Chapter 24 Chapter 5 Conquering NASDAQ: The Focus Myth is staged in the United States

Several sensational Chinese concept stocks, such as Sina, Sohu, NetEase, China.com and AsiaInfo, were listed pioneers and achieved success in the NASDAQ stock market in the United States, which stimulated Jiang Nanchun.In order to make the company bigger, Jiang Nanchun thought of listing on NASDAQ in the United States to raise funds for Focus. What makes Focus Media able to impress the US capital market?Jiang Nanchun, who is strategizing, is very clear about the four major characteristics of Focus Media that are different from others and are very convincing: first, the performance of high technology is similar to that of TV advertisements; second, the audience is "focused" rather than "popular", targeting Different buildings and different groups of people; third, broadcast corresponding advertisements within a specific time; fourth, mandatory acceptance, only LCD advertisements can be viewed in a specific space waiting for the elevator.These characteristics of building LCD advertisements are of interest to corporate customers, and they also hope that their product advertisements can accurately reach the target audience.

These four reasons carefully prepared by Jiang Nanchun, coupled with the huge profits China has brought to Focus, Jiang Nanchun believes that his business model will definitely impress American capital.And in the end, the facts proved it. I don't know who yelled such a voice first, maybe it was Zhang Chaoyang, maybe it was Ding Lei, or maybe it was Mao Daolin, it's impossible to ascertain.But this is the first voice of Chinese dot coms for the "gold rush".Therefore, in this period of rapid development and growth relying on capital operation, the fashionable slogan is "Always need people, always need money", so listing operation has become a very fashionable term at present, and the term that all media companies are most fascinated by.

With the Internet economy gradually stepping out of the shadow of the bubble, the stock prices of the three major Chinese portals Sohu, Sina, and NetEase on Nasdaq skyrocketed like a storm.Under the demonstrative effect of such a huge rise in stock prices, a group of Chinese Internet companies with good profitability have come up with the idea of ​​going public.Jiang Nanchun, who is in the advertising media industry, is of course also eager to try it out, and really wants to go to the other side of the Atlantic to join in the fun. However, Nasdaq used to be a nightmare for the entire Chinese Internet industry, which caused the performance of listed companies to be dull and the interest of listed companies to decline.In the crazy age when the dot-com bubble had not yet burst, Nasdaq became a symbol of sudden wealth; however, when the myth of the Internet economy was punctured, Nasdaq became the god of plague that people could not avoid.The stock index fell again and again, not only caused huge losses to investors, but also caused a huge blow to all Chinese Internet companies connected with Nasdaq.Sohu, Sina, NetEase and other portal websites that were listed on NASDAQ at that time, their lives were hanging by a thread when the stock market was at a low ebb, and their stock prices even fell below $1.

The Internet industry was gradually rejuvenating, and Nasdaq began to slowly come out of the downturn.Ctrip was the first to go public, and achieved great success on the first day.Baidu, eLong, and Shanda are scrambling to be the first, followed closely behind.Including Tencent, TOM, Etang, 263, Huicong, 8848, Linktone, Ninth City, etc., there are as many as a dozen companies actively preparing for the IPO reserve army, and the momentum is huge. Encouraged by Internet companies listed on NASDAQ, how could Jiang Nanchun, who has always been unwilling to be inferior to others, give up such opportunities.It is against this background that Focus also ushered in "a ray of sunshine in spring" on Nasdaq, and Jiang Nanchun became so successful overnight as a result of being listed on Nasdaq and making profits from the soaring stock price. Envy.

Nasdaq (Nasdaq), founded in 1971, is the English abbreviation of the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations. The global stock market has become synonymous with the Nasdaq stock market and the largest electronic stock market in the world. Along with the success of Nasdaq, a large number of high-tech companies such as Microsoft, Intel, and Yahoo have also grown and become representatives of the new American economy.The president and CEO of Nasdaq, Greifeld once said proudly: "Nasdaq is the world's largest electronic stock trading market, and its leading position is unmatched."

