Chapter 320 Buying Hermes at a Low Price

In mid-August, Misia officially landed on the Euronext amid the anticipation of countless European investors.

The stock price rose by 10% at the opening, which shows how optimistic the market is.

Misia is releasing a total of 15% of its shares this time, with an expected fundraising of 15 billion euros.

The fundraising of 15 billion euros is one of the most ambitious IPOs in recent years.

Misia’s CEO Shen Wan has become a hot commodity among major investment banks.

After several rounds of screening, Shen Wan selected several investment banks with good reputation and quotations as underwriters.

BNP Paribas, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan Chase successfully won Misia's IPO project.

Even if Misia's IPO business is not profitable, many companies are scrambling to take it over.

This is an epic IPO project and the best reflection of their business capabilities.

As the behind-the-scenes boss of Misia, Qi Sheng's personal wealth also skyrocketed.

There are so many calls of congratulations that it's annoying.

It wasn't until Qi Sheng muted his phone that things calmed down.

Misia's market value of 110 billion euros is equivalent to one-third of the LVMH Group.

But it is still some distance away from the trillion level of system revenue growth authority.

Only by continuing mergers and acquisitions can Misia’s market value continue to rise.

As long as it breaks through the trillion threshold, Misia’s market value will naturally rise steadily thanks to the system-like revenue growth.

But there are not many acquisition targets on the market that can interest Qi Sheng.

Kering Group, market value 82 billion euros.

Chanel, market value 47 billion euros.

Hermès, market value 25 billion euros.

Wait, Hermès’ market value is so low?

Qi Sheng's eyes stopped at the current market value of Hermès, and his eyes suddenly lit up.

If he remembered correctly, Hermès' current market value was at its lowest point.

The system quotation is also based on the sales of various luxury brands.

With a market value of 25 billion euros, Hermès still has at least half the room for growth compared to its potential.

Qi Sheng thought for a moment and directly set his acquisition target as Hermès.

After the acquisition of Burberry, Misia's estimated annual sales increased to 22 billion euros.

This is before the increase in revenue authority, after which sales will reach 35.2 billion euros.

On average, monthly sales approach 3 billion euros.

Abramovich paid 5 billion euros to acquire a stake in Misia.

Adding the 15 billion euros raised in this round, there is still a funding gap of nearly 5 billion euros.

Misia's cash flow was almost drained when it acquired Burberry.

Shen Wan did give Qi Sheng a suggestion, that he could contact some investment banks that do private loan business.

Compared with private equity investment, there is a possibility of losing all the money.

Private placement loans are a new investment direction that many investment banks are continuously increasing their investment in.

The returns are stable and the cycle is not long.

Especially in the context of an economic downturn, the development of private lending business has been extremely rapid.

After some wrangling, Shen Wan finally managed to deal with several giant companies in the private equity loan field.

Led by Blackstone Group, Goldman Sachs, Carlyle and BlackRock jointly invested to provide credit financing of up to 5 billion euros.

The loan period is set at 5 years with an annual interest rate of 10%.

As the funds arrived, Qi Sheng completed the acquisition of Hermès through the system.

25 billion euros is indeed an astronomical figure.

But for the Hermès brand, it is clearly underestimated.

When the deal was announced, the entire luxury industry, and even the investment circle, were all shocked.

Who would have thought that Misia’s first big move after its listing would be to acquire Hermès.

If this had happened before the transaction announcement was released, they would never have believed it.

Hermes, for many ordinary people.

It is no longer just a brand, but also a standard.

Many brands like to use Hermès as a gimmick in their promotions.

With the completion of the transaction, Hermès officially transformed from a family brand to the most dazzling crown of Misia.

It is no exaggeration to call it a crown.

None of the major brands in the world today can be compared with Hermès.

Shen Wan is naturally confident in Qi Sheng's "acquisition team".

But it was not until all members of the Hermès family signed that he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Arnault, the boss of LVMH Group, has been eyeing Hermès for more than a year or two.

If it weren't for the concerted efforts of the Hermès family, it might have been acquired by the LVMH Group long ago.

…

When old Arnault heard the news, he was stunned.

Is this still the Hermès family that sacrificed their personal interests to unite against him in order to preserve the family brand? 25 billion euros, this price is simply ridiculously low.

If the Hermès family had given any hint of the deal beforehand, old Arnault would have chosen to acquire the company without hesitation.

But it was not until the announcement was issued that he learned that the two companies had completed the transaction.

I could only be a bystander and watch Hermès being merged into Misia.

First it was Tiffany, then Richemont, and then Hermès.

All the companies that interested him were snatched away by Misha.

The only company on the market that could interest old Arnault is Kering Group.

