Reborn as a tycoon in Hong Kong

"Cheng-kun, Marvel Comics' profits are not high. Can you tell me why you want to acquire this company?"

Haruko Maori asked aloud. After reading Marvel Comics' annual report, she felt that the company's prospects were not very good.

Lin Baicheng understood the meaning of Maori Haruko's words: "If you have any ideas, just say it directly."

"Cheng-kun, I don't think Marvel Comics is worth acquiring, especially at a premium price."

Maori Haruko simply said what she was thinking. This was because the relationship between the two was extraordinary and not a normal employment relationship. Otherwise, she would not dare to talk to her boss like this.

Lin Baicheng was not angry when he heard this: "The reason is because you think Marvel Comics' profits are not high?"

"That's not the most important thing."

Haruko Maori nodded slightly: "In my opinion, with the rise of TV and movies, as well as the popularity of arcade and other electronic games, people will only have more and more entertainment methods. Comics have no advantages in comparison, and the market will only become more and more popular. Shrink.”

"Zhiyin Comics in Japan is okay. There are national policies to support the comics industry. Not only does the United States not have policy support, but it has strengthened supervision of comics many years ago. Therefore, I think it is not a good idea to invest in the comics industry in the United States. choose."

"Haruko, your analysis is not unreasonable."

Lin Baicheng nodded in agreement, and then said: "But of course I bought Marvel Comics for a reason. First of all, Marvel Comics is one of the largest comic companies in the United States, and its own market is relatively stable, even if it is restricted by the industry. As a result, the company's performance cannot show significant growth, but my requirements for it are not high, as long as it stabilizes the current market."

“As for Marvel Comics, what I value is Marvel’s superhero copyrights. I think that with the advancement of film special effects technology, the movies produced by these superhero characters will be very successful, and then this company will be valuable. "

"It turns out you have long-term plans, Cheng-kun. It's my fault."

After hearing this, Haruko Mouri nodded, and did not refute what to do if the superhero movie was not popular. After all, this was only a possibility, and it was also possible for it to be a hit. To refute on this ground was to refute for the sake of refutation.

Lin Baicheng said with a smile: "If nothing else happens, I will not continue to invest in Marvel Comics, so I don't have high requirements for it, as long as this company can survive on its own. If I can do it for me every year If you could make hundreds of millions of dollars, that would be even better."

"I believe your judgment will not be wrong, Cheng-kun."

Maori Haruko immediately said that Lin Baicheng did not value the short-term interests of Marvel Comics Company, which meant that he was not investing randomly, but knew it well. Of course she would not say anything more, but had high hopes for Marvel Comics Company. After all, Lin Baicheng had not invested in Marvel Comics Company until now. Haven't failed yet.

Lin Baicheng and Maori Haruko continued to read the annual report.

Pioneer Technology Venture Capital Company, in fact, this company's annual report is not very impressive. Lin Baicheng only invested a total of 15 million US dollars. He arranged for this company to participate in the financing of Apple and New Century Software Company, and held only a small shareholding.

For the rest, Lin Baicheng asked the company to invest in a company that makes personal computers. The company's manager, Aige Dema, invested in several companies on his own. The investment amount was not large. So far, the company's 15 million US dollars have not been spent. .

This kind of venture capital company will definitely not get returns quickly. It is normal to have no returns for several years. Therefore, the annual report of Pioneer Technology Venture Capital Company is actually zero. The so-called annual report is nothing more than a compilation of how many shares a company holds in each company, what the company's valuation was before investment, and what its current valuation is. That's it.

Haruko Maori said: "Makoto-san, actually I think there is a lot of potential if venture capital is done well. Do you want to invest some more money and let Aige Dema recruit a few talents to really develop the company?"

"What do you think?"

Lin Baicheng thought it was okay.

Haruko Mouri said: "You can give it a try. You don't need to invest too much at the beginning. Just invest another US$5 million or US$10 million. If the venture capital company can start it on its own, of course it would be best; if it fails, Cheng-kun, your The loss is not big and can be accepted.”

"Since you said so, Haruko, let Aige Dema try it out with 5 million US dollars first. If he can make the investment, it is not impossible to increase the investment in the future."

