Chapter 496: Chapter 496

Blackburne’s new, Grosvenor Square, London

The City of London—often simply called "the City"—is one of the 33 administrative districts of Greater London, England. Situated on the eastern side of the iconic St. Paul’s Cathedral, it covers an area of just 2.6 square kilometers, earning it the nickname the "Square Mile."

Because it houses numerous financial institutions—banks, stock exchanges, gold markets, and more—it is widely referred to as the financial heart of London.

This was precisely why Richard chose to place Maddox Capital here. After all, Maddox Capital is the entity he uses for financial investments, and having its headquarters in the City of London offers maximum convenience.

London is one of the most important financial centers in the world, and the City of London represents its core. Naturally, office rents here are sky-high. Yet securing a headquarters in this prestigious "one square mile" demonstrates the strength and credibility of Maddox Capital.

Early one morning, Richard had already arrived at the Maddox Capital office.

The reason for his early arrival became clear as he turned on the television. On Bloomberg News, the anchor appeared on screen, with a bold headline scrolling below.

[America Online announces it will acquire Netscape Communications in a stock-for-stock transaction worth US$4.2 billion]

Richard felt a deep sense of gratitude when he decided not to sell all of the Netscape stocks at once. Instead, he chose to liquidate them gradually, spreading the sales over time.

With this remaining 24.5% stake in Netscape, he could consider it relatively safe, although he wouldn’t receive cash immediately.

In a stock-for-stock deal, Richard would receive AOL shares in exchange for his Netscape shares, which actually provides a liquidity advantage.

Netscape shares were smaller and less frequently traded, which made it somewhat difficult for Richard to sell them, even after more than a year. In contrast, AOL was a huge publicly traded company with millions of shares exchanged daily.

Smaller companies have fewer shares traded each day, meaning lower liquidity—selling a large amount could significantly move the stock price. High trading volume, on the other hand, means higher liquidity, making it easier to buy or sell large blocks of stock without affecting the price much.

Therefore, selling AOL shares would generally be faster and less disruptive than selling the same dollar value of Netscape shares.

With that, Richard immersed himself in work. At a time , he let out a long sigh, silently hoping Maddox Capital could start running on its own. But for that to happen, he needed a strong CEO—someone capable of steering the company

Leaning back in his chair, he muttered to himself, "Let’s talk about it later."

He knew the decision wasn’t simple.

Done with that, Richard then focused on the acquisition of Take-Two Interactive. For this, the work was handled by his subordinates—his trading team—tasked with executing the bid.

"We are currently using the funds in our account to build positions. We have already spent £4.50 million on the initial purchase of Take-Two stock, at an average price of $4.05 per share. We now hold approximately 3.15 million shares."

As his team briefed him on Maddox Capital’s current positions and holdings, he learned how the funds he had deposited were being managed.

Take-Two had its initial public offering (IPO) last April, listed under the ticker symbol TTWO on the NASDAQ stock exchange. The opening price was $5.50, above the expected $5, and on its first day, it rose to $5.75.

However, after that, the price began to decline, eventually touching $3.00. Take-Two Interactive was still in its formation and initial growth phase, so instead of their later-famous titles like GTA or Red Dead, their games at the time were still Monkey Hero, JetFighter III, and Star Crusader.

Maddox Capital did not purchase at the lowest price of $3.00. Instead, they bought in at $3.50, and as they accumulated shares—along with other buyers—the stock price gradually rose.

By the time they swept in and completed their purchases, Take-Two had risen above $4.00, representing an 18.6% increase from their initial purchase price. Considering the stock’s total circulation of just over 30 million shares, their purchases accounted for more than 10% of the available stock.

"Alright, what about next?"

Of course, since Richard was targeting GTA, he naturally wouldn’t stop at Take-Two Interactive.

Originally founded as DMA Design by Dundee native David Jones, was next on his radar.

Dundee, located in Scotland, made it easier for Richard to keep track of them. In fact, the game studio wasn’t in great shape. Their office was even a small space above a fish and chip shop, owned by the father-in-law of one of the founders.

