the two matched. This reverse engineering technique is commonly referred to as a "Chinese wall". This story was portrayed in the TV show Halt and Catch Fire. The first Phoenix PC ROM BIOS was introduced in May 1984, which enabled OEMs such as Hewlett-Packard, Tandy Corporation, and AT&T Computer Systems to build essentially 100%-compatible clones without having to reverse-engineer the PC BIOS themselves as Compaq had. Phoenix licensed the BIOS to clone makers for $290,000. To reassure customers, the company obtained a $2 million insurance policy from The Hartford against copyright-infringement lawsuits. Phoenix's revenues grew by 100% in 1987, and the company shifted to licensing the BIOS on a per-machine basis instead of a flat fee. Competitors appeared, such as AMI BIOS. Phoenix shipped an IBM PC/AT-compatible BIOS six months after the computer's announcement, and also developed IBM PS/2 Micro Channel-compatible BIOS, including the ABIOS, and EISA compatible BIOS during 1988 and 1989. 1987–1989 In 1987, Phoenix began the first of many expansion, acquisition, and collapse cycles. It acquired Softstyle, Inc, and Softset, Inc, and began a printer emulation product line, and a Phoenix publishing division. Phoenix also tripled the number of employees from late 1986 to 1989. Phoenix launched an IPO in June 1988 and made the founder and early employees instant millionaires on paper. The stock price did not sustain its peak of 18¾, and by late 1989 it had plummeted to 3¾. In addition, the company posted a loss of $7.7 million in 1989, due primarily to the consolidation of the PC market, and Phoenix's unsuccessful branching out into collateral markets. In December 1989, Ron Fisher took over as CEO, and again the company focused on the core PC BIOS products, and prevented a hostile takeover bid by Norwood Partners Limited Partnership. 1990s By 1992, Phoenix was financially healthy enough to start another expansion and acquisition cycle. In January 1992, Phoenix acquired Quadtel, a leading BIOS supplier. The Quadtel BIOS code base was newer than the original Phoenix ROM BIOS code base, and the development effort switched to the Quadtel products. It was rebranded as PhoenixBIOS. The original ROM BIOS code base was used on a joint development effort with David Keenan at IBM (called SurePath), but Phoenix did no further development work on the original code. Phoenix also expanded its presence in foreign markets. In 1993 Phoenix acquired SRI KK, a Phoenix distributor, and formed the