"The location is indeed OK." Chen Zhiwen listened to Lee Iacocca's introduction and looked at the information in his hand.
This information is very well prepared. Many places use maps to show their locations. Only a few of the cities where these sales stores are located, such as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, etc., he has been to. Other places he has not been to have also relied on You can see where the city is by looking at the map.
"In fact, a long time ago, Chrysler had more stores, including GM and Ford. However, later faced with the antitrust threat from the U.S. federal government, the three companies unanimously agreed to sell the terminal sales industry, leaving only a small number of self-sustained stores with better locations. ." Lee Iacocca explained.
"This is quite smart, not like those people in Hollywood." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.
He had never heard of this history, but if he thought about it carefully, it was possible. When American capital giants expanded, they liked to acquire upstream and downstream businesses together. For example, several major Hollywood giants, from film and television shooting, film distribution to theater chains, , three important links, have been monopolized for a period of time. Other small companies can only affiliate with giants, otherwise the films they shoot will not even have a chance to be released, and some independent theaters can only sell to giants in the end. , because without high-quality movies, independent theater chains can only go bankrupt.
A few giants monopolize all profits from the entire film industry upstream and downstream, and Hollywood stars are also suppressed, just like Shaw Brothers in Hong Kong. The result of such arrogance is that they are targeted by the US antitrust agencies, and in the end they are ruthlessly suppressed.
Obviously, the automobile industry has a similar story, but the automobile industry chain is very complex. Even the automobile giants cannot completely monopolize the upstream. And because it involves technology research and development, even if you have money, you may not be able to do it. But As for terminal retail, you can buy terminal retail stores if you have money. However, when they were targeted by anti-monopoly agencies later, several major automobile giants were smarter and took the initiative to admit defeat. However, as long as they are not monopolies and hold a small number of sales stores, U.S. officials won't care, and what can be left over by the three major auto giants is naturally in a superior location. If Chrysler hadn't been in a life-or-death situation, these would not have been sold.
"That's a long time ago." Lee Iacocca said, "What does Mr. Chen think of these positions?"
"I can consider acquiring these stores, but there are still several prerequisites." Chen Zhiwen said.
"Mr. Chen, please speak." George York said on the side.
Chen Zhiwen said: "First, although the information here is relatively detailed, I still need to send people to investigate these sales points. In some cases, I need to invite a third party to review. I wonder what Mr. Iacocca thinks?"
"Of course it is possible." Lee Iacocca nodded and said. When an acquisition involving hundreds of millions of dollars is involved, it is natural to proceed with caution. A large number of financial investigations, property investigations, business status investigations, market investigations, etc. are all necessary.
"Second, we will discuss the price after the review is completed. However, the prerequisite for my acquisition is that I can acquire AMC. If the acquisition of AMC fails, then the acquisition will be abandoned." Chen Zhiwen added.
"Mr. Chen, even if you don't acquire AMC, it will not affect these sales." George York said.
"That's right, but if we don't acquire a car company, then there is no point in acquiring these sales points." Chen Zhiwen said casually.
"Okay, I understand what Mr. Chen means. AMC is not large in scale and is not sensitive to US officials. As long as the review is in place, there should be no problem. We at Goldman Sachs also have some friends in the Ministry of Commerce. After a while, I Go and ask." George York somewhat understood what Chen Zhiwen meant.
Chen Zhiwen said: "That's just right. During this period, I also need to send people to investigate the situation of these sales points. Maybe when it is completed, the Ministry of Commerce will also agree to my acquisition of AMC."
In fact, AMC's own board of directors is very happy for Chen Zhiwen to acquire it. Both parties have basically already expressed their willingness to do so, and the labor union does not have much trouble. In fact, no matter which foreign capital wants to acquire an American company, it must have some measures to protect employment. A certain commitment. This commitment does not necessarily require keeping everyone, but if you want the U.S. government to agree, most of it still needs to be guaranteed. Besides, Chen Zhiwen does not plan to lay off a large number of employees after taking over, and AMC's small size also has small benefits, so It's just that the power of labor unions is not as strong as that of giants such as General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford. In addition, the entire American auto industry is not in good shape now, so there are many aspects that can be discussed.
