Regardless of whether this was part of Huang He's plan, one thing was certain: Goldman Sachs could not prevent oo Network from listing. To do so would be to antagonize all other financial institutions, who would not allow their invested capital to become sunk costs.
Thus, the bell-ringing ceremony proceeded smoothly. The oo Network team, led by Leng Zhimeng, attended the entire ceremony, which was uncommonly broadcast live by many American television stations.
With the release of its prospectus, oo Network's profitability had become the second highest globally. Its IPO price was an astonishing $50 per share, giving it a total market capitalization of $500 billion, rivaling that of Shell. Upon listing, it would become the second most valuable stock globally, a piece of news guaranteed to shake the global financial market. No one would overlook such a significant event.
Consequently, nearly all global media outlets were reporting on and broadcasting the bell-ringing ceremony. However, to the regret of many, Huang He was not present.
They had expected the true controller of oo Network to attend such an important occasion, as his status would undergo a significant transformation with the company's listing.
Yet, Mr. Huang ultimately did not appear at this important ceremony; only Leng Zhimeng was responsible for it.
This led to a resurgence of an old rumor across the internet: that Huang He had encountered immense trouble during his last visit to the United States and was nearly detained. Therefore, Huang He would never set foot in any country controlled by the United States again.
While many had dismissed these as rumors, it now seemed they might not be. The prospect of seeing our Mr. Huang in the United States had become an impossibility.
However, Leng Zhimeng's presiding over the bell-ringing ceremony was not problematic. After all, Leng Zhimeng was now the chairman of oo Network, and Huang He no longer held any official position within the company.
Following the bell-ringing ceremony, the Nasdaq stock market was set to officially open. Even more curious to all media outlets was the question of how much oo Network's stock would drop after the opening, a focal point of curiosity for countless figures in the financial world.
Some European bookmakers had even opened betting markets. The odds for oo Network's stock falling to $40 per share on its first day of trading were 1.45 to 1.
The odds continued to adjust on either side of that figure.
The highest odds, 120 to 1, were for a drop below $20 per share. Conversely, an increase to over $60 per share had odds of 150 to 1.
This indicated that the market's highest perceived value for oo Network's stock was around $40 per share.
The reason for so many believing oo Network's stock would undoubtedly fall after opening was naturally due to the exorbitant IPO price of $50 per share and a $500 billion market capitalization. While Shell, with similar profitability, currently had a market capitalization of $532 billion, proving that such a valuation was not unscientific, Shell possessed substantial heavy assets, vast energy resources, and was a century-old enterprise with a history of 120 years. Its full name, Royal Dutch Shell, further solidified its justification for a $530 billion valuation.
But what did oo Network have?
Despite its astonishing profitability, the company was less than five years old and possessed virtually no tangible assets, being purely an online platform. If gaming companies collectively left the oo Network platform, the entire edifice would crumble instantly. Could such a company realistically command a $500 billion market capitalization, comparable to Shell?
Furthermore, there was the matter of pre-subscriptions. The market knew that oo Network's pre-subscriptions had not been met, and even at $30 per share, they had not sold out. This had a significant impact on oo Network's pricing.
Therefore, a $500 billion market capitalization was an absolute impossibility. While it remained unclear why the Federal Securities and Exchange Commission had approved such an outrageous pricing, the market would not accept a $500 billion valuation. However, $400 billion seemed quite reasonable.
After all, with an annual profit of $40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10 was already an excellent and market-accepted valuation.
Thus, the entire market was waiting to see what price oo Network's stock would ultimately settle at on its first day of trading.
However, just before the listing, a minor change occurred.
This change took place during the bell-ringing ceremony. Before the ringing of the bell, company management usually gave a few speeches, typically filled with inconsequential content.
They would express their excitement, their future aspirations, and their commitment to creating shareholder value – all nonsensical platitudes that no one believed.
