LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 290: Billionaire
#Lu Liang's Views on LeEco#
#The 7 Billion Ownership#
#Old Jia Heads to America#
#Second Dai Wei#
#Ofo's Deposit#
Related topics quickly surged to the top of Weibo's hot search, sparking heated discussion across the net.
Various institutions and speculative investors were itching with irritation.
They all heard that Old Jia cashed out 7 billion from LeEco as a lifeline, so the intent was clear.
That bastard Lu Liang, not only did he save his own skin, he also leaked the news, so how could they escape now?
Absolutely unfilial.
They had no choice but to step up efforts, hiring cyber armies and buying off financial experts and professors, persuading them to speak out for LeEco and explain the allocation of the 7 billion.
LeEco could die, but definitely not now, because they still had a large amount of capital locked in there.
Once their funds were safely withdrawn, they couldn't care less about the life or death of LeEco and Old Jia.
As night fell, Lu Liang no longer paid attention to the online public opinion.
He had said enough, and if others took offense or if they were enlightened without being influenced by subsequent comments, it was now entirely up to their own fate.
Lu Liang contacted Wen Chao as well as Ota Ling from Tokyo, telling them to focus on international crude oil for the following month.
[March 24, Brent Crude Oil $64.74 per barrel]
There are three major crude oil benchmarks in the world: Texas Light Crude Oil, which is a more commonly used type of crude oil futures in North America.
And Brent Crude Oil, whose price mainly reflects crude oil prices originating from the Middle East and exported from there to Europe.
Finally, the Dubai crude, reflecting the demand for crude oil in Asia, and the price of crude oil exported from Dubai.
The current market price of Brent Crude Oil is $52.52 per barrel.
In a month's time, it had risen by $12.12 per barrel.
Such a situation in the past indicated either OPEC announcing production cuts for the next quarter or new conflicts breaking out in the Middle East.
Either way, it was profitable for Lu Liang.
However, he only spoke about paying attention to international oil prices and did not specify which benchmark.
He wanted private equity to set up first, lying in wait, and when they were almost ready, then he would inform Mitsui Sumitomo.
Even though they agreed on 300 million dollars, who knew how much Mitsui Sumitomo might quietly invest once they were informed.
Old Ma had plenty of tricks up his sleeve, Mitsui Sumitomo's intentions were unclear; although they were partners, he still needed to be cautious, it was better to be safe than sorry.
Lu Liang turned off his computer, erased his messages, and walked out of the study.
"Ta-da, do I look good..."
Li Manli, with pink blush smeared on her face like a shy girl from the comics, wearing wooden clogs and a kimono, and with an exquisite hairpin in her hair, fluttered her sleeves as she approached Lu Liang.
Seemingly unaccustomed to the wooden clogs or hindered by the kimono, she accidentally took a nosedive, sprawling flat on the carpet.
Lu Liang couldn't help but chuckle, "The New Year's almost over, even if you give me a grand bow, I'm not handing out red envelopes."
"I'm so mad~ These shoes are so hard to wear." Li Manli huffed, about to throw them away but somewhat reluctant.
Because the kimono was expensive, half of her five thousand US dollars had been spent on it.
"Just wear it at home, don't wear it out, and don't take pictures, careful not to get scolded."
Lu Liang chuckled and sat down next to her, quite interested in studying the structure of the kimono.
After dinner, he had sequestered himself in the study; the only time he came out, Li Manli was fiddling with the kimono, seemingly taking two or three hours to wear it.
"I wouldn't want to show it to someone else."
Li Manli suddenly knelt and bowed, whispering, "Private Marseilles, sir, you've worked hard."
After that, with her head tilted and looking up at Lu Liang, she grinned, "Does it feel like 'Sakura Girl'?"
"Ow, why'd you hit me?"
Suddenly, Li Manli covered her forehead, looking aggrieved.
"Change already, let's go out for a late-night snack."
"I just put it on, okay~"
...
The next day, the new energy index soared for three consecutive days, and of the 12 companies that were targeted, all but BYD hit their trading limits at the opening.
BYD's market cap had reached 390 billion, inching ever closer to 400 billion. The bigger the company, the harder it was to see a price rise.
However, it still opened high at 7.55%, occasionally touching the ceiling and tantalizing the hearts of countless retail investors.
The whole sector's celebration was the loneliness of a single enterprise.
LeEco opened with a drop limit, its market value falling below 50 billion, and it could barely hold on to its position in the Growth Enterprise Market's top ten.
The main players and speculators locked within knew it without saying, planning to drop for three consecutive days to diminish the impact of Lu Liang's remarks.
They knew that Old Jia would not come back with at least a 90% certainty, but the market's retail investors didn't know that.
