Chapter 402 The Ritter Motor Company Auction 5
‘Haha, this is fun!’ Luis thought as he finished his first lap around that dirt track, feeling the wind on his face, almost as it did when he was flying.
While enjoying the experience, he did not ignore the positives of Lothur’s project.
‘This ‘car’ seems to have a lot of power, unlike those failed projects that could only move small things. At the same time, it is very easy to pilot.’ He pondered this question.
‘I learned it in just a few seconds of experience, but that is due to my cultivation and talent. However, I am sure that even a mortal can learn it after a few hours of training…’
‘This truly has the potential to replace the carriages in our city!’ His eyes sparkled as he slowed down the speed of the kart he was in, following Lothur’s request.
At the same time, Elke’s father’s eyes were gleaming in interest, noting some of the possibilities that Lothur’s project would bring. ‘Not only does this vehicle seem quite simple to master, but it also seems easier to move within the city. It is also faster than most carriages, which will be hugely advantageous for my family to use for overland transportation of resources between cities!’
Meanwhile, Rebecca had a different thought in mind. ‘That sounds very promising. I wonder if, with this, we can get rid of the animal feces around the city.’
On the other hand, Jacob’s father was thinking about the possibility that Lothur had told his son about earlier. ‘With something with such tremendous strength, we could produce transport companies and favor travel not only for cargo but also for people between cities in the province…’
‘That has a lot of potentials!’
He thought this, but many others had the same idea in mind, feeling that Lothur’s words of creating something revolutionary were not entirely misplaced.
No, if Lothur’s kart could be adapted into a larger version, then the transportation situation in the province or even the empire could change completely!
Even the matriarch of the Teusen family, who was not so capable in terms of finding opportunities for her family, had noted Lothur’s valuable project as something crucial to her organization.
“Johann, what is your relationship with this Lothur? Do you have any way to get any leverage with him?” She asked this young man.
“Hmm? I have…”
As he went on, that woman’s turn to try out the kart came, and she left him talking to himself as she ran close to Lothur.
By now, several of the people there, including Aiken, August, and Gomeric, had already tested and approved Lothur’s design, all very pleased with their experiences.
Lothur answered a few questions from those who had already ‘played’ in his kart. In contrast, the others tested such a thing so that all the organizations represented there would taste this item’s potential.
But this did not take long, and soon Lothur put away his prototype vehicle, then returned with his guests to the previous room.
Finally, the time had come for him to auction off parts of his future company!
…
As everyone settled into the hall they had arrived in earlier, the silence in that room became ‘deafening.’
Each person was thinking hard about what they had just experienced and witnessed. So they had a lot to consider since it was almost time to get to the moment they would have to talk about values.
With that, apart from the chewing noise from the table where Annaliese was devouring some dishes, no other relevant sounds were spreading through that area.
Lothur noticed this and was silent for a few moments as well, reviewing his plan to get coins from these people.
‘I have no experience with this kind of situation. But I believe an ordinary auction will work for me to get a lot of coins from these people…’ He looked at his mistress regarding the poison art and then at the Teusen matriarch.
He looked over to where the representatives of the two Lewerenz families were. ‘On the other hand, even if some of them can’t become my associates, they can partner with us.’
‘We will need a lot of people to make my mobility project possible, so there will be no shortage of services for these smaller forces… Hmm, that will be good for keeping them in my sphere of influence.’
After pondering for a few moments the amount he had deemed fair to start this auction, Lothur began to speak. “Well, you have had a brief experience with my project and heard what I intend to do and the business models I will follow. So it’s time to talk about what matters.”
“I will sell 49% of the rights to the Ritter Motor Company in 49 rounds, each auctioning off 1% of this company.” He said as the people there frowned but remained silent.
“Each organization that chooses to participate in this auction may acquire a maximum of 10% of the Ritter Motor Company. So don’t insist in case one or the other of you has greater economic power than the others. I will not change my rule.” .
Lothur did not want just 2 or 3 of those organizations or people there to buy that fraction of his company. To do that, he wanted to raise the number of rounds to the said number and limit the weight one of those people could secure within the company.
He chose to do that and still keep 51% of that company simply for him to be the controller of it. He did not want to have to depend on the votes of his partners to approve or not approve certain acts. Then, he would keep the most significant fraction of the Ritter Motor Company.
But this would not go against his plans to live a life of few responsibilities. He wanted to have control of this company only in special cases when he wanted something badly. In everyday situations, he would let the management team deal with bureaucratic matters.
“Anyway, to begin with, the first round, the first 1% to be auctioned, has a starting value of 100,000 silver coins, with a minimum increase of 10,000.”
When Lothur finished saying these words, Frederik and Johann were shocked by his boldness. That was particularly true for this carpenter, who knew it had cost only 10,000 bronze coins to produce that ‘miniature.’
‘That’s a daylight robbery!’ He thought to himself, looking at Lothur with a silly expression. ‘Even the larger version of that vehicle would cost something between 30 and 50 thousand bronze coins, already considering the work of the professionals involved.’
‘But he wants to charge 1 million bronze coins for 1% of the company? Does that mean he believes his company is worth 100 million before it even gets off the ground?’ Frederik had his mouth wide open right now.
But that was only the initial offering price, something that was far from the average final price that this company would earn on this day.
Since the experts there had somewhat different views than this young carpenter, it did not take long for the first of them to accept Lothur’s initial request and give their bid.
“110,000 silver coins!”
…