America 1919-Chapter 976 - 333, Stir the water until it’s murky

"What’s the situation?"

When the people on Wall Street learned that the New Jersey Consortium had just launched Trident Shipyard’s IPO and was now promoting United Artists for listing, they all couldn’t help but ask this existential question.

Of course, there were also those who provided their own answers.

"If we set aside the New Jersey Consortium’s background, listing United Artists at this time is definitely the right choice. New films are selling big, the film market is beginning to surge—these are all favorable signals for United Artists’ IPO!"

"But does United Artists lack money?"

Others raised this query.

Any company that chooses to go public is aiming to raise more funds to facilitate corporate expansion.

"I think it’s more complicated than that!" A securities broker analyzed: "United Artists has four shareholders: Venus Bank, Charlie Chaplin, Douglas, and Griffith. Plus, Venus Bank basically doesn’t participate in United Artists’ development, which means Donnie’s attitude towards United Artists is purely as an investment."

At the same time, it also allows his Miss America to have a stepping stone into Hollywood!

So I suspect this matter wasn’t led by Donnie, but rather by the trio of Charlie Chaplin, Douglas, and Griffith!"

This analysis was accepted by the majority.

No matter how people analyzed the cause of this decision, one thing everyone was absolutely certain about was that if United Artists went public, its market value would definitely reach significant heights.

The New Jersey Consortium and blockbuster films were all good news for United Artists’ IPO.

"Mr. Block, after the matter with Trident Shipyard, you should trust our company’s capabilities. At this moment, you should let us handle United Artists’ IPO!"

While others were still analyzing this matter, Shaw Gordon and Damour Bral of Gordon-Blalock Securities had already found Donnie, aiming to take charge of United Artists’ IPO.

They were quite confident about this, as their handling of Trident Shipyard’s listing had been very successful.

"If the two of you had approached me regarding this earlier, I would have agreed with you!"

Donnie rejected their request for partnership: "But we’ve already finalized matters with Goldman Sachs. If we abandon them at this point and choose to work with you instead, wouldn’t that undermine Venus Bank’s credibility?"

We didn’t know about this earlier!

Shaw Gordon and Damour Bral thought to themselves helplessly.

"Mr. Block, Goldman Sachs hasn’t been completely upright in their past dealings. Do you still trust them now?"

Damour Bral started throwing shade at Goldman Sachs.

The story of ABC’s IPO was already infamous on Wall Street.

Donnie smiled and replied, "Past matters, after all, are in the past. And besides, you both seem to have forgotten that Venus Bank is still a shareholder of Goldman Sachs!"

Damour Bral and Shaw Gordon fell silent once again. It was an awkward situation—Donnie’s point was clear. Despite Donnie’s previous disagreements with Goldman Sachs, one couldn’t ignore the fact that Venus Bank was a shareholder of Goldman Sachs. This meant that when Goldman Sachs earned from this matter, Venus Bank would also get a cut.

On Wall Street, conflicts are the most irrelevant thing; as long as there are profits involved, anyone can collaborate.

Venus Bank and Gordon-Blalock Securities, however, were only in a straightforward cooperative relationship.

"Gentlemen, I think that’s all there is to say on this matter. Perhaps in the future, there might still be opportunities for us to work together!"

Donnie’s tone clearly signaled he was ready to send them off.

There probably won’t be many opportunities!

Shaw Gordon and Damour Bral exchanged a glance, both understanding each other’s thoughts.

Venus Bank had already brought Trident Shipyard public and was now driving United Artists’ IPO. Was it truly realistic to expect that Donnie would allow Venus Bank’s subsidiaries to continue going public?

They believed it wasn’t realistic.

Soon, through silent eye contact, both men saw resoluteness in each other’s eyes.

"If we could bring Venus Bank into Gordon-Blalock Securities as a partner, would Mr. Block then reconsider working with our firm on this matter?"

Shaw Gordon tried to negotiate with Donnie on behalf of both of them.

If it were only about United Artists’ IPO, the two of them would never consider letting Venus Bank become their partner. But it was precisely this situation that made Shaw Gordon and Damour Bral realize one thing.

They had previously believed that through Trident Shipyard’s IPO, they could establish a solid cooperative relationship with Donnie, and surely the other party would more likely consider them for future collaborations.

But now they understood that a single Trident Shipyard IPO wasn’t enough to make Donnie regard them as steadfast partners!

When it came to advancing matters, Donnie was undeniably more focused on Venus Bank’s own interests... which was, of course, completely reasonable, but they still had to fight for it.

Although they did not believe Venus Bank had other subsidiaries waiting to go public after United Artists’ listing, one should not forget that Venus Bank was one of the most cash-rich consortiums in the United States.

Any consortium or individual with vast amounts of cash would certainly not let that money sit idle in a bank. They would inevitably choose more investments.