So there was still room to maneuver.
First, a drop for three to five days, then a sluggish sideways market for a few days, and finally a violent pull to attract retail investors to pick up the slack and speculate on the low.
After all, retail investors are like leeks that don't remember the lessons of loss; losing 30% numbs them, while a gain of 5% overjoys them, almost identical to the gambler's nature.
By then, they would be able to make their getaway smoothly.
...
Lu Liang, at the company, waited until the afternoon when Old Zeng from Ningde Era and the roadshow team came to visit.
They planned to go public with an estimated value of 41 billion yuan, offering 15% of their equity for IPO financing.
They anticipated raising 6.15 billion yuan, with a tentative offer price of 23.5 yuan per share and a total share capital of 1.744 billion shares.
The initial plan was to hold three roadshows in Beijing, Modu, and Ningde's hometown.
Each roadshow would offer 87.2 million shares for IPO subscription, about 5% of the total share capital.
However, after Mr. Lu spoke up, they decided to cut the shares of all three roadshows in half after discussion.
At a price of 23.5 yuan per share, they would sell 130.8 million shares to Tianxing Fund for a total of 3.073 billion yuan.
Lu Liang chuckled, surprised, "Mr. Zeng, I thought you might raise the price at the last minute."
The offer price of an enterprise's IPO is actually indeterminate before each roadshow begins.
It may be adjusted based on market reception and enthusiasm.
After all, with a total share capital of 1.744 billion shares, even a one-cent increase would result in an extra 1.744 billion in market value.
Old Zeng coughed a few times, "Mr. Lu, we haven't started the roadshow yet. The price might not stay the same by then."
Lu Liang personally held 13.33% of the shares, and now Tianxing Fund was also subscribing for the IPO, which clearly showed how much Mr. Lu believed in Ningde Era's future development.
Their plan, after completing this transaction, was to increase the offer price by 1 yuan, directly surging the market value by 17.44 billion yuan.
Lu Liang smiled faintly, "1 yuan is a bit low, Mr. Zeng. Be bold, for example, round it up to an even 25 yuan per share."
He suggested that before the official IPO, they could claim that Ningde Era and Tesla were initiating a deep collaboration.
Tesla would abandon LG Chem and Panasonic, and the domestically-produced Tesla would extensively use Ningde's batteries in the future.
Zeng Minqun was stunned; they hadn't started any collaboration with Tesla. Wasn't this fabrication?
Lu Liang smiled and said, "Mr. Zeng, just because it didn't exist before doesn't mean it can't exist now. Tesla is willing to give Ningde Era a fair chance to compete."
Publicly and privately, he was a shareholder of Ningde Era; he couldn't just invest money without doing anything.
Ningde Era was not short on cash; after all, it was a company named after a city, and the local municipal government, no matter how poor, would absolutely never let Ningde struggle. However, they lacked connections.
And Mr. Lu just happened to have such connections.
Tesla had already tasted the benefits of localization, and even if he didn't suggest it, sooner or later, they would switch to domestically-produced power batteries.
BYD and Ningde's power batteries aren't just the leaders in China's power battery industry, but even on the international stage, they hold a prominent position.
But BYD makes its own cars, and though it takes a low-end route, it could eventually enter the mid-to-high-end market in the future, directly competing with Tesla.
Therefore, Ningde would become the best choice for Tesla as long as the price was right, and the technology was solid.
Musk was also willing to do Mr. Lu this favor.
Zeng Minqun, coming to a realization, turned to instruct his assistant to secure the domestic Tesla order, even if it meant launching the first generation of Kirin Batteries ahead of schedule.
He then informed that Bank of China and Zhongtai, the underwriters of the IPO, decided to raise the offer price of the new shares from the original 23.5 yuan to 25 yuan.
After a while, Old Zeng asked, "Mr. Lu, on the afternoon of March 16th at two o'clock, Ningde will have its roadshow in Modu. Will you have time then?"
After all, Ningde was going public on the Growth Enterprise Market with a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.5 times, which might not be much for internet companies but was an ultra-high P/E ratio for a brick-and-mortar business.
According to the IPO subscription formula, it's necessary to lock in funds at least 22 times higher during the subscription period, otherwise, it would be below market expectations and detrimental to institutional assessments after listing.
"No problem, I'll definitely be there."
Lu Liang answered with a full smile, patting his chest.
After the listing and IPO financing, his 13.33% ownership would be reduced to 10.664%.
This would be the final number, with no further dilution in the future.
As long as Ningde developed smoothly and broke through the trillion-yuan market value, his 10.665% stake would then be worth 106.65 billion yuan.
Lu Liang would become a genuine hundred-billionaire, and it was only right to put in extra effort and help promote however he could.