Chapter 156: Frenzied Investments

William White truly wasn’t afraid of those old-timers. All of them were people of stature, and a simple round of golf could have settled things, yet they dared to act this way? If they refused to treat me like a human being, then I’m sorry—in my eyes, they’re nothing more than symbols.

William White, now unrestrained and reckless, had shorted several waves in the securities market. Wall Street had never seen such savage tactics before—was he planning to take on the world in fury?

Heh, my friend isn’t arrogant like Ao Tian; he wouldn’t be so reckless. While shorting a few stocks, he was also quietly building his positions.

“Boss, aside from aggressively accumulating tech stocks, he’s also bought a large amount of Coca-Cola shares. PepsiCo is involved too, but in smaller quantities.”

“Has his short position been fully covered?”

“It’s over. The losses are expected to exceed fifty million dollars.”

“Fifty million? Hah, the damage he’s caused is worth over five hundred million.”

“Boss, it’s terrifying. Wall Street is already on edge. No one knows what his endgame is.”

“Hmph, what else could it be but intimidation—a warning shot to see who dares to challenge the madman.”

First self-destructing, then attacking—this truly left people at a loss. Unless you’re indifferent to losses, this was an unsolvable deadlock.

Fortunately, it seemed he had played enough; he began aggressively building positions. Many stocks had climbed beyond five. It wouldn’t be long before the White Fund appeared on the boards of numerous companies.

Such a bold purchasing spree—could it be that he no longer intended to acquire Disney?

The American economic crisis hadn’t bottomed out yet; that was Wall Street’s consensus.

So what did they see now?

This was clearly a bottom-fishing maneuver.

What had really happened?

Sure, you’re impressive, but that was futures trading. The stock market was a completely different realm; this was sheer recklessness.

High tech?

Alright, those stocks were too small, and luck played a big part. One wrong move, and it would be total ruin. But what about Coca-Cola? Even if he was buying it all up, it shouldn’t have surged this much.

Hundreds of millions in capital meant little to Wall Street, but the concentration of funds was what made this interesting.

“Boss, the positions should be fully established now. They likely have no excess funds left.”

“Mostly small companies. Hmm, keep a close eye on them.”

Wall Street’s fund managers wouldn’t follow blindly. To them, William White was just digging his own grave. Their investments were gradual and measured; such aggressive building was child’s play.

They were certain the White Fund was operating on a different level. They all moved in the same circles, and this kind of strategy only had one explanation: William White’s personal decision.

Even if they mocked him, they dared not complain. He had the money—what could they be dissatisfied about?

William White was indeed wealthy. His recently released detective film grossed just fifty million less than Star Wars at the North American box office.

Of course, the global box office gap was significant.

But so what? It was still a hefty profit. The production cost was less than a third of Star Wars. Clearly, who made more money was obvious.

No wonder some were eyeing him. His earning power was terrifying. The industries he owned earned him two to three hundred million annually with ease.

What was most infuriating was that these profits were entirely his personal gain.

Apple making three hundred million a year was considered impressive, yet this man earned the same amount individually. The difference defied logic.

Why hadn’t he taken the company public?

Who said he hadn’t?

Just as the Wall Street elite grumbled, William White’s company officially launched its Series A financing.

This time, it was done with full sincerity—not only the software and gaming companies, but the comic book company also initiated financing.

Each company offered fifteen percent equity; the highest bidder would win.

Some questioned why raise funds so early. Wouldn’t it be better to wait until the company matured to go public and raise money?

That was impossible. The American culture was about shared interests—otherwise, why would Google go public?

You couldn’t quietly get rich alone. If the film company wasn’t up for acquisition, this financing would still proceed.

Besides, the cost of capital was absurdly high now—twenty percent interest was staggering.

Constantly borrowing from local lenders was troublesome; they were aware of the yen’s appreciation, but he was unwilling to borrow in yen. Small amounts were fine, but large sums would be unbearable even for local banks.

With such a huge interest rate differential, did William White alone know to borrow abroad? Many American companies were considering it.

Unfortunately, this advantage was reserved for multinational corporations. Farmers might as well give up—their cows and fields held no interest for these financiers.

Now it was the investment banks’ turn to worry.

Looking for cheap chips?

Forget it. Haven’t you seen the local and London brokers eager to get involved?

William White clearly wouldn’t only list on the New York Stock Exchange. Whether he’d also list locally was uncertain, but a London listing was a done deal.

Valuation was the real headache.

Five hundred million?

Good luck getting a piece of that.

How could such a small company list on two exchanges?

“Ten billion? Are the locals crazy? How could it be worth that much?”

“Boss, that’s just the comic company’s valuation. The gaming company is at twelve billion. It seems these aren’t the final offers.”

“No, no, there must be something we don’t know. Find out quickly.”

Of course, there was something they didn’t know. The locals not only knew White had invested in a toy manufacturer but were also closely watching his gaming machine ventures.

To them, this was a goldmine. If they didn’t move quickly, they would regret it forever.

They knew exactly how profitable the three local gaming machine manufacturers were.

There were smart people among them who grasped William White’s motives easily. But so what? Knowing it was poison wine, would you refuse to drink?

The answer was no.

It might be a slow poison, but if you refused, you’d die of thirst in the desert.

Die now or maybe die later—the choice was simple.

As for the Americans’ endless fussing, the locals were speechless. Comics were one thing, but games were another. These were no problem! If it were up to us, the scale would be even more outrageous.

“Hmph, those little guys have some insight. Pearson, what do you think is wrong with those old geezers? Are they all already rotten?”

“Boss, if you showed them the plan, their choices would be very different.”

“Ha, if I’d shown them earlier, the effect would be completely different. Don’t worry, with such a huge price gap, they’ll definitely want to know the reason. Just keep drawing it out.”

Pearson couldn’t help but marvel at his boss’s cunning. Those old-timers would be thoroughly frustrated!