Expedition to Europe

Everyone knows that it is a good opportunity to buy at the bottom during an economic crisis, but how to buy at the bottom is a technical job.

There are some commonalities that can be confirmed. During an economic crisis, factories will stop production due to lack of orders, and a large number of workers will be unemployed. In order to reduce losses, factory owners will sell factories; at the same time, agricultural product prices will drop sharply, and no one will buy even if they fall below cost, and then farmers will sell their farms.

If buying at the bottom during this period means waving a checkbook and buying whatever you see, then buying at the end can only lead to bankruptcy.

Think about it, the machine replacement period in the factory is about ten years. It can be said that the machines in many factories are basically in a state of being scrapped. Why buy such a factory?

There are also factories composed entirely of new machines, but the factory owners are not fools. Perhaps the factory owners will package and sell those factories to prevent the machines from becoming a pile of scrap metal, but if a fool waving a checkbook comes to the door at this time, the factory owner must have been hungry for a long time.

Simon Allen is not stupid, otherwise he would not have the opportunity to become the helmsman of the Alliance Group. As early as half a year ago, Simon Allen formed an evaluation team to evaluate related companies across the United States in preparation for a big bargain.

America!

This sounds a bit greedy. In fact, there are not many industries related to the Alliance Group in the United States. So far, the Alliance Group is only involved in the two fields of biology and automobiles, so Simon Allen's initial investigation scope is limited to these two fields.

In the biological industry, because penicillin is an exclusive business and nylon also has patents, in the biological industry, the only company that can pose a threat to the Alliance Group is DuPont.

However, there is no need to think about DuPont. DuPont is still very powerful. It began to get involved in non-explosive products before the World War and established its own laboratory. Because it made a lot of money in the World War, DuPont is not short of cash, and the three bosses of DuPont are paying the same attention as Simon Allen. They also want to bargain during the economic crisis.

The situation in the automotive field is even more desperate. Before the emergence of Federal Motors, Ford was the undisputed overlord of the US market. Even after the emergence of Federal Motors, Ford's market share in the US was no longer 100%, but it still occupied more than 80% of the market.

Ford's orders before the World War were simply unfulfilled. The World War further stimulated the development of the automobile industry. Ford also made a lot of profits during the World War, and they were not short of cash.

So Simon Allen discovered an embarrassing situation. The Alliance Group did have a lot of cash, but now it couldn't find a target worth buying and could buy, which was the so-called "money can't be spent", which really embarrassed Simon Allen.

As a man who aspires to become a "marquis", Simon Allen must not let this happen.

So the Federal Group's vision began to spread, like a wolf with green eyes after three days of hunger, and began to look for places to spend money throughout the United States.

The United States in 1920 was an era when capital was gradually declining.

Seven years ago, the death of banker John Pierpont Morgan marked the end of an era.

Last year, the steel magnate Andrew Carnegie passed away, marking the end of another era.

So far, only the oil magnate John D. Rockefeller remains among the three giants in the American economic world.

John D. Rockefeller's life was not easy either. His Standard Oil was found to be suspected of monopoly and was split up by the federal government nine years ago. Although the stock prices of all companies rose after the split, Rockefeller's wealth was actually increasing, but in fact, it was no longer as prosperous as before due to the intervention of the government.

Against this backdrop, coupled with the sequelae of the world war, the intensity of this economic crisis can be imagined.

The Alliance Group was born under this background. Although the Alliance Group has developed rapidly since its birth and has made money at a speed no less than the three giants in the economic world, it has not received treatment that matches its strength in the American economic world because of its short history and lack of foundation. This is also the reason why the Alliance Group has money but nowhere to spend it now.

When the employees of the Alliance Group deal with people, some people who are closed to information will ask "What does the Alliance Group do?"

If the Alliance Group is replaced by Standard Oil, and if Rockefeller expresses his intention to acquire a certain company, then it is estimated that any boss of an American company would be willing to pick up soap in front of Rockefeller.

This is the gap.

So when the first secretary Jane Correggi reported to Simon Allen, her voice was particularly helpless: "Steve still refused to give in. He is only willing to grant the right to use, not willing to sell the patent."

Steve's full name is Steve Moore. He is a professor at Columbia University. He holds an important patent in oil refining, which is very important for Federal Oil, which is about to enter the US market.

