For an acquisition that may involve up to one billion U.S. dollars, even for the major banking giants in the United States, it is still a big deal. The day after receiving the news, Jim, the vice president of Morgan Stanley, rushed over overnight. , met with Chen Zhiwen, discussed for a day, and fully understood Chen Zhiwen’s needs for acquisitions.
However, as an investment banker, when they learned that Chen Zhiwen planned to acquire a large home appliance company, people from Morgan Stanley suggested that Chen Zhiwen need to consider other possibilities, because if there are other alternatives, then there can be GE's bargaining power, and if it doesn't work out, the alternative could become a formal target.
Chen Zhiwen also readily agreed. He wanted to acquire GE's home appliance business because he knew that Welch had plans to sell it. However, it was not the only choice. If there were other home appliance companies with decent scale and good technology that were willing to take action, or If an investment bank like Morgan Stanley has a way to make the other party sell, then he is also happy to do so.
Except for a few, most of the corporate culture in the United States is that the management will take over the management of the company over a long period of time. They like to use various methods to disperse the company's equity, which is naturally good for the management, because It is difficult for so many directors or shareholders to gather together to pose any threat to them, but like Hong Kong Electric, when encountering a foreign acquisition, once the price offered by the acquirer impresses most shareholders, the management will also There is no way around it. No matter what, at the legal level, the general meeting of shareholders is always the highest power holder. When shareholders are too dispersed, management cannot persuade so many shareholders to give up the huge profits in front of them and support them. In this way, each investment bank will have its own opportunities.
After the negotiation, Chen Zhiwen met with Barry Michael, who is responsible for part of his financial business in the United States. This is an authentic American and one of the few non-Chinese people in Chen Zhiwen's main business. As the scale of his industry expands, he cannot always use Chinese people, especially in the United States. Even in AMC, Gu Dehua is only one of the top executives, and the real managers are still the American team.
"Barry, there are a few things I need you to do." Chen Zhiwen said.
"Boss, please speak." Barry said politely.
"You also know that my subsidiary Midea has launched a personal computer business, and the Apple Group I invested in is also mainly engaged in personal computers, so considering the legal risks, I am ready to liquidate all my Apple shares. I have already discussed this with Apple's Steve Jobs discussed it and they promised to find a suitable buyer for us, but I'm not sure whether they can do this. Therefore, you can also take some risks and find the most suitable buyer. Buyers," said Chen Zhiwen.
"Okay, Apple's stock should be very popular, but you hold too many shares. If you sell them all at once, it may be difficult for ordinary buyers to take over. Moreover, selling so many shares may also arouse suspicion from the other party, and Lowering the price and such a big deal may affect the market." Barry didn't ask why. This was basic professional ethics, and he just analyzed various possible problems step by step.
"So, you can sell 1% of the quota a month and sell it slowly. If you can't find a suitable buyer, you can also sell it appropriately on the stock market. In this way, you can cash out in almost a year." Chen Zhiwen said .
Although history has changed, the general trend is still the same. Apple's decline in the 1980s will have to wait for another two years, and the peak period of the stock will only be about a year later. This period is just the right time to slowly cash out, so there is no need to consider it. Just reach the highest point and gradually cash out. After all, he is also a major shareholder of Apple. The listing laws in the United States are much better than those in Hong Kong. Acquisitions are okay. As long as you don't care about voting rights, you can hide it appropriately, but cashing out is not possible. You must It is to be announced.
"Okay, I will release the news that someone is going to sell some Apple stocks, and then contact some big funds I know." Barry nodded and said.
"Well, another thing is that I ask you to acquire some stocks. One is Coca-Cola, the second is Pepsi-Cola, and the third is General Electric. The more stocks, the better." Chen Zhiwen added.
"Boss, I would like to ask you what is your ultimate goal? This way I can arrange the acquisition plan reasonably." Barry thought for a while and asked.
The purpose of acquiring a company's stocks is different, and the operations are also different. For example, it is just for economic investment, to become a major shareholder, to become a board member, or the ultimate purpose is to acquire the other party. If he knows the boss's purpose in advance, then he can Can perform better.
"In the short term, it is purely for investment income. The idle funds in our hands have always been to buy U.S. Treasury bonds. This return is too low. I am more optimistic about these two beverage giants. As for General Electric, I am optimistic about them. CEO Welch." Chen Zhiwen said.