However, Kering Group's market value of 82 billion euros is obviously not something that LVMH Group can easily swallow.

As the deal was announced, Misia's stock continued to rise.

It wasn't until September that Misia's market value finally stabilized at 130 billion euros.

Just reaching the system's trillion-yuan growth threshold will result in an 80% revenue increase.

After the merger with Hermès, Misia's estimated annual sales increased from 22 billion euros to 28.3 billion euros.

Combined with an 80% revenue increase, sales soared to 51 billion euros.

Annual net profit also soared to more than 5 billion euros.

This amplification effect made Qi Sheng unable to help but be amazed. It was really too terrifying.

This means that Misia’s revenue has doubled out of thin air.

Specific to offline.

That is, someone who originally wanted to buy an LV bag might suddenly change his mind and buy Hermès or Prada.

The luxury goods market is only so big.

If Qi Sheng earns more, LVMH Group will naturally earn less.

Qi Sheng would never have too much of such good things that harm the enemy and benefit himself.

But the system's growth is based on real sales.

Unless Qi Sheng wants to lie down.

Otherwise, if you want to make more, you still have to tap into the potential value of these brands.

For example, Hermès’ estimated sales this year is only 6.3 billion euros, so there is still a lot of room for growth.

At the very least, it would have to be more than 10 billion euros.

…

Qi Sheng’s girlfriends were happier than he was about the acquisition of Hermès.

Who made you have to go through all kinds of shopping if you wanted to buy a Hermès bag in the past?

Now, all limited edition bags are left for them to choose from.

They can even communicate with Hermès' design department.

Customize the leather and color of the bag according to your preferences.

I wonder how many girls would be envious of such treatment.

Even the high and mighty Hermès has to humble itself and serve Qi Sheng’s girlfriends carefully.

The world is big, but the boss lady is the biggest.

Qi Sheng waved his hand and arranged purple gold cards for all his girlfriends.

It’s just a small celebration of my full acquisition of Juneyao Airlines.

Previously, Qi Sheng acquired 51% of the shares of Juneyao Airlines.

With the arrival of funds in early September, Qi Sheng immediately bought out all the remaining shares.

After a total investment of 23 billion, Juneyao Airlines was finally fully incorporated into its group.

Compared with the funds used by Misia to acquire Hermes.

Shengxuan Group's acquisition of Juneyao Airlines can only be regarded as a drop in the ocean.

But it also caused quite a stir in China.

Acquisitions worth tens of billions of dollars don't happen easily.

Shengxuan Group attracted a lot of attention when it made its first public appearance.

This month, another thing that made Qi Sheng quite satisfied was the public beta of "Genshin Impact".

As an epic game, there is no doubt that "Genshin Impact" has the ability to make money.

After only one month of going online, it contributed US$350 million in turnover.

Liu Wei and others who had cashed out earlier had red eyes.

Although they had a hunch that "Genshin Impact" might be a big hit.

But I never dreamed that the revenue of "Genshin Impact" would explode to such an unparalleled level.

…

Singapore, Time Knot Technologies.

Since moving here to work, the three of them have experienced a lot of friction.

There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!

Fortunately, the three of them were restrained, but the development progress of the game was very slow.

It even reached a point where Liu Wei could no longer tolerate it.

Development work often comes to a halt due to different opinions, which increases a lot of R&D costs.

Even so, Liu Wei still actively comforted her.

Otherwise, development progress will be even slower.

"Haoyu, why don't we just stick to our old ways?"

Liu Wei watched as "Genshin Impact" topped the revenue charts on both Apple and Google channels.

Thinking about the current projects whose development progress is as slow as a snail, they can't help but doubt the correctness of their current choice.

"Lao Liu, since Genshin Impact has been a success, you should believe that I have the ability to lead the team to develop a groundbreaking AAA shooting game."

"I understand your concerns, but we were able to develop a hit game like Genshin Impact with less than $100 million."

"With a $500 million R&D budget, it makes no sense that the game they make would be worse."

Cai Haoyu's brows were filled with unprecedented confidence.

"Genshin Impact" is his most proud signature work.

It also makes the employees who follow him believe that their new projects will be equally successful.

"Well, but we do have to speed up our progress here."

Liu Wei could only take a step back, as he also wanted to lead the research and development of new projects.

But now is the time when Cai Haoyu’s personal prestige is at its peak.

Whether it is the employees brought in from China or the newly recruited employees from abroad, they are more convinced of Cai Haoyu's abilities.

Unless he can achieve results, he will have no chance of taking away Cai Haoyu's voice.

But with the strength of their new company, it is already very difficult for them to develop just this one game.

Liu Wei can only hope now that Cai Haoyu can continue the success of "Genshin Impact".

Let "PJSH" which is currently under development also be a great success.