Simon Allen wants to buy out this technology. On the one hand, Federal Oil can provide support, and on the other hand, it can also give Standard Oil a blow.

If we talk about it from a global perspective, Federal Oil and United Oil do occupy half of the world, but if it is limited to the United States, Standard Oil is the boss, no one else.

At present, all the cars in the world outside the United States are not as many as the United States alone, so you can imagine how eager Federal Oil and United Oil are for the US market.

"These professors are so annoying. They just need to do research. Why do they need so much money?" Simon Allen vented his dissatisfaction.

Jane Correggi had a helpless expression, closed the folder in her hand, and subconsciously rolled her eyes.

Simon Allen had a failed marriage and is currently a bachelor, but he still has physical needs. Jane Correggi and Simon Allen have a close relationship. Therefore, although Jane Correggi is Simon Allen's secretary, she is less respectful of Simon Allen.

Strictly speaking, what Simon Allen said is not correct. Steve Moore owns this patent. As long as the patent does not expire and there is no alternative technology, Steve Moore can continue to collect patent fees, which is much more cost-effective than a one-time buyout.

The United States attaches great importance to intellectual property rights, and patents, as the core part of intellectual property rights, are the focus of protection. In the United States, if a company involves someone's patent in production but does not pay the corresponding fees, then once the incident is exposed, it will have to pay a certain amount of punitive damages, which is unbearable for all companies.

The so-called "punitive damages" are not paid in proportion, nor are they the confiscation of profits, but everything.

That is to say, if the market value of the company that violates the Patent Law is $100 million, then no matter how much the company's turnover related to the patent is, the company must pay about $100 million in punitive damages.

That's right, it's to make you bankrupt.

The original text is in Liu # 9 @Book/Bar!

In this way, the consequences of violating the Patent Law are really daunting.

By the way, after the establishment of Lan Fang, similar laws were implemented. Therefore, although Lan Fang's economic development was rapid, there has not been any case involving intellectual property rights since its founding.

It's the same with Simon Allen. Even Standard Oil had to pay the patent fee honestly, and Simon Allen could only follow the rules.

"What about Morgan Jr.? What does he think of my suggestion?" Simon Allen threw the damn patent behind his mind and tried to think of something pleasant.

"Mr. Morgan is not interested in your suggestion." Jane Correggi said simply.

In order to better buy at the bottom, Simon Allen found J.P. Morgan, the president of the Morgan Consortium, who had just taken office, some time ago, and wanted to establish a bank with J.P. Morgan to better carry out capital operations.

In modern financial activities, the status of banks is becoming more and more important. It can be said that whoever controls the bank controls the lifeline of finance. Simon Allen is very optimistic about the future prospects of the banking industry. Therefore, when Simon Allen wanted to set up a bank, Simon Allen first thought of J.P. Morgan.

In the United States, the Morgan Consortium cannot be ignored when mentioning the banking industry.

From the first day of its establishment in 1871, Morgan Company began to engage in investment and credit business. In 1895, after Drexel-Morgan Company was renamed Morgan Company, Morgan Company began to expand into steel, railways, public utilities and other fields. Morgan Company was gradually upgraded to Morgan Consortium, and John Pierpont Morgan, the helmsman of the consortium, became one of the three giants of the American economy.

Such a consortium is vigilant against new forces like the Alliance Group. As the core department of the Morgan Consortium, the banking industry is even more impossible to introduce foreign investment. The Morgan Consortium has sufficient financial resources. To be honest, they do not attach importance to the Alliance Group. If they need to set up another bank, the Morgan Consortium has enough funds.

"Not interested? Very good, let them not be interested. These high-ranking Wall Street bosses will regret today's decision sooner or later." Simon Allen did feel humiliated in his heart, but it was not time to explode.

If he wanted to explode, he could only wait until the economic crisis. At that time, the stocks of many companies would plummet, and Simon Allen could easily gain control of many companies. Even if Simon Allen wanted a bank, he didn't have to worry now. In the economic crisis, there were many banks for Simon Allen to choose from.

"Mr. Andrew William Mellon invites you to a banquet." Jane Correggi continued to report.

"Finally, there is good news." Simon Allen finally had a smile on his face.

Andrew William Mellon, another major financial oligarch in the United States, has a friend, Warren Gamelier Harding, who is about to run for the US presidential election.

Presidential election!

Simon Allen suddenly remembered that there was such a thing.