As the legendary CEO Welch, Chen Zhiwen knew that this man had brought General Electric to the altar in more than ten years. Its market value increased from just over 10 billion U.S. dollars in the 1980s to nearly 500 billion U.S. dollars a dozen years later. In the late 1990s, it was once able to threaten the world's largest market capitalization position of electronic technology giant Microsoft. This can be said to be the last glory of traditional technology giants.
The two Coke companies will also have high profits in the future, not because they have any innovations, but because with the development of globalization, a large number of Asian countries have been lifted out of poverty, and inflation in Europe and the United States has also dropped significantly due to the large number of Asian goods. With the promotion of electronic technology, the global demand for beverages will explode in the next decade or so, which will naturally promote the growth of the two giants.
Although the income of these three companies is far less than that of the technology giants, the good thing is that the market is large enough. The combined market value of the three companies exceeds 20 billion US dollars. A lot of money can be invested and then wait for appreciation.
And if there is an opportunity, maybe we can also reach cooperation with these companies in other areas. In addition to the home appliance business, General Electric has various cutting-edge technologies that Chen Zhiwen is optimistic about. However, he does not want to rely entirely on investment banks for these. If he cooperates with General Electric, If the electrical relationship is better, then direct acquisition will be easier. As for Liangle, we will see the situation in the future.
"Okay, then I understand. I will mobilize funds to slowly acquire the stocks of these companies." Barry agreed.
"OK, once there is progress, submit detailed information to me every month." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said. It is unlikely that he will stay in the United States all the time. Therefore, international business, whether it is electronics, retail, beverages, automobiles, financial investments, etc., is reported once a month, except for special circumstances.
This time I stayed in the United States for more than half a month. The most successful thing was that I bought a stake in Microsoft and set a cooperation plan with Microsoft. This can be regarded as a half-guarantee that a large number of my future software can develop more smoothly. At the same time, he can also obtain some benefits from the operating system, an area that he cannot touch.
There are some other future technology companies in the United States, but either Chen Zhiwen did not understand their history and could not find out about them in their early stages, or they have not yet reached the most suitable period for investment. After Microsoft, there is no need to be too anxious about other things. If historical changes do not affect these future giants, then in a few years, these companies will still emerge in the technology industry and will also go public, and there will be many opportunities. .
Returning to Hong Kong again, it’s April.
Today, Hong Kong's housing prices, except for commercial office buildings, are basically in a "stable" stage. This has also made the business of several real estate companies under Chen Zhiwen simpler. The residential business basically only develops existing properties. Some projects are stopped after completion, and the company begins to downsize and reserve funds.
When this peak period is reached, Chen Zhiwen does not need to pay too much attention. He only needs to know the rent collection situation of several businesses, such as Harbor City owned by Wharf, Huangpu Plaza owned by Hutchison Whampoa, and two buildings owned by Galaxy Properties. The efficiency of Central office buildings, etc., has not been affected by the market and is still rising steadily. This is also a strange phenomenon in the current Hong Kong market.
All kinds of luxury consumption will not stop until the economy completely collapses. After all, virtual housing prices are also an asset. Only a few people know that several major banks, including HSBC, have begun to reduce residential projects. of loan.
After roughly understanding the real estate situation, Chen Zhiwen called Zhou Jiayang from Hutchison Whampoa and Lei Shengli from Midea.
"Sit down, I called you here today. It's not a particularly formal meeting, but some things. I have some ideas that I want to share with you." Chen Zhiwen led the two of them to the sofa in the reception area and said with a smile.
"Okay." After the two sat down, the secretary served several cups of tea.
Chen Zhiwen asked: "Both of you also know that AMC is preparing to jointly produce Jeep cars in the Mainland. After discussing with relevant domestic leaders, I decided to select high-quality suppliers in the Mainland, and then Hutchison Whampoa will invest in them and provide them with Help, this is a relatively reasonable route, Lao Zhou, have you made any progress in the past month or so?"
"Sheng Chen, Hutchison Whampoa doesn't have any professional automotive talents. Therefore, I also cooperated with some Chinese engineers from AMC, and borrowed some quality or technical engineers from Midea to visit various departments in Yanjing City. According to feedback from smaller and larger factories, many domestic processes are from forty or fifty years ago. Many product combinations are processed on site. If it doesn't work, just use a hammer to knock it in. In such an industry, other Speaking of cars, even ordinary household appliances may not be able to be manufactured, so they all suggested that CKD assembly should be carried out. Over here in China, we can only be responsible for assembly." Zhou Jiayang said with some embarrassment.
