章節 752: Chapter 752: A War of Words
Of the three groups, Xia Yu's group was responsible for taking down the Coller Perkins company, which had the strongest relationship with Professor Herb Boyer.
Although Coller Perkins had invested in Genentech three times, seemingly supporting Professor Herb Boyer all along, Xia Yu didn't care.
Its weakness was its weakness. Venture capital firms like Coller Perkins generally invested in angel or Series A rounds, and being able to co-invest in a Series B round was already the limit.
Genentech was pushed to go public, and it no longer conducted a Series C financing round. It is possible that they were behind this.
At this time, Genentech's valuation exceeded 100 million. If a Series C financing round was opened, 10% of the equity would require at least 10 million US dollars, or even more.
With the strength of Coller Perkins, it is difficult to follow up. After all, their company's available capital does not exceed 50 million US dollars, and it is impossible to invest in only one project, Genentech, so the company's liquidity will definitely not be high.
Genentech was already valued high enough, and pushing it to go public and letting public capital bear the risk was the best way to go. Coller Perkins would also be able to unwind its position and make a profit, and use the huge profits earned to invest in new seed enterprises, thus growing in a cycle.
Because they had made an appointment in advance, Xia Yu and the others were led by the receptionist to meet Coller Perkins CEO Harry Morrison, as well as two other executives.
Seeing Xia Yu and the other four members of the team, with a young yellow man at the centre, Harry Morrison's gaze fixed, and several thoughts flashed through his mind.
He had never heard of Polaris Capital before, and when he made the appointment yesterday, he made a point of asking around, but didn't get much information, just that it was a newly established company.
However, he did not doubt the strength of Polaris Capital. According to his investigation, Polaris Capital had bought a 30-storey office building in downtown San Francisco as soon as it arrived.
In any case, with the strength of their company, Colliers Perkins, they definitely did not have the spare money to buy an office building!
Therefore, he was cautious and even vigilant towards Polaris Capital, whose intentions were unknown.
It is best not to offend a company with such a mysterious background!
Harry Morrison's true attitude was not shown. He warmly greeted Xia Yu and the others and asked them to sit down. After his subordinates poured tea and coffee for everyone, he drank his coffee and waited for Xia Yu to start the conversation.
'Mr Xia, it is an honour to meet you all, and welcome!'
'Thank you, Mr Morrison, for your warm hospitality!'
...
'Mr Xia, I wonder what I can do for you during your visit?' After the pleasantries, Harry Morrison asked, his gaze fixed on Xia Yu.
Xia Yu smiled slightly and said, 'The main reason I've come to bother you is to do you a favour. Of course, it's also in our interests to speak honestly, so it's a win-win situation.'
Harry Morrison couldn't help but nod in agreement, but he was even more on his guard. He didn't believe in such good things, and he continued to inquire, 'I wonder what it is?'
Xia Yu smiled and said bluntly, "Actually, I want to acquire the equity in Genentech that your company holds.'
Harry Morrison's face suddenly changed, and before he could speak, a middle-aged white man in his thirties next to him said in a decisive tone, "Impossible, the equity in Genentech is not for sale!'
Seeing the person next to him speak, Harry Morrison's face eased a little, but his tone was equally cold, as if leaving no room for compromise, he refused, 'I'm sorry, Mr. Xia, we cannot meet your request!'
Xia Yu stopped his subordinate who wanted to speak, his expression indifferent, he smiled and looked at the person who spoke first, inquiring, 'May I have the pleasure of knowing your name, sir?'
Xia Yu's attitude was very friendly, so the middle-aged white man's face also eased slightly, and he spat out a few words: 'Robert Swanson!'
Xia Yu suddenly understood. It turned out to be the one who discovered Genentech. No wonder the reaction was so fierce.
With his achievements in discovering Genentech, it is normal to become a senior partner of Coller Perkins. No wonder he can accompany Harry Morrison.
Xia Yu smiled and said, 'Mr. Swanson, and Mr. Morrison, in fact, you don't need to refuse so quickly. There is nothing in the world that cannot be sold. The key is whether the price is satisfactory. I haven't even made an offer yet, so why are you refusing so quickly?'
'Maybe my price will satisfy you?'
Harry Morrison and Robert Swanson glanced at each other and saw surprise in each other's eyes.
After exchanging glances, Robert Swanson and Harry Morrison looked at each other with a cold expression and said, 'Mr. Xia, Genentech is now in the process of going public, and it will be listed in six months at the most. By then, its market value will definitely be several times higher than its current valuation. Why should we pick the fruit early?'
Xia Yu shook his head and argued, 'It's hard to say if it will be several times higher or not, because so far, Genentech has not yet made a profit. No one knows how the capital market will choose, and it might even fall below the issue price.'
Robert Swanson is no pushover either. He directly seized Xia Yu's sore spot and strongly refuted, 'The issue price will definitely not fall below the offering price! Maybe before I wasn't sure how the capital market would choose, but now that you are here, our confidence has been strengthened. I believe that Genentech will definitely be able to successfully go public and the stock price will significantly exceed the opening price!'
Okay, Xia Yu's argument was directly shut down by Robert Swanson.
However, Xia Yu had prepared well in advance before coming, and had already thought of a long list of reasons for negotiation.
Without acknowledging Robert Swanson's claims, he simply ignored them and opened another front, saying, 'Mr Swanson, if Genentech can go public in six months, your original shares will be locked for one year before they can be unlocked for trading. In other words, your capital will be locked for at least one and a half years, and even if the stock price of Genentech is high, you will not be able to cash out.'
'With the current pace of technological development, countless companies with great potential will emerge in the year and a half. Are you willing to miss out on them for financial reasons?'
Weakness is a fatal weakness. If Coller Perkins had a strong capital base, Xia Yu's reason would be untenable.
But saying it now made Harry Morrison and Robert Swanson look bad.
At this point, another middle-aged man, Colin Hicks, who had been sitting silently, spoke up in defence, saying, 'Mr Xia, you don't need to worry about this. We can afford to wait six months. Genentech has gone public, and even if our original shares are locked up, we can still pledge our equity and find a bank loan.'
'And I believe that as long as Genentech goes public, there will be a steady stream of investors waving US dollars at us to invest.'
Xia Yu smiled and said, 'It's hard to say whether investors will come knocking on our door. After all, it hasn't happened yet. Let me just say one thing: if you want to take out a loan using Genentech shares as collateral, the prerequisite is that Genentech is successfully listed.'
'Then, you also know very well how conservative banks are. They like stocks of companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange, and they don't recognise stocks on Nasdaq. Otherwise, there wouldn't be a venture capital market.'
'Even if you find a bank willing to pledge a loan, the loan ratio will be four or five times. After all, for banks, Nasdaq stocks with high stock prices and negative profits are too risky.'
'With so many risks, you still need to pay the bank high interest. What if one day Genentech's stock price plummets, or you don't find a new potential company? What will happen then?'
Xia Yu's statement left the three of them speechless, not knowing how to refute it.
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