Focus has set its sights on the NASDAQ stock market in the United States. Although its road to listing is not a smooth road, it is also surmounting obstacles and walking on thin ice.But in fact, Focus has many options for listing, such as the domestic A-share stock market, Hong Kong’s GEM, Singapore, etc. Why does it only have a soft spot for Nasdaq? There are many reasons for this. First of all, the domestic A-share stock market generally has a relatively long review period. It is rumored that Baidu had been actively preparing to list on the domestic A-share market before, but finally gave up because it needed to wait too long.Although the review requirements of the US securities market are relatively higher and more stringent, Focus still resolutely set its sights on Nasdaq.

Secondly, Hong Kong's Growth Enterprise Market and Singapore's stock market have relatively small financing quotas, and transactions after listing are not active.Moreover, the performance of some mainland stocks listed on Hong Kong's Growth Enterprise Market is not satisfactory, and it is difficult to meet the financing needs of these Internet companies. Third, in terms of the Nasdaq market itself, its total value totals about $3.7 trillion.On an ordinary trading day, Nasdaq processes 7 million quotations, 3 million transactions, and 2 million orders, with 1.75 billion shares traded.Both the turnover and trading volume exceed the sum of the second and third largest stock exchanges in the United States.Nasdaq's network can accommodate data from 350,000 terminals around the world, process 15,000 transactions per second, and transmit data throughout the United States within 200 milliseconds.Only by listing here can the return of shareholders be maximized. Of course, this is also an ideal paradise for Focus to raise funds quickly.

Fourth, there are many companies listed on NASDAQ, 10% of which are companies outside the United States.Although these companies are of different sizes and the ages of the listed companies are different, they are almost equally young and promising, and they all have a common goal, that is, growth and innovation.This is the DNA of Nasdaq and the spirit of entrepreneurs listed on Nasdaq. The final reason is that in recent years, stocks with the concept of "China" are being highly sought after by investors on Nasdaq, and they have become the "darlings" of investors.This can be seen from the stock prices of the three major online portals listed before and the performance of Ctrip.com on the day of its listing.The high returns obtained by venture capital funds from investment in concept stocks listed in China have played a positive demonstration effect on other investors and further stimulated the market's desire to buy stocks of Chinese listed companies.Some international venture capital funds specializing in the Chinese market have achieved considerable returns. After Bearing Private Equity sold 50% of its shares in NetEase in March 2003, it received a three-fold return on its original investment.Moreover, the huge potential of the Chinese market has always been a key factor attracting Wall Street investors.With such a favorable listing background, it is a good time for Focus to list on NASDAQ.

At 7 pm on June 19, 2005, at Shanghai Pudong International Airport, Jiang Nanchun and the company's CFO quietly went south to Hong Kong.Focus’s listing journey started in Hong Kong, because Focus’s major shareholder, listed lead underwriter, and bookrunner Goldman Sachs Asia Pacific headquarters is there, and Jiang Nanchun will receive the final “coaching” before listing in Hong Kong.A few years ago, Ding Lei, Zhang Chaoyang, Wang Zhidong, Wang Leilei and other CEOs who admired Nashi have all gone through this hard road. "In 14 days, I met more than 300 investors, and more than 70 of them were one-on-one. The body can bear it, but the throat can't bear it." Jiang Nanchun gave a speech all the way, with a "golden voice" all the way, "Chen Tianqiao is still smart, Let Tang Jun do the job."He jokingly said that a few months before Shanda's listing, Chen Tianqiao recruited Tang Jun from Microsoft. When it went public, Tang Jun led a road show, and Chen Tianqiao was in Shanghai Remote Control.

The hard work is the same, but Jiang Nanchun's harvest is greater than that of his predecessors. On July 13th, US Eastern Time, at a special moment, Focus Media Holdings Co., Ltd., the largest outdoor video advertising operator in China, landed on NASDAQ, and Focus Media, a Chinese concept stock, was officially listed on NASDAQ. It is also the first pure advertising media stock listed in the United States.Jiang Nanchun was invited to ring the opening bell of NASDAQ and became the first Chinese entrepreneur to receive this honor. Jiang Nanchun, who said he was not good at English, finally passed in front of Wall Street investors this time.