"I actually know what these people are saying. However, it is because of the difficulty that we will achieve results if we solve this problem. Otherwise, it will not be our turn. If the country is really capable of making parts and components, then come It’s not our turn to invest in domestic automakers,” Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.
Although his current relationship with the country is pretty good, when it comes to the layout of the national industry, it is completely impossible to rely on "relationships". If Toyota, GM and Volkswagen are willing to invest, then AMC will not have a chance. After all, in the 1980s, the mainland had restrictions on the amount of foreign investment it could bring in, and top companies would definitely be chosen.
However, the poor industrial foundation and relatively poor economy make many international automobile giants feel that they will definitely lose money by investing, not to mention being required to cultivate a local automobile industry chain on a large scale. They simply cannot make any money and have to spend countless amounts of money. Energy is not worth the gain.
Even Volkswagen has a lot of demands. In this case, AMC has a chance. Although in the original history, Jeep also came to the mainland to build factories, the pure CKD model will not go far. Only successful local industrial chains Localization means getting a ticket to the future of the mainland automobile industry.
"Now I really feel like I don't know what to do. Some of the AMC engineers who want to help may not be able to do anything." Zhou Jiayang said with a wry smile: "Just talk about the most basic screw. I searched many stores in Yanjing City and couldn't find it. Many screw factories that meet AMC requirements have no automated production at all. Not only are the costs high, they cannot meet the highest consistency requirements of the automotive industry, and they also lack relevant heat treatment and anti-rust technologies.
There are also products from various factories, some of which can barely be made to size and meet the accuracy requirements. Not to mention production capacity and cost, it is impossible to verify the qualification of this product because there is no testing equipment. Even the latest test equipment is not available. Simple rust-proof tests cannot be done, or in other words, some can be done, but the standards are too different from AMC.
This is still only a small part. Those feedback documents may weigh more than me. "
"Things are difficult, so we can only do it step by step. We can start with general issues." Chen Zhiwen thought for a moment and said, "For example, if domestic manufacturers basically have no testing capabilities, then Hutchison Whampoa has set up an automotive laboratory in Yanjing. As far as I know, the testing in the automotive industry is nothing more than high and low temperature, anti-rust, waterproof, sand-proof, vibration, electrical performance, etc. The equipment is directly from When buying overseas, build a small one first, and then expand it later when the demand increases.”
Since you want to localize parts and components, no matter what method you use, your investment must not be small. Otherwise, the automobile giants will not hear this condition and immediately cut off the possibility of cooperation.
However, he is compensated. No matter what industry he directly invests in, as long as it is non-polluting, it can be placed directly in Yanjing City near the third and fifth rings. The future land price is a guarantee that he will not lose money, and he can Improving the development of the mainland's automobile industry will achieve multiple goals with one stone.
"We can invest in the laboratory, and even some anti-rust processes and heat treatment processes. I can also buy a similar company overseas and invest domestically. But in terms of process materials, we cannot be responsible for them all." Zhou Jiayang nodded. He said that as long as the boss agrees, some problems can still be solved with money. But looking at it this way, it seems not cost-effective. The investment cost is too high. Unless the car sells well in the future, otherwise it will definitely lose money.
"As for materials, automobiles are mainly made of steel. In the early stage, some raw materials were CKD. After Shanghai Baosteel starts construction, the steel produced there should be able to meet the requirements of automobiles. As for the processing technology, then It’s really not easy to operate.” Chen Zhiwen said again.
The domestic Baosteel project was actually very controversial in the 1980s, but Chen Zhiwen believes that it is the foundation of the entire mainland industry. Although Baosteel itself is not as profitable as those light industries or secondary heavy industries that make money quickly, it is precisely because of the It prevents various steel raw materials from being stuck overseas.
There are two different things, but not using it. If all the steel in the automobile industry is imported, the cost will be so high that the entire industry will not be able to develop. The indirect losses will be much greater than Baosteel's investment, let alone Baosteel's investment. Baosteel's steel is of great significance in shipbuilding, infrastructure, home appliances, mechanical processing, equipment manufacturing and other fields.
"As for processing, there are actually several large-scale industrial processing machine tool factories in China, but they are a little behind in terms of capabilities. I am also wondering whether to invest in them. If so, the amount of investment will not be small. Otherwise, it won’t develop at all,” Zhou Jiayang said.
"Are there such machine tool factories in Yanjing City or Shanghai?" Chen Zhiwen asked.
PS: Recommend a book: [What is it like to have a cheating wife?], a high-quality dog food driving comedy article, has been completed.
(End of chapter)