But this time seemed different. Leng Zhimeng's opening statement was, "Although according to convention, I should deliver some meaningless drivel, I must, before the company opens for trading and while we all stand at the same starting line, announce several sudden corporate operating situations to all future shareholders!"
Her words caused everyone present, as well as those watching the live broadcast, to exchange bewildered glances.
Announcing sudden operational developments before the bell-ringing was not unheard of, but it was certainly rare. No one knew what significant change had occurred within oo Network that warranted such an announcement at this opportune moment.
However, the reporters were delighted. For them, this was a dream scoop!
"Firstly, yesterday, oo Network officially signed a long-term cooperation agreement with Tianzhou Terminal Technology Application Development Company. oo Network will exclusively act as the operating agent for Tianzhou Application Store, a subsidiary of Tianzhou Terminal, for a period of 20 years. Although oo Network had previously signed a temporary cooperation agreement with the other party, it could not ensure long-term stability."
"I am now extremely pleased to announce that our two companies have finally reached a long-term, stable cooperation agreement!" Leng Zhimeng declared excitedly, though the expressions of the audience were peculiar.
In their view, was such mundane news worth announcing on this platform? A simple announcement on the company's official website would suffice.
It wasn't that the news lacked value, but oo Network was already the operator of the Tianzhou Terminal store, a fact widely known. This announcement merely confirmed a temporary agreement transitioning to a long-term one, which did not alter anyone's expectations.
Was this insignificant news something to boast about? Moreover, didn't everyone know that oo Network and Tianzhou Terminal were essentially siblings from the same parent?
Of course, everyone could discern oo Network's intention: to leverage this positive news to attempt to boost its first-day stock price and avoid a drastic fall.
While this situation was understandable, their approach was arguably rather shameless, and its positive effect was uncertain. It might even lead people to believe that oo Network was resorting to such tactics out of desperation, potentially causing the stock price to fall further.
As everyone was silently grumbling in their hearts, Leng Zhimeng continued with a smile, "Previously, due to oo Network's temporary cooperation agreement with Tianzhou Terminal, the revenue oo Network generated from Tianzhou Terminal was continuously included in oo Network's actual profits. According to the agreement, the revenue sharing ratio was 50% for emergency operations before the formal long-term contract was signed. If the agreement transitioned to a long-term contract, the sharing ratio would be fixed at 30%."
"Because of this, it was difficult for us to calculate the specific profits from Tianzhou Terminal and we did not tally them to avoid misleading shareholders. However, yesterday, the contract was officially signed, and the sharing ratio will be fixed at 30%. Therefore, the profit figures oo Network has already achieved for the entire year of 2007 need a slight adjustment!"
"For the entire year of 2007, the total top-up amount at the Tianzhou Application Store, operated by oo Network, was: $412.33 billion. At a fixed revenue sharing ratio of 30%, Tianzhou Application Store will receive a share of $123.699 billion. Of this, the profit attributable to oo Network is $37.1 billion!"
"Therefore, oo Network's actual annual profit for the fiscal year 2007 needs to be increased by $37 billion, bringing our profit forecast for 2007 to $44 billion!"
At this moment, everyone couldn't help but swallow. If these $37 billion in profits were added, oo Network's profitability would directly surpass Shell's, making it the undisputed world leader.
Although it was already the second highest before, the second place is historically obscure. oo Network's attainment of the world's top profitability would undoubtedly bolster confidence in its stock, potentially increasing its market capitalization by hundreds of billions of dollars overnight.
Furthermore, behind this long-term agreement lay the terrifying growth potential of the Tianzhou Application Store.
Consider that Tianzhou Terminal had only sold over eight million units so far, and these were not unsold units but rather insufficient to meet demand. As more units became available, the user base for the Tianzhou Application Store would undoubtedly grow.
With only 8 million users currently generating $41 billion in sales, if this base doubled in the future, wouldn't the revenue also double?
At this moment, many felt their previous thoughts were utterly laughable. They had considered this news insignificant, but it now appeared to be the most potent positive news for oo Network, without exception.