America 1919-Chapter 961 - 328, Causing a Sensation

The subsidiaries under Venus Bank include Surf Hotel, Atlantic City Racing Club, Starry Media, ABC, Pandora Oil, Apollo Chain, Crace Investments, United States Logistics, Sinclair Oil, Trident Shipyard, United Artists, Ares Arsenal, and others.

Currently, aside from ABC and Sinclair Oil, none of the other companies are publicly listed.

Donnie, however, had a concern that differed from others. While others were worried about not having any public companies, Donnie was preoccupied with which company to take public!

Regarding this, Robert and Café Jackson both had their own opinions.

Robert believed that choosing a company like United Artists, one that wouldn’t impact the consortium’s overall operations, was the best choice for listing.

Café Jackson’s perspective was just the opposite; he thought that since Donnie now wanted to raise capital, the most profitable companies, such as Apollo Chain, should be selected.

"If Apollo Chain goes public, it may not be able to deliver dividends to shareholders at all. If the stock price falls below the offering price at the time of listing, wouldn’t it be a complete joke?"

Robert voiced his concerns.

Café Jackson countered, "For a company going public, it can naturally raise considerable funds, and those funds can be reinvested in the company’s expansion. Eventually, the profits will naturally be available for dividends!

On the other hand, United Artists, even though it’s a top-tier film company in Hollywood right now, isn’t fully under our control. If it goes public, our control over the company would diminish. By then, if Charlie Chaplin and others rally other shareholders, we may even lose control of United Artists!"

Robert replied, "If we lose it, then so be it. United Artists has always been a subsidiary operating outside our main system. If giving it up can bring us an enormous amount of funding, then it’s worth it!"

"That’s because you don’t understand the boss’s strategic plans in Hollywood. The boss has always wanted to build a powerful film production company there, and right now, United Artists is undoubtedly the best choice!" Café Jackson said angrily.

Seeing that their debate had escalated into an argument, Donnie intervened to stop both of them.

"What do you think about Trident Shipyard?"

Donnie continued, "With the Quanter Family of Germany buying in, Trident Shipyard’s technology has undergone an upgrade that has made it even more appealing to Wall Street investors."

Donnie’s words left both of them momentarily at a loss for words.

Robert said, "Donnie, Trident Shipyard is one of our key bridges to the U.S. military. Would listing this company potentially impact that connection?"

Café Jackson also disagreed with Donnie’s decision to list Trident Shipyard: "Boss, although Trident Shipyard’s valuation is currently high, we know that its profit targets are still heavily tied to United States Logistics. If that information gets out, it might negatively impact its valuation!"

Donnie replied, "The concerns you two raised aren’t major issues in my view. First, while Trident Shipyard is indeed a company we plan to collaborate with the U.S. military, it isn’t one just yet. Secondly, though its largest client is United States Logistics—an entity owned by us—their transactions are distinctly accounted for. That alone is sufficient to address concerns!"

Hearing Donnie’s explanation, both Robert and Café Jackson realized he had already made his decision.

Since that was the case, neither of them had any objections.

Seeing their agreement, Donnie smiled at Robert and said, "To reward you for your hard work during this period, Trident Shipyard will allocate to you 1% of its shares!"

Robert’s face immediately lit up. Although he no longer lacked money, Trident Shipyard, once listed, would at least have a market value of sixty or seventy million. A 1% stake would equate to hundreds of thousands of US Dollars!

While the monetary value wasn’t enormous, it was a testament to Donnie’s trust in him.

Conversely, Café Jackson felt a bit upset.

Although his time working with Donnie had been relatively short, he now stood as one of Donnie’s two major assistants alongside Robert. Seeing Robert receive a reward from Donnie while he got nothing left a strong sense of disparity in his heart.

However, Donnie’s next words quickly dissipated that dissatisfaction.

"In addition to Trident Shipyard, I also plan to take United Artists public. At that time, Café Jackson, you too will receive a 1% equity reward from United Artists!"

"Boss, I deeply appreciate your generosity, but for the sake of the consortium, I still believe that taking United Artists public isn’t appropriate. Beyond the reasons I mentioned earlier, there’s another factor: there are currently few precedents for film production companies going public, and those that have done so tend not to perform well. Investors generally don’t have confidence in movie stocks, especially for purely production-based companies. Risking the loss of control over United Artists for revenues of just tens of millions is not worthwhile for us!"

Café Jackson reasoned thoughtfully with Donnie.

Donnie smiled and waved his hand. "Let me finish. It’s not just United Artists or Trident Shipyard; I also want to arrange for Apollo Chain to go public."

This decision from Donnie left both Robert and Café Jackson visibly taken aback. They genuinely hadn’t expected Donnie to propose taking three Venus Bank subsidiaries public, a move that was indeed unusual for the Venus Consortium.