The current sticking point is still with the Ministry of Commerce, and Morgan Stanley's persuasion team is still working hard. If Chrysler and Goldman Sachs can help at this time, it might be easier to succeed sooner.
As for the acquisition of 330 car sales terminal stores, it is not a loss-making business. Firstly, because Chrysler's funds are on the verge of collapse, the sale price will not be very high. Secondly, as long as the oil crisis is over, oil prices will rise. The period of low oil prices in the next decade will benefit the U.S. automobile industry.
With these terminal stores, there will always be great benefits for AMC brand car sales in the future. Although 3% may not seem like much, this market is a market worth hundreds of billions of dollars every year. In addition, these stores cover many states. , future terminal repairs and maintenance can also be guaranteed.
In fact, there is another king, and that is Costco. In the history of the United States, Costco, which has hundreds of supermarkets in the United States, also sells cars and has become a force that cannot be underestimated in the car sales industry. , in this life, with my investment in Costco, the number of stores will inevitably be more, which will further ensure the sales volume and after-sales guarantee of my own brand in the future.
Lee Iacocca thought for a moment and then asked: "Mr. Chen, I would like to ask you a question. In addition to acquiring these storefronts, is Mr. Chen also willing to invest in Chrysler?" '
"Now that the U.S. government is Chrysler's major shareholder, can they agree to my buying a stake in Chrysler?" Chen Zhiwen asked.
The U.S. government gave Chrysler $1.5 billion, but it was not without cost. Many of Chrysler's rights were restricted by the U.S. government, and even spending money needed to be reported.
"I can issue a bond and the return rate will be no lower than the bonds on the market." Lee Iacocca said.
"Bonds can't do it. The so-called returns are just for ordinary people. If you want me to invest, you can, but it must be stocks, but I don't have to vote." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile. Now in the 1980s, any investment is possible. Easily more than any bond, even if you can't buy a house in Japan.
Chrysler's stock has now fallen into a penny stock, just like Hong Kong's Hutchison. After all, it lost more than US$1 billion each year in the past two years. Anyone will doubt whether one day it will suddenly collapse completely. And five years later, the entire company will The company's net profit can exceed US$2 billion a year, and Chrysler's stock price will increase several times and reach the top 20 levels in the United States. This rate of return is still very high.
"If it is just a purely economic investment, I think there should be no problem. As long as Mr. Chen is willing, I can find a way to arrange all this." Lee Iacocca said.
"Okay, in addition, I have another condition." Chen Zhiwen paused and said: "If I acquire AMC, I hope that our two companies can work together on technology, some involving engines, chassis, gearboxes, and safety configurations. I hope to buy some from Chrysler."
"As for technology patents, we need to look at the specific patents before deciding. I can't answer this question yet." Li Iacocca said.
"It won't be Chrysler's most advanced technology patent at present. I just want to add some shortcomings of AMC." Chen Zhiwen said.
As a car company other than the three giants, AMC and other small brands are relatively lacking in various technologies. The first is because of limited funds. The research and development of high-tech patents consumes a lot of money. The second is the technical path of automobiles. In the final analysis, it is similar to Yes, when other companies that were born earlier or larger companies register a patent, it is very difficult for latecomers to get around it.
For example, in the mainland of later generations, before the 21st century, it could be said that even if you put a Mercedes-Benz engine in front of you, you couldn't copy it. But after the 21st century, this sentence is basically no longer true. Maybe it's not that good, but it can still be made. , but it’s just stuck by the patent. It’s not easy to get around it.
Chen Zhiwen doesn't expect to buy the most advanced patents from American car companies or other countries. It is impossible to sell them. This has nothing to do with nationality. The same goes for American cars going to Japan and Germany to buy top patents. Besides, if it is true, If you buy these patents and want to use them in China in the future, there will be many restrictions, which will be troublesome.
The automobile industry is a collection of modern industries. Even if you have some capital, if you want to develop in this industry, you have to do it step by step. Make sure you have it first, and then slowly improve.
"If that's the case, in principle there should be no problem." Li Iacocca nodded and said. Chrysler is already anxious to sell terminal retail stores, so why would it care about some patents that are not top-notch!
(End of chapter)
