timing is extremely sensitive. Although it successfully achieved a stock subscription of more than 15% of the circulation in the previous IPO process, no matter who or even Eric himself, it is not sure whether the official listing of Yahoo! stock will become the last of the camel. A straw.

Therefore, everyone is not holding the mentality of doing their best to make the worst. On the last day of the listing, the entire firefly system is still in the final stages of preparing for Yahoo!

The horse was busy for a day, and in the evening, Eric originally planned to invite the high-rise of the firefly system company who came to Yahoo to ring the bell to have dinner, and temporarily received a call and had to rush to Nasdaq in Midtown. Gram exchange.

Although there are more than 12 hours from tomorrow's listing, the Nasdaq exchange on 42nd Street in Midtown is already crowded with reporters from all sides.

Eric’s car just stopped outside the exchange building, and the sharp-eyed reporters immediately frantically surrounded them. Countless hands-held cameras and voice recorders crossed the bodyguards guarding Eric to reach him. The big reporter tried to push the recorder in his hand and squeezed all the noisy voices around him: "Mr. Williams, we just got the news that the Yahoo team on the exchange seems to have happened with the Nasdaq Group. The conflict, are you here to solve this?"

Hearing the sudden problems of this reporter, other media people around him squatted, and then gave up the question just now, and more madly hope that Eric could answer the question just now.

Difficultly entering the building through the encirclement of the reporters, Eric Carat took down the suit that was dragged, looked down, and turned to worry about his bodyguard captain Carter Moen. "What about Mary?"

Carter said: "Miss Mayer is still in the car, the crowd is too messy, I just suggested that she wait for you to come in and come over."

Eric nodded and slammed into the assistant of Steve Mitnick, who was welcoming him, and stepped up to go straight to the Nasdaq exchange hall.

Unlike the traditional stock exchanges of the New York Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange, Nasdaq is the abbreviation of the National Securities Dealers Association Automated Quotation System, which belongs to the world's first electronic stock exchange trading platform. Basically, stock trading is conducted by phone and computer.

Therefore, the Nasdaq exchange located in the 42nd Street building is more like a symbol. There is no such software and hardware trading facility in the exchange as the NYSE. There are many sets of real-time transactions around the hall. The photographic equipment and live broadcast facilities of the news seem to be more like a TV studio.

Unlike the New York Stock Exchange, which is a non-profit social public service organization, although the size and volume of listed companies have long been able to compete with the NYSE, in fact, Nasdaq is the Nasdaq Group. All belong to a profitable private company.

When I saw Eric appeared, the two people who were already facing each other immediately came together.

Frank Saab, CEO of Nasdaq Group, was very excited. He waved his arm and spoke first: "Eric, I can hardly understand your thoughts, why should I temporarily carry out technical overhaul and stress testing on Nasdaq trading system? This is simply unreasonable. I know that you value Yahoo's listing, but the Nasdaq platform has been established for 27 years. We have never delayed the listing of any company for technical reasons. Your request is completely unnecessary. Moreover, to take a step back, even if you want to do this, it should be done by our own technical team. We can't open the server to outsiders for testing."

Eric listened to Frank Saab's complaints, looked up at his watch and interrupted the other side: "How long does it take for your technical team to overhaul the test?"

Frank Saab’s action of waving his arm paused and said: “Eric, this is completely unnecessary.”

"I insist," Eric sounds cold, his eyes fixed on Frank Saab: "Or, you continue to refuse, then I cancel the listing tomorrow, there is a large group of reporters outside, and now you can hold a press conference to announce this. Message. So, how long does it take for your technical team to overhaul the test?"

Eric insists that the Nasdaq exchanges overhaul the system equipment, which is naturally not unreasonable or worrying.

In the past history, Facebook suffered a sudden failure of the Nasdaq system equipment on the day of its listing, which ultimately caused the multi-billion dollar Facebook stock trading order to be successfully completed, and even led to the stock price drop on Facebook. Breaking the 'tragedy' of the issue price, because of the unfavorable start, Facebook's share price continued to slump in the following year. At the lowest point, the company's market value even left more than 30 billion US dollars, less than one-third of the market value of the day of listing.

Therefore, if Frank Saab really insists on not compromising on this matter, Eric does not mind temporarily holding a press conference to urgently cancel Yahoo's listing operation tomorrow.

The pressure that Eric suddenly broke out made Frank Saab's momentum soften. If Yahoo's listing operation is really cancelled, although the firefly may face unpredictable losses, the CEO of the Nasdaq Group is absolutely I have to be swept out by the board.

The subconscious swallowed, and Frank Saab didn't dare to spit out a hard word.

However, as the head of the group, he really does not know how long it takes for Nasdaq's trading system platform to be tested and tested. After hesitating for a moment, he reported an inaccurate time: "Probably, it takes five or six hours."

"Starting at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, you have been delayed for an hour and a half." Eric raised his hand and knocked on his watch. "So, call now to call your technical team, Steve, they must also Assisting and carrying out the necessary supervision, whether it is six hours or twelve hours, in short, before I trade tomorrow, I will get this thing, is there any problem?"

Frank Saab shook his head a little hard: "No, no problem."

"That's it, let's get started," Eric said, looking around, walking to a chair next to the camera and sitting down, raising his arms and looking at the crowd.

Frank Saab didn't dare to play any more sloppy eyes, and took out his mobile phone and started dialing on the spot.

Steve Mitnick waved the crowd and walked over to Eric. He also took a chair and sat down. He smiled and said: "I had an hour with the original person in charge here, and Frank Saab came over. I have been arguing for half an hour and can only call you over."

