Chapter 766: Final preparation period

Shahai Entertainment is really big with low-cost horror movies. This can also be said to be the housekeeper of Relativity Entertainment. The success of "Human Skin Inn" has added a hot-selling horror film series to Relativity Entertainment.

Compared to commercial productions that are far from the best results on small screens, horror movies have always been a hot spot in the rental market.

This type of film has very low requirements for playback hardware.

Nowadays, DVDs have become the mainstream of the offline market. Although many people still have not given up the habit of watching video tapes because of the number of video recorders, the total revenue from video tape rental in the North American market does not even account for one third of DVDs.

Compared to DVD players, the price of video recorders is a bit scary.

As early as 2002, the average price of video recorders in North America dropped below US$200.

The video recorder imported from the other side of the Pacific Ocean is more competitive, which directly brought the widespread popularity of DVD players in North America.

These also provide strong support for Netflix's online leasing business.

Since 2005, Netflix’s business has grown tremendously. Several Internet star businesses have taken a multi-pronged approach and attracted a large number of new users.

One point cannot be ignored. Over time, computers and the Internet have become highly popular in North America, and even the smartphone market is expanding.

Especially the Internet speed. Since the second half of 2004, the Internet speed in North America has been significantly faster.

Although I don’t know how many ranks are compared to the infrastructure madness on the other side of the Pacific, the bright prospects of the Internet have stimulated communication companies to actively invest.

While further improving the wired network, many telecom companies are focusing on the mobile terminal.

There are already millions of smartphone users in the United States.

This industry also has unlimited prospects.

Someone once said that this is one of the best eras of the Internet. Too many giant Internet companies have developed after the NASDAQ stock market crash in 2000.

The industry disaster brought about by the stock market seems to have promoted a major reshuffle of the industry, causing many companies to defer to the inferior and save the superior. Later, many superstar companies appeared.

Google, Amazon, and Netflix.

With the continuous optimization of the overall environment and the smooth listing of overseas businesses, coupled with the stimulation of Netflix’s streaming media business and Netflix sharing and other businesses that meet the needs of social development, Netflix’s streaming media business in particular has transformed a considerable number of ordinary users into Fei's monthly fee user.

In the first quarter of 2005, Netflix experienced explosive growth and achieved an operating income of USD 787.99 million.

As Netflix announced its first quarter earnings report in April, more people began to pay attention to the Internet company.

After Netflix signed contracts with a number of large mobile phone manufacturers, it has negotiated new partners. Netflix officially signed an agreement with BlackBerry in mid-April, and related apps will also become pre-installed software for BlackBerry phones.

In addition, Netflix's performance in DVD sales is also extremely impressive.

After the success of "Prison Break" and "Survival in the Wild", in order to meet the needs of users who lack sufficient Internet on-demand hardware conditions, Netflix launched the rental and sales service of two dramas on the rental and sales platform.

Thanks to the explosion of word-of-mouth and the speed of the Internet as a carrier, the DVD sales of these two dramas are amazing, and only North America alone sold more than 30 million US dollars in revenue.

DVDs are now the most important income for movies and TV. A considerable number of movies have DVD profits that have exceeded the box office.

Many people even joked that the theater screening of a movie is just a super advertisement for DVDs.

While Hollywood and surrounding related companies are still immersed in the huge returns brought by the DVD business, under Ronan's vigorous promotion, Netflix has actively expanded new business and prepared for the decline of DVD in advance.

Since 2005, with the popularization of home broadband and the substantial increase in network speed, Netflix has actively begun to transition to streaming media.

Netflix gradually provides users with online movie watching services, fully supporting computers, mobile phones and other devices to watch.

Rich content and good user experience have enabled Netflix's streaming media business to develop rapidly.

The listing plan has also entered the final stage. After a long period of hard work, Netflix, with its own fast-growing business and growing influence, has reached an agreement with a company under Goldman Sachs that is specifically responsible for the operation of the listing on the key rate of ipo. Consistent.

Google’s listing last year also provided a reference for Netflix’s ipo rate.

Today, Netflix is ​​also one of the most attractive Internet star companies in Silicon Valley.

Due to high enough estimates from the outside world, like Google before, Netflix has been bargaining with Goldman Sachs on the rate, and the final rate is basically the same as when Google went public.

This time Ipo’s rate is 2.8%, instead of the more conventional 4% rate for ipo transactions that raise hundreds of millions of dollars.

Most IPO companies, and almost all those companies that have raised US$50 million to US$200 million, pay underwriters as a percentage of their IPO proceeds.

This is also inseparable from Goldman Sachs's extreme optimism about the amount of funds raised.