"We have competitors here," one of Richard’s analysts noted.

"Oh? Which ones?" Richard asked

"Nintendo and Gremlin Interactive. The founder has been stalled under the conflicting demands between the Japanese and British sides of the studio."

"Gremlin is a local studio?"

"Yes. Here’s the information," the analyst replied, handing over the dossier.

Richard skimmed through it and was immediately impressed. Gremlin was the creator of the first fully 3D football game. Their portfolio was surprisingly diverse: Zool

"This studio has serious range," Richard murmured. Their portfolio wasn’t just varied—it showed technical skill and creativity across multiple genres.

"How much are they offering?" Richard asked, leaning back in his chair.

"Both are stalled," the analyst replied. "Nintendo and Gremlin are offering £3.8 million each."

Richard nodded thoughtfully. A slight smile crept onto his face. "That makes it easier," he said. He paused for a moment, then added decisively, "Let’s round it up to £4 million."

Let’s outbid them. Clean and straightforward.

So far, Maddox Capital’s total planned investment portfolio amounted to approximately £200 million, with over £113 million already deployed in startups. For context, Roman Abramovich’s Sibneft had once set a record with an investment of $100 million, making Maddox Capital’s activity notable.

As for other US and UK equities, the total planned investment was £21 million, of which more than £15 million had already been deployed. Leverage had not yet been applied, as Richard anticipated potential market fluctuations in Q4. When the timing was right, leverage of up to 5x would be gradually introduced to maximize returns while managing risk.

"Do we have any news?"

"There is," said another analyst before briefing Richard.

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After hearing all of this, Richard understood immediately.

"Then we leverage Amazon," he said, decisively.

Richard had already decided that Amazon would be the only exception in his portfolio based on his analysis and confidence in the company’s future prospects.

In Amazon, he already had a £1 million investment for a 14.3% stake, after investing when Bezos was still starting out from his garage. So far, over £9 million had been deployed, with the plan to continue buying until reaching a full 20% stake while applying leverage strategically to maximize returns.

"I still think your plan is too radical and risky, Boss," the analyst admitted, watching the AMZN ticker on the Nasdaq market trends on the screen. "But since you’re so confident, I’ll follow your plan strictly... though I have to admit, my nerves will be under immense pressure. After all, with leverage, we’re controlling assets worth hundreds of millions of pounds."

"Trust me. You’ll have to get used to this sooner or later. Better sooner than later, isn’t it?"

"I’d rather wait until later. I don’t have a complete team yet."

Seeing Richard spread his hands and relax, he added, "It’s your money anyway, Boss. By the way, about the headhunter you asked me to look into—I’ve received a few resumes. When do you plan to go through them?"

"How many are there?"

His requirement is simple: they must be from U.S and at least at the manager level. Salary isn’t a problem. What matters is whether they can actually run Maddox Capital.

When Richard saw the resumes, he took a deep breath.

Ray Dalio – CIO of Bridgewater Associates.

’You’re kidding me, right? You recommend a candidate who basically built the company himself? Cross.’

Abigail Johnson – Portfolio Manager at Fidelity Investments.

Richard was interested at first, but when he saw that she had joined her grandfather Edward Johnson II’s company, Fidelity Investments, he began to doubt the headhunter. It’s obvious her grandfather owns that company. Why recommend her to us? Cross.

Lloyd Blankfein – Co-managing the company’s currency and commodities divisions at Goldman Sachs.

The only problem with him is that Henry Paulson, the CEO of Goldman Sachs, appointed him as his successor.

"Hmmm..." Richard considered the pros and cons before shaking his head.

Larry Fink, managing director of the Taxable Fixed Income Division at First Boston, a New York-based investment bank.

Thinking about big names—who doesn’t know the person who created a company touted as "owning the world"?

A company that seemed to reach into every corner of the globe.

If anyone could move mountains, it was Fink.

And if he wanted results—real results—there was no time to waste. The approach had to be direct. He had to get that man.