Lin Baicheng nodded indifferently. It was just a small additional investment of 5 million US dollars. Even if it was a total loss, he could accept it and he could afford the loss. With his current capital, he already has the capital for trial and error.

"I will talk to Aige Dema about this after I finish the gold futures investment."

Maori Haruko responded, she still hopes that Aige Dema can achieve results, so that she can also have the credit for the recommendation. As for what to do if it fails, it's just to replace Aige Dema. She doesn't think a small investment loss will have an impact on her.

"Um!"

Lin Baicheng didn't say anything after hearing this and continued to read Microsoft's annual report.

Microsoft didn't really belong to Lin Baicheng until December last year, which was actually just last month. Before that, Lin Baicheng only held a certain share of the company.

Last year, Microsoft's valuation was as high as tens of millions of dollars. Unfortunately, Bill Gates and others wanted to kick Lin Baicheng out, so Lin Baicheng filed a lawsuit with Bill Gates and others, and Bill Gates and others left Microsoft. The company, Microsoft today, is not that valuable anymore.

Fortunately, the departure of Bill Gates and others did not take away Microsoft's business. It was just a loss of technical talents. As long as Microsoft can recruit corresponding talents, the company will be able to recover quickly.

Microsoft's current business does not have advanced technologies that transcend the times, so it is not afraid of not being able to recruit people. After all, Microsoft was only a small company before, and the talents it recruited were not industry leaders. Therefore, after Microsoft fell into Lin Baicheng's hands, it was not afraid. Unable to recruit the required technical talents.

Because a series of things happened, Microsoft's annual report was just like that. After all, the company's revenue and profits were not very high, so Lin Baicheng simply ignored the relevant data.

For Microsoft, Lin Baicheng currently values ​​only Shiwei Software Company, a subsidiary jointly established by the company and New Century Software Company. He hopes that this subsidiary can develop personal computer operating systems, so that Microsoft's valuation It will definitely rise sharply by then.

Once Shiwei Software Company fails to develop, then although Microsoft will not be worthless, the company's value is limited, and the performance ceiling of its existing business is there. Unless the company can find another way out, the company's value will be just that. .

Maybe Microsoft can achieve a valuation of 20 to 30 million US dollars within a few years or ten years of development. Maybe the company's business transformation is not smooth, and in the end the expenses are much higher than the profit, and Lin Baicheng shuts down.

It is true that Microsoft was a trillion-dollar giant before Lin Baicheng was reborn, but things have changed now. It is impossible for a company to have a bright future just because of a name. That is impossible.

After Microsoft, Lin Baicheng actually has Sun Electronic Communications Company in the United States, but this company is still in acquisition negotiations with Bell Labs, and there is no result yet, and there is no so-called annual report at all.

In addition to these companies controlled by Lin Baicheng, Lin Baicheng also has the annual reports and a report of two companies.

The annual reports of the two companies are Apple Inc. and Zhonghe Game Company. He is the major shareholder of these two companies, so a copy of the annual reports of both companies was sent to him.

Zhonghe Game Company has nothing to say. It conducted a financing last year. The post-financing valuation at that time was US$220 million. After 40% of Lin Baicheng’s shares were diluted, 36% was left. Speaking of which, he is still the largest shareholder of Zhonghe Game Company. .

However, although Lin Baicheng is the largest shareholder of Zhonghe Game Company, it is Phil Smith who manages the company. Currently, Phil Smith has the idea of ​​​​seriously running the company, and he also initiated the financing.

Lin Baicheng did not attach great importance to Zhonghe Gaming Company, so the company's management rights fell smoothly to Phil Smith, who had fewer shares. Otherwise, if it were replaced by another company, the two parties would definitely have a fierce battle over the company's management rights. .

The performance of Zhonghe Game Company is very good. "Cowboy" was a hit the year before last, and the second "Cowboy" last year was also a hit. Although the performance of the company's self-developed games is not as good as "Cowboy", it is good for the company to make money. , so the company's revenue and profit last year were much higher than the year before.

With the money, Zhonghe Game Company has of course expanded. The company has increased its investment in arcade game research and development, and established a console game R\u0026D department at Lin Baicheng's suggestion, preparing to develop games and sell them on the Xingyue console platform.