Because Netflix will be listed in dozens of days, Ronan also took the time to meet with prospective investors, along with Mark Randolph and others, accompanied by the professional team of Goldman Sachs.

is not only to let them know more about Netflix's business and the future, but also to increase the confidence of investors.

In fact, since the beginning of this year, Goldman Sachs has started a long-term "ipo roadshow" promotion plan.

When a company goes public, in order to stimulate demand, the company’s senior managers and the underwriters hired to make the company go public usually spend a very long time, from one city to another, to make investment recommendations to institutional investors and answer problem.

If you want people to invest, you have to show the prospects of investment profits.

During the Google IPO roadshow last year, the management refused to answer many questions asked by investors. As a result, many traditional investment institutions that didn’t know much about the Internet were reluctant to anticipate Google’s future profitability in a good direction.

Although Google's strength quickly hit the face, it is recognized that Google's ipo did not meet expectations.

Ronan has also increased his understanding of this aspect due to the upcoming launch of Netflix, and also focused on Google’s ipo experience last year.

Google’s ipo did not meet expectations, which was related to the poor promotion of the roadshow and was inseparable from the underwriter.

Compared with the traditional ipo, Google uses the auction model, which makes traditional underwriters feel a huge threat. It was once rumored that Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley, as the underwriters, wanted to secretly disrupt the auction.

According to Ronan’s understanding, the lead underwriters don’t want Google’s auction model to succeed, but for the sake of income, they certainly don’t want to fail.

In the end, Google’s ipo did not meet expectations and only raised $1.9 billion.

Similarly, the shares offered by Google on the ipo account for only 8% of the company's shares.

Compared with Google when it went public last year, Netflix's performance and scale are not bad.

Google is the leader of the Internet search business, and Netflix is ​​also a well-deserved overlord in its respective industries in terms of DVD rental and sales, social sharing and streaming services.

On the other hand, the performance of Google after its listing will also have a positive impact on Netflix. After all, people who invested in Google last year, including Ronan, have made great profits.

At a recent communication meeting, Goldman Sachs conservatively estimated the total market value of Netflix after its listing at 35 billion U.S. dollars.

The previous stock price of any company ipo will not be set in stone, which is affected by many factors.

Because the underwriters, the company's own business and investors have changed, the stock price setting of the listing may change at any time.

"Mr. Anderson, are you ready?"

In the reception room of the Theory of Relativity Building, the chief operating officer of Goldman Sachs Group Lloyd Blankfein smiled and said to Ronan: "In a few dozen days, you will become the youngest billionaire in America."

Ronan's mentality is fairly stable, and he deliberately spread his hands and said: "If Netflix's stock can't sell, it will be embarrassing."

Lloyd Blankfein laughed haha: "I can guarantee that Netflix's stock will be robbed by buyers."

Ronan said again: "The final preparation period is over, I hope there will be no accidents."

"No." Lloyd Blankfein put a smile away, and said very seriously: "Goldman Sachs does not allow accidents."

He turned to Ronan and asked, "What about your plan? How are your preparations?"

Ronan nodded slightly: "Everything is ready, once Netflix is ​​listed, it will be launched immediately."

Pulling Netflix's stock price and increasing Netflix's market value will not only enhance investor confidence, but also prepare for the continued expansion of Relativity Entertainment.

Lloyd Blankfein further asked: "Is the streaming business ready to work?"

Ronan said directly: "The content production aspect of Relativity Entertainment You can rest assured."

Lloyd Blankfein thought of the relevant information that he had read. Since the beginning of the new millennium, in commercial film and television production, Relativity Entertainment is placed in Hollywood and placed in the world. They are the most trusted content production providers. Quotient.

The previous "Prison Break" and "Survival in the Wild" on Netflix's streaming media also proved that as a traditional producer's relativistic entertainment, the content produced is also applicable to the Internet.

Besides, on the Internet promotion, the tricks of relativity entertainment play are beyond description simply by being outstanding.

In the eyes of Lloyd Blankfein, Relativity Entertainment is a traditional film and television company with profound Internet genes. Ronan Anderson is also a rare investor and decision maker with a long-term vision for the development of the Internet industry in Hollywood and even in the United States.

The final sprint stage before Netflix's listing has arrived, and then Robert Iger and Mark Randolph also joined the discussion.

Ronan has been extremely busy during this period. As the true boss and future development decision maker of Netflix, he cannot be absent from many important promotion occasions.

So that it was not Tom Cruise who came to him, Ronan had forgotten another important thing.

"You are obviously unqualified as the owner of a football club." Tom Cruise said directly to Ronan: "The team can't feel your attention."

He reminded Ronan: "European football leagues have reached the final stage."