The Crown Prince of France - Chapter 44

Chapter 44: The Powerful Shareholders' Group

Joseph noticed the crowd's attention focusing on him and continued:

“The total share capital of the bank is ten million shares, each priced at one livre. For now, it will not be open to public sale.”

Count Morneau nodded with a smile and said,
“Since Your Highness has invited us, of course, we’re willing to invest. But may I ask, what is the total investment for this bank?”

“Approximately ten million livres.”

Upon hearing this, the three men appeared disinterested. They thought to themselves that while it initially seemed promising, it turned out to be just another attempt to solicit investments. This was an empty-shell bank claiming a ten-million-livre investment—who knew how much would actually materialize in the end? Wouldn’t it be better to invest in a well-established discount bank instead?

Robert, who had the weakest relationship with Joseph and was also the poorest among the three, forced a bitter smile and said,
“Your Highness, you know my situation. I’m afraid I don’t have much to contribute…”

Joseph smiled faintly and said,
“Please, hear me out first.

“In a week, the Paris Angel Company will publicly offer shares. The total share capital is also ten million shares, with two million shares available for sale at a price of two livres per share.

“If you invest in my bank, you’ll be able to purchase an equal amount of Paris Angel shares at one livre per share before the public offering.”

When Joseph finished speaking, the three men’s eyes immediately lit up.

However, Bishop Brienne, being financially astute, hesitated and said,
“Your Highness, while the Paris Angel Company’s performance is indeed excellent, isn’t two livres per share a bit overvalued?”

Two livres per share for a total of ten million shares implied a staggering valuation of twenty million livres for Paris Angel.

Joseph gestured for the lawyer at the door to bring in the franchise contracts and smiled,
“In recent months, the Paris Angel Company has opened seven franchise stores. Here are the contracts, and there are more investors preparing to sign agreements. At the same time, I plan to open several new directly-operated stores across various regions.

“I believe it won’t be long before Paris Angel stores appear in every major city in France. Within six months, Paris Angel outlets will be spread across Europe.

“To be honest, a price of two livres per share is actually undervalued.”

Joseph then explained the concept of franchising again, and this time, the three men could no longer maintain their composure.

Currently, which company in Paris was the most popular? It was undoubtedly the Paris Angel Company.

Every woman on the streets of Paris was familiar with "Angel’s Water." The older women and young girls in their households were spending thousands of livres on this cosmetic.

The influence of Angel’s Water was rapidly spreading across France. Just a few days ago, noblewomen from Marseille had even organized group trips to Paris to purchase it.

If there were only one store, the company’s valuation might indeed not reach twenty million. However, with nine stores, this figure seemed much more plausible.

Moreover, the innovative franchising model was incredibly enticing. In truth, even these three men were now considering investing in a franchise store. How had the Crown Prince come up with such a brilliant business model? No wonder people referred to him as the Son of God—this kind of foresight seemed as though it had been touched by God Himself!

It was clear that soon Paris Angel franchises would be ubiquitous across France.

By then, the company’s valuation would undoubtedly soar like the Seine River during the rainy season, rising day by day!

Bishop Brienne squinted his eyes. Purchasing shares at one livre and then reselling them would yield at least one livre of profit per share! It was as if the bank shares were being offered for free.

Moreover, he predicted that the Paris Angel stock price would not remain at two livres for long; it would likely increase rapidly!

No longer hesitating, Brienne looked at Joseph and said,
“Your Highness, since you’ve put it this way, I’ll invest 250,000 livres.”

Count Morneau, seeing the bishop take action, immediately followed suit,
“Your Highness, I’ll invest 500,000 livres as well...”

Joseph hesitated and said,
“Count Morneau, unfortunately, due to limited shares, I can only allocate a maximum of 3% to you. I hope you’ll understand, as I need to reserve shares for His Majesty the King, Her Majesty the Queen, Prince of Condé, and the Count of Artois...”

Hearing the mention of these prominent figures, Count Morneau quickly waved his hand with a smile,
“Understood, understood. Then I’ll invest 300,000 livres.”

Robert gritted his teeth and managed to contribute 200,000 livres as well.

Finally, Joseph clarified that these shares granted only dividend rights and no decision-making power in the company’s operations. Since the three men were only interested in profits, they had no objections.

At the dining table, everyone was in high spirits. They raised their glasses and clinked them together amid joyous laughter.

...

The next day, Joseph had lunch with Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette. Seizing the opportunity, he persuaded them to each invest 5% in the bank.

For his own parents, Joseph didn’t need to use Paris Angel shares as bait. Instead, he bluntly asked for a 500,000-livre investment from each, thanking them politely for their support.

However, Louis XVI, having previously invested 600,000 livres in his son’s Dutch strategy—which later proved to be a political success—was left without any cash returns. Now, he only had about 100,000 livres in liquid funds, all of which he gave to his son, with the rest as a promissory note.

Meanwhile, Queen Marie, known as the "Deficit Queen" (though this was largely slander), was indeed extravagant in her spending. She had only 220,000 livres available, with the remaining 280,000 pledged for later.

Joseph wasn’t genuinely seeking their funds but rather leveraging their support to strengthen his position. Having these two influential figures onboard would allow him to wield their authority as a banner in future endeavors.

...

That afternoon, Joseph hurried to Paris and met with both Prince of Condé, who had significant influence within the military, and the Duke of Artois, Louis XVI’s younger brother and a staunch royalist.

Upon hearing about the opportunity to purchase Paris Angel shares at a low price, neither could refuse such a lucrative offer. Each invested 400,000 livres in the bank shares, marking down the Crown Prince’s favor in their books.

By midday, all of France was abuzz with discussions about the upcoming Paris Angel stock offering. It was impossible to avoid the topic, as every newspaper featured Paris Angel, and no salon would begin without someone steering the conversation in that direction.

Within Versailles, rumors spread that Paris Angel’s daily sales reached 120,000 livres, with eight or nine branches already operating and plans to expand to Britain, Spain, and the Netherlands. The company’s scale was astonishing.

Everyone was eager to scrape together funds to purchase Paris Angel’s original shares.

...

Meanwhile, at the office of the general manager of Ravelle Bank in Paris, General Manager Étienne frowned and asked his assistant,
“Has the Finance Minister contacted us yet?”

The assistant nodded,
“No, sir. Ten days ago, a low-ranking official inquired about loans, but there has been no further communication.”

Étienne muttered to himself in confusion,
“Strange. With the national debt maturing soon, why isn’t the Crown Prince showing any urgency?”

The assistant speculated,
“Could they have secured loans from another bank?”

Étienne shook his head,
“The Duke of Orléans has already notified the other banks; no one would dare grant them a loan.”

He wondered to himself: even if the Crown Prince lacked experience, the other finance officials should have reminded him of the impending national debt. Why was he remaining so calm?

Table of content - Next Chapter >>>