Eric shook his head and said it didn't matter. He said: "Wait, I will have dinner with Ian and John. You can only stay here."

"It's nothing," Steve Mitnick said with a smile. "Suddenly, I have to become a billionaire. I still can't believe it. My parents have never liked me to study computers. I think this is a bad business, even I often worry that I will be on the streets in the future."

After the last share split and the last equity incentive plan before the IPO, Ian Gernier and Steve Mitnick, the two most important veterans of Yahoo, held 16 million shares. Just based on the issue price of $33, both of them have more than $500 million at this time. In addition, Tina Brown's shareholding is 6 million shares, and the value of this stock is also close to 200 million US dollars.

In other words, Yahoo has created three billionaires before it is listed. In addition to the three core executives, there are another 48.5 million shares distributed among Yahoo's management and elite employees. Once listed, Yahoo will create more than ten multi-millionaires and hundreds of millionaires at once. It is very rare in the history of the development of the whole world enterprise, and it is also called by some media as one of the signs of the technology stock bubble.

Looking at the expression of some emotions Steve Mitnick, Eric smiled: "So, you can tell this to your parents now, let them be shocked."

"My mother has been shocked," Steve said with a little more ridiculous in his smile. "She thinks that your boss must be in a bad mood and will give so much money to employees."

"Yeah, in fact, I am also very distressed," Eric slammed his chest and joked.

Even so, Eric has never had a disappointment with such a large-scale equity incentive plan, and high equity incentives will naturally be tied to strict non-competition agreements.

In the era when Internet companies have sprung up, the Yahoo Group’s internal elites who have been working in the Internet industry since the establishment of three companies in Eric have been able to pull the team out of Yahoo! Venture capital and quickly accumulate enough wealth through IPO listings, and may even become Yahoo's competitors.

But in fact, this has not happened. Yahoo has maintained its absolute dominance in Internet mainstream services such as portals, e-mail, instant messaging, browser software and even recent search engines. In addition to Jeff Locke and others who left when the first equity incentive plan was launched three years ago, in recent years, there have been few core executives within the Yahoo Group. The main reason lies in the company’s generosity and strictness in equity incentives. Competition regulations are restricted.

Although the book value of the total 96.5 million shares of the incentive plan has exceeded $3 billion so far, Eric has won $30 billion, and the pros and cons of this should be decided. Corporate investors who want a little foresight can understand. .

Chatting with Steve, and staring at the exchange for a while, until Meyer came over with his mobile phone and received a call from Ian Gnell and others from the Plaza Hotel. Eric left to rush. Banquet tonight.

Early the next morning, Eric woke up in the penthouse of Sixth Avenue, which was already seven o'clock.

When I came to the restaurant downstairs, Meyer had prepared breakfast and saw Eric sitting down at the table. The female assistant handed over a stack of newspapers.

"I won't watch it today," Eric shook his head and said, "We will have to go to 42nd Street before 8 o'clock."

Meyer collected the newspaper, took the breakfast for the two, sat down opposite, and said: "Mr. Mitnick sent the news at 4 o'clock in the morning, they have completed the overhaul of the Nasdaq trading system and Test, Yahoo and Nasdaq's technical team are also there to ensure that there will be no accidents during the entire transaction today. In addition, Mr. Kasenberg arrived in New York at 9 o'clock last night, you still After eating with everyone, Kasenberg said that he will go directly to the Nasdaq exchange today."

Eric added some milk to the porridge and nodded: "Well, is there?"

Meyer continued: "The midnight box office of "Mission Impossible 3" is about $9.2 million, which is lower than the summer file "Charlie's Angel 3" and "Matrix 2."

"It's already good."

Eric didn't feel any disappointment. North America has just experienced a massive cooling in recent days. Many places on the East Coast have already snowed. Many people are not willing to go out during the day, let alone go to the midnight movie. In this case, the midnight box office of Mission Impossible 3 can still stay above $9 million, and even has some extraordinary play.

Listening to Meyer’s report on a few things, Eric looked at the opposite girl and said, “Say, it’s just Thanksgiving. If you’re done today, give you a holiday, go back to your family to have Thanksgiving, next week, Well, I will be back next week."

Caroline is still recovering. Meyer is subconsciously trying to ask Eric how to leave him. He suddenly remembers something and closes his mouth, just nodding his head.

After breakfast, Eric took Meyer to the Nasdaq Exchange on 42nd Street. Compared with yesterday afternoon, although it is less than eight o'clock, today's Nasdaq exchange is more and more lively inside and outside. Many guests who came to Yahoo's listed platform even came out earlier than Eric. Now in the exchange hall.

Expressing greetings with everyone, Eric then unexpectedly found two beautiful figures in the crowd, some surprised: "How come you two?"

Cindy picked up her badge and shook it at Eric. "I am the star user of the Yahoo blog. Ms. Brown personally called me to come to the Yahoo platform."

Eric smiled and looked at Linda next to Cindy: "What about your brand?"

Linda reached out and tried to grab Cindy's badge, but she was opened, and some depressed and lifted her chin. The bachelor said: "No, you drive me out."

Cindy walked over and gently held Eric's arm and put it in his ear and smiled and whispered: "She subscribed for 1.5 million shares, and the savings for the past few years have gone in."

"Big customers," Eric reached out and took Linda, who was in a small mood, and said, "Well, wait for me to come on stage with the bell. But, let me say it first, I am stuck with it."

"I have seen you through it for a long time," Linda leaned back reluctantly, and slammed it on Eric's waist and said, "I am irresponsible."