Preparations for the IPO seemed to be going smoothly, but in fact, Jiang Nanchun told the author afterwards: "We were still very worried at the beginning, after all, the focus model did not exist in the United States at that time." "Although the United States has admitted that this model is very good, and I have explained the development and success of this model in China, they still wonder why such a good model has not succeeded in the United States. In their thinking, they think that this model It should be created by the United States first and then copied to China after success. This is the conventional thinking, because it is true that the Internet industry is developing faster in the United States.” In this regard, Jiang Nanchun’s answer is: “I think this has something to do with the characteristics of China itself. This business is useless in the United States, because there are no people waiting for elevators. In the United States, there are fewer people and more elevators. From this point of view, only China can do it. With development, statistics show that each person waits for an elevator for 10 minutes a day, which does not exist in the United States. This difference shows that this market is more favorable in China. The process of cooperating with the United States made them understand these things in China. situation, we have prepared a lot of data, and it is very sufficient to convince them, so the whole process of the road show is still very smooth." The listing of Nashida has realized Jiangnanchun's goal of building "the first stock in China's advertising media".This is also the first time for Chinese pure advertising media companies to enter the overseas stock market. The total amount of financing raised by Focus Media this time has reached the largest number of Chinese stocks listed on NASDAQ over the years. A total of 10.1 million shares were issued, creating a record of financing of 172 million US dollars. The previous record was 1.52 million US dollars circled by Shanda in May 2004. One hundred million U.S. dollars.The "Wall Street Journal" reported that day, "Focus' pricing of US$14-16 per share in the prospectus was finally exceeded by the issue price of US$17 per share, which proved that investors are optimistic about Focus. Based on this price, Focus is the first time The total amount of financing has set a new record for Chinese concept stocks in Nasdaq.” According to the relevant person in charge of Goldman Sachs, this fully shows that foreign investors are eager to get involved in the fast-growing Chinese advertising market. At that time, Nasdaq described Focus Media as "the leader of China's outdoor video advertising market." Investment tends to be more specialized and rational." Due to active subscription, Focus shares jumped $2 on the day of issuance, opened at $19, and closed at $20.20, up 18.8% on the first day.According to the closing price of the day, its market value has exceeded 800 million US dollars, exceeding the sum of the market value of the three outdoor media stocks listed in Hong Kong-White Horse, Media Bole and Tongcheng. Being listed on NASDAQ is the dream of many entrepreneurs, and it took only two years for Jiang Nanchun to do it.Jiang Nanchun, who embarked on the road of literary youth because of a young "vanity", was so proud and excited when he "routinely" made a speech before going public in English that he was not fluent, "I think at that moment It represents that more and more Chinese enterprises are going to the international stage." Jiang Nanchun said. Recalling the scene when it went public, Jiang Nanchun still had a little regret in his excitement. For the first time facing so many international investors, Jiang Nanchun made careful preparations, but at a critical moment, an accident happened. Jiang Nanchun said: "Practice every day, just like a TV series. I prepared about 20 times, but I still missed a part when I stood on this stage. In the past, no one heard it at the scene, but I knew that a part was missed.” Although it was a pity that I forgot the words during the speech, Jiang Nanchun knew very well that what investors in Nasdaq valued was not whether your English was good or not, but whether your business could bring high returns. Facing the picky Americans, Jiang Nanchun took out his "hands-on mace". Jiang Nanchun specially prepared a short film for the listing, and the LCD screen that constantly broadcasts advertisements is mainly aimed at business owners and white-collar workers in office buildings.Instead of dull print ads with vivid video ads, Jiang Nanchun has adopted a completely different approach to attract investors' attention.Then it ended with the sentence "I have created a brand new TV market other than the family during the daytime" and ended Focus's last "performance" on stage before going public. As long as a person has the desire to pursue honor, it is impossible to be without vanity.Jiang Nanchun, who strives for perfection, is not very satisfied with his "performance" in front of investors during the listing process.However, the trend cannot be controlled, and the flaws are not concealed. The stock price rise after the listing of Focus Media made many Focus investors completely ignore Jiang Nanchun's "regret" and shouted "exciting".