Chapter 1395 Taking the Initiative

"Okay, I'll take charge of this," Feng Yiping immediately volunteered.

"Yeah!" The two of them clapped their hands happily.

"Feng, we decided to perform a rugby game to express our gratitude," Page said shamelessly--because he knew Feng Yiping had no love for rugby.

In other words, this was really the most insincere thank you.

"Thank you, but it's really not necessary. This is what I should do,"

Going public is naturally a good thing and very pleasant, but the preparation process can really be said to be no easier than starting a business.

At the Lake Tahoe meeting, Feng Yiping gave full play to his advantage of foresight and allowed the two to agree with his opinions on this IPO, and the two finally agreed.

However, Feng Yiping was just talking. How to do it specifically and how to design the plan were all done by Page and Brin.

Let's say these two guys are no longer teenagers, but they are still very second-year guys. In order to protect the core value of Google and to ensure that the control of the Google ship is always in their hands, they insist on a dual-class share structure.

The design of this plan is a very complicated matter. What is more difficult than the plan itself is that they must explain to shareholders and underwriters why the public supports their approach.

The Class A shares sold to the public have one vote per share, and the Class B shares held by the founders and company executives have ten votes per share. This can easily make those who want to invest in Google feel that they are second-class citizens.

Such an equity structure actually isolates the responsibilities that management should bear to shareholders.

These factors may lead to a sharp decline in the enthusiasm of the public to subscribe. If the public subscription is cold, the IPO will naturally be a failure, the underwriting company will work in vain, and the venture capital will have no chance to withdraw.

The only happy ones should be Page and Brin, who still have money to develop, and they have never wanted Google to go public.

However, Page and Brin successfully persuaded other shareholders and underwriting companies to follow the dual shareholding system.

Next is the auction pricing that Feng Yiping has repeatedly mentioned. The design of this plan is more complicated, but they are not afraid of these complex issues and have perfectly come up with a plan that satisfies everyone.

Another issue is the underwriting fee directly related to the underwriters. Generally, this fee is 7%, but they are only willing to give 3%.

As mentioned earlier, auction pricing is equivalent to taking back the pricing power of stocks from Wall Street, which means that Wall Street has already been greatly offended. Now they have to say to them, "Hey, you have to work hard for me, but your income is less than half of your usual income."

Anyone can imagine the difficulty of this matter.

But although some underwriters did withdraw in the middle, they still did it. Including Feng Yiping's proposal to join several Canadian banks, there are currently more than 30 underwriters.

…………

In addition to these, there are some other troubles on the road to IPO, such as the patent dispute with Overture.

Overture is also a search company. Before 2001, compared with Google, this company had a great advantage. Their advertising charges were calculated based on click-through rate, that is, when users type in some keywords, the advertising revenue they collected from advertisers will also increase.

Google still charges according to the traditional method of per thousand visitors.

Then in 2001, Google sent people to communicate with Overture. Soon after, they launched a model called AdWords, which quickly increased Google's advertising revenue.

But Overture has always believed that the core parameters of AdWords come from them, and they have been arguing with each other.

What is even more pessimistic is that last year, Yahoo, which used to have a good relationship with Google but now has a tendency to become a rival, acquired Overture.

What happened next is naturally predictable. Yahoo did not hesitate to file a patent lawsuit against Google on this point.

Because it is directly related to advertising revenue, this can be said to be one of Google's most core technologies. If this lawsuit cannot be concluded as soon as possible, then Google's IPO will probably become a bubble.

And this matter is also handled by Page and Brin.

Therefore, it is indeed Feng Yiping's turn to deal with matters such as the prospectus.

This is a very important and boring job that cannot be sloppy.

To put it simply, the major content and structure remain unchanged, but because Google has been launching new products recently and the Chinese company has officially opened, there are too many places in the documents that have been prepared that need to be modified and supplemented.

In a sense, this is a repetitive work. Page and others would rather design difficult solutions than do such work, so they are so excited now.

In fact, Feng Yiping does not need them to express their gratitude. Unlike them, when he thinks of the wealth these documents will bring to him, Feng Yiping does not feel boring at all.

"You go first, I will come to support you later," he picked up the thick original prospectus and read it.

"We started as a technology company, and now we have evolved into a company that integrates software, technology, Internet, advertising and media...,"

"We are not a company that follows the old ways. To ensure continuous innovation and focus on users rather than investors, we will not care about quarterly market forecasts,"

"We believe that user-centricity is the foundation of our success so far, and we also believe that this core is decisive for creating long-term value. We do not intend to compromise with short-term economic interests with user-centricity,"

That is, the rise and fall of stock prices are not the focus of their care.

"We do not intend to distribute any dividends..."

Oh my God, are you sure that these bullshit things you wrote are to make people buy Google stocks, rather than to make people care about their own property safety and stay away from Google stocks?

Feng Yiping shook his head. There was a reason why Google's original issue price was so low. Or it can be said that if it were not for the beautiful data, it would be a problem whether Google could go public.