Otherwise, they really can only consider retirement with tens of billions of cash.

…

miHoYo Building.

Ever since the public beta became a hit, the entire company has been filled with a sense of joy.

With the money-making potential of "Genshin Impact", the total revenue should exceed 4 billion US dollars, so it shouldn't be a problem.

Excluding the platform’s share, the subsequent annual maintenance cost is US$200 million.

The net profit will be at least 2 billion US dollars.

Considering the big boss’s generosity, I’m sure the year-end bonus will be quite a lot.

Seeing that the employees were so excited, Yu Chenxi didn't hide it anymore.

The distribution plan of the year-end bonus was announced openly.

All employees involved in game development will receive at least 6 months of year-end bonus.

Employees who make outstanding contributions can receive up to 12 months' year-end bonus.

Other employees also receive a three-month year-end bonus.

This wave is truly a celebration for the people.

Everyone couldn't help but cheer.

After the joy, Yu Chenxi also announced that the company will invest no less than 200 million US dollars in the research and development of a new project, tentatively named "Honkai Impact 3rd".

Although "Genshin Impact" brought astonishing revenue to the company, it is, after all, the valuable wealth left by Cai Haoyu.

Yu Chenxi wants to replace Cai Haoyu and become the new soul figure of miHoYo.

At least you have to have a project that you can show off.

"Star Iron" is Yu Chenxi's best chance to prove himself.

In terms of production budget, "Star-Gate" is twice that of "Genshin Impact".

But even Yu Chenxi himself was a little unsure.

The market is generally not optimistic about turn-based games like "Star Rail".

Including Yu Chenxi, they have the same mentality.

But Qi Sheng is very optimistic about this project.

Yu Chenxi had no choice but to bite the bullet and take charge of the project personally.

Although Qi Sheng didn't put pressure on him, it didn't matter even if the project failed.

But Yu Chenxi still wanted to achieve something.

At the very least, he had to prove that he could sit in this position not just because he was the boss's confidant.

…

Qi Sheng had already anticipated the situation at miHoYo.

Qi Sheng even added a revenue-boosting buff to "Genshin Impact".

MiHoYo’s market value is not high, only 12 billion.

In the range of 10-100 billion, a 40% revenue increase can be achieved.

MiHoYo's original first month revenue should have been 250 million US dollars.

With the system's buff, it skyrocketed by 40%.

It is no problem for the total revenue of "Genshin Impact" to exceed 5 billion US dollars.

There is even hope of reaching 6 billion US dollars.

Remove platform share, R&D and maintenance budget.

Net profit can reach at least 3 billion US dollars.

It only cost 18 billion to acquire miHoYo, buy buildings, and inject capital into the company.

Just by playing "Genshin Impact", Qi Sheng easily made back his investment, and he made pure profit later on.

While MiHoYo announced its first month's revenue, Shengxuan Group was also not idle.

Its subsidiary Shengxuan Media completed the acquisition of Weibo shares held by Alibaba at a price of 13 billion, becoming the second largest shareholder of Weibo.

Alibaba has been wanting to sell its shares in Weibo for some time.

As the big entertainment strategy has yet to bear fruit, Alibaba’s board of directors had long hinted that it was interested in selling its Weibo shares.

This price is just right.

Ali cashed out and left with satisfaction, and Qi Sheng also got the voice he wanted.

For ordinary people, Weibo may just be a news tool.

But for celebrities, it means something completely different.

It is no exaggeration to say that Weibo can completely determine the life or death of a star.

As the main publicity platform for celebrities, Weibo has a position that cannot be replaced by other short video platforms.

Universe Entertainment, Star Cinemas, Star Video, and Weibo.

From film and television production to release and promotion, Qi Sheng has created a perfect closed-loop industrial chain.

To say that Qi Sheng used to be so, he did not have the power of life and death over celebrities.

But now it’s different, he really has the energy.

It’s just a matter of a word for him to ban someone.

As the influence of Xingchen Video grows, Qi Sheng’s voice will inevitably increase.

With such power, female celebrities can sleep with whomever they want.

Although Qi Sheng would not be so shameless, who could resist the temptation of such power? It was only a matter of time before he acquired Weibo in full.

Qi Sheng naturally wanted to get involved in the short video platform.

But Douyin has been developed for so long that it is not so easy to replace.

Qi Sheng is not in a hurry to expose his ambitions. He first practices with the three major platforms in the long video field.

Once these three companies are tamed, it won’t be too late to say goodbye to ByteDance.

When it comes to algorithm talent reserves, Qi Sheng doesn't believe ByteDance can beat System.

Even the short video platform he created failed to surpass Douyin.

It won’t be a problem to reach Kuaishou’s level.

(End of this chapter)