Apple's performance last year was also very good. Although IBM is currently preparing to enter the personal computer market, it did not start entering last year. It will definitely enter the personal computer market this year in 1980, and there will be at least a few months of buffer time.

Therefore, last year, the personal computer market was not disrupted by IBM. Apple continued to conquer the market with its personal computers, with profits reaching more than 30 million US dollars. This was because it knew that IBM was about to enter the market and increased its investment in market development. Otherwise, Profits will only be higher.

IBM's imminent entry into the personal computer market will have a huge impact on Apple. Not only did Apple's net profit last year fail to exceed US$40 million, it also affected the company's valuation. Apple's current valuation is only US$400 million. That’s all.

The valuation of US$400 million is still Apple’s external bidding price. Whether the market recognizes this valuation is still a question mark.

Under normal circumstances, if no one competes, a company like Apple with rapid revenue and profit growth will have a premium in valuation, so everyone is optimistic about it and wants to buy shares of the company.

It's a pity that IBM's influence on the computer industry is too great. The giant is about to enter the personal computer market, and the capital market is naturally not so optimistic about Apple. Fortunately, Apple is not without its own efforts, otherwise Wall Street institutions would definitely ask the shareholder board of directors to sell Apple to IBM.

For Wall Street, they don't care who controls Apple, they only care about their own interests.

Lin Baicheng has great expectations for Apple's prospects, but he is now not sure whether Apple can develop on its original trajectory. Fortunately, he does not have control of the company. His own investment plus financing from Pioneer Technology and Hutchison Whampoa is only US$10 million.

Even if Apple cannot compete with IBM, it will not go bankrupt and will be able to retain some assets. Even if Lin Baicheng suffers a loss, it will not be a big loss.

But if Apple withstands IBM's offensive and finally successfully goes public, then Lin Baicheng will make a lot of money, at least hundreds of millions of dollars in return.

The last report was sent by Berkshire Hathaway. Lin Baicheng handed over 10 million US dollars to Buffett in May last year, so Buffett will definitely send a report to Lin Baicheng, the investor, after the year.

This report is not an operating report of Berkshire Hathaway. It is just a summary of the investments involved in Lin Baicheng’s funds and the rate of return that investors are most concerned about.

In half a year, Buffett brought Lin Baicheng a 17.1% return on his $10 million investment.

Don't look at it, it's only 17.1%, and the time is still half a year. It seems that this rate of return is very low, and it is incomparable with Lin Baicheng's investments. But Buffett is stable. If he can have a compound return rate of about 20% every year, after extending the time, it will not only be high but not low.

Lin Baicheng himself was not prepared to hand over the money to Buffett anymore, but when he was free, he asked someone to give Buffett 20 to 30 million US dollars to manage in the name of the Lin Family Fund, and all the profits would continue to be invested. , I believe that the rate of return on this investment will be very impressive in a few decades.

After looking at it, Maori Haruko said: "Makoto-kun, why did you leave your money to Buffett? You are more capable than him and have a higher rate of return. It would be a loss to leave your money to him."

Lin Baicheng smiled and said: "I don't make investments every year. After this time, I don't know when I will have the opportunity. But others make investments every year. If there is a return rate of about 20% every year, Counting compound interest, don’t you think he’s awesome?”

"Then he must have a 20% return rate every year. Is he really that good?"

However, Maori Haruko didn't believe it. She didn't believe Buffett was that powerful.

"You will know how powerful he is later."

Lin Baicheng smiled and said nothing more. Although Buffett, who is only 50 years old, has a good reputation in the American investment community, he is not yet the famous stock god he will be in the future. Therefore, he has no way to explain to Maori Haruko. He can only let Maori Haruko will make her own observation and judgment later.

"I believe that no matter how powerful he is, he is not as powerful as you, Cheng-kun!"

Maori Haruko said, based on the current investment performance, there is no doubt that Lin Baicheng’s performance, gold futures investment will bring him a return of more than 10 billion US dollars, he can be said to be the first person in the investment world, no one Can transcend.

After listening to Haruko Maori's words, Lin Baicheng was not humble at all. He was born again and didn't think he would be worse than Buffett. He still had this confidence.