Also, he really saw those few sentences, "Don't be evil," "Make the world a better place," "Not willing to accept money for the ranking or inclusion of search results",

In general, this prospectus should be the most worth reading, because it has a strong personal color and some very second-rate parts.

So, how should the prospectus take into account the views of the two and not offend investors at the same time? This is really not an easy task, at least it will take several days of hard work.

Feng Yiping decided to take a break and go out for a breath of fresh air first.

In the stadium, many guys who originally looked listless became vigorous now. It seems that rugby is really the best way to improve everyone's enthusiasm and fighting power at Google now.

Feng Yiping walked around the sidelines with his hands folded. Accompanied by the collision sounds from the stadium that made him feel his teeth ache, he began to think about how to write the prospectus more perfectly, that is, how to tell this story in a way that the two middle-aged youths and investors would like. Suddenly, he saw a pair of high heels blocking his way. When he looked up, it was indeed Mayer.

"Hi," he took the initiative to greet.

"Hi," Mayer also crossed her arms and replied, "You haven't left yet?"

"I'm afraid I'll spend more time here in the coming days,"

Mayer's face could no longer hold back, and she smiled, "Really?"

"Really," seeing that she was about to follow, Feng Yiping quickly added, "I was followed by paparazzi on the way home last night,"

That is, you have to pay attention to the impact, girl!

Who knows that Mayer said disdainfully, "Tsk, as if no one has not been,"

Okay, I forgot that the person in front of me is the image spokesperson of Google and was secretly photographed by paparazzi in the early years.

"Look, the bushes over there," Mayer pointed to the row of bushes not far from the front of the building and said, "A few days ago, there were paparazzi hiding there, preparing to secretly take pictures of Page and Brin,"

"These days, many calls to the company are from reporters who want to talk to Page and Brin," she glanced at Feng Yiping, "There are also many calls to you,"

This matter is not unfamiliar to Feng Yiping.

He also repeatedly reminded the two of them about this matter, that is, during the silent period, they must watch their mouths.

His words worked. Page did not accept the interview with Playboy this time, and did not promote it, which means that there was no extra trouble on the road to listing.

But this is the case. The more the reporters know that they cannot accept any interviews during this period, the more excited they are.

If they can interview them during the silent period, doesn't it show that they are capable? Feng Yiping had experienced this before during the listing of Yijia and Auto.com.

"At this time, there may be many cameras facing us," Mayer said nonchalantly.

But in fact, Feng Yiping's reminder is still very useful. She did not invade Feng Yiping's safe distance. The two stood there and looked like they were discussing work.

"Do you think we can succeed in this IPO?"

Oh, she was also a little worried about this matter.

"Don't worry, there will be no problem, and it will be very successful," Feng Yiping said affirmatively.

Page and Brin are trying to find a way to reconcile with Yahoo. I guess this process will not be very pleasant.

Back then, that is, last year, the president of Yahoo came to discuss the acquisition, but was teased by them. Now they have to reconcile with Yahoo, and they must regain the face they lost that time and let out the anger they suffered.

So, if you get involved, you will always have to pay it back!

In addition to this matter, plus they have agreed to no longer be arrogant and only hold a roadshow in the United States, but to bloom in Asia and Europe at the same time, and the prospectus is also checked by Feng Yiping, then the subscription will definitely not be a problem, and then the IPO will naturally not be a problem.

"Then what do you think our issue price will be in?"

Haha, is this to calculate how much your net worth will be by then?

"I think it should be at least above $120," Feng Yiping said confidently, because with him, this IPO has perfectly avoided so many problems. At the same time, Google's product line is much more systematic and comprehensive than before. He thinks that even if it is calculated according to the original pricing range, it cannot be the lowest $80, but must be more than $100, or even more than $150. You know, there were not so many products before, and Google's stock price doubled smoothly shortly after listing. "More than $100?"

At this time, only Feng Yiping dared to say this, and Mayer could not help but be very surprised.

"Yes, the minimum is more than 100 US dollars," Feng Yiping said affirmatively, "even that one," he pointed to a lady who was also watching the excitement at the side of the court, "even she can become a millionaire,"

That one was Brown, the first female masseuse hired by Google. In terms of treatment, she was very discerning and chose a lower hourly wage and higher stock options.

"Oh," Feng Yiping's words made Mayer's eyes sparkle. Brown is a millionaire, so she must be at least a multi-millionaire?

"Haha, so I finally have the opportunity to buy the house I like?"

"What kind of house do you like, but you can't afford it now?" Feng Yiping was a little curious.

"I like high-rise residences like you now, and they are high-rise residences above hotels," Mayer said.

Well, Feng Yiping didn't know how to respond to this.

"The apartment above the Four Seasons Hotel in San Francisco is good," she said.

It is connected with the Four Seasons Hotel, so of course it is good. No wonder she can't afford it now.

"Sorry, I have to go back to work. I have an appointment to go to Apple this afternoon."

Let's put it this way, Feng Yiping is still a little uncomfortable standing next to her. This future well-known Silicon Valley strong woman is very aggressive.

"When can we have dinner together?" Mayer said, "After returning from SH that time, we never had such an opportunity again,"