My 1999

"I respect Standard Chartered's rules, but when can I get the money?"

Xu Liang asked.

"Half a month at the latest."

John Humphrey said after feeling relieved.

Xu Liang is now a major shareholder of Standard Chartered, and Yahoo! Japan's equity is also of high quality. He does not want to offend the other party because of this matter, let alone lose this obviously profitable business.

Xu Liang nodded and did not discuss the matter in detail.

The remaining terms, such as loan interest, etc., will take a long time, so just leave it to the people below to negotiate.

He is only responsible for the general direction.

"I have something else here and I need Standard Chartered's help."

"No problem, as long as Standard Chartered can do it, we will definitely not refuse." John Humphrey smiled.

"Help me acquire equity in the Manchester United football team."

"Manchester United football team? Manchester United?!"

John Humphrey was surprised.

As an Englishman, of course he knows Manchester United.

But I didn't expect that Xu Liang was interested in it?

Xu Liang nodded and said: "I quite like football, especially Manchester United. So I want to acquire it."

Relying solely on acquisitions by Hanhua Capital is too slow.

He wanted to bring in Standard Chartered as a helper.

"As long as the stock price fluctuates by no more than 15%, no matter how many shares of Manchester United you acquire, I will pay 7% of the total value as an intermediary fee."

The reason why the floating range is limited is to prevent Standard Chartered from blindly collecting shares at high prices and then letting him pay the bill.

This is also a routine operation for international cooperation.

John Humphrey pondered for a moment.

"Mr. Xu, football may not be a big deal in China, but its influence in the UK is very great. Manchester United fans may not accept a Chinese owner. And four years ago, Murdoch of News Corporation already paid the price for a failure."

He is not optimistic about Xu Liang's acquisition.

"John, the main reason why Murdoch failed is because he did not have a huge Chinese market behind him. I think the FA should be happy to open up the Premier League's influence in China through a Chinese owner.

Moreover, I am just a pure investor. Unlike Murdoch who owns Sky TV, I do not have the ability to monopolize.

Therefore, there are no obstacles at the administrative level.

The only thing that might have an impact on this deal is the fans.

But as for the fans, promising to bring in a few superstars or renovate the stadium will satisfy them. "Xu Liang said with a smile.

Looking at the man in front of him, John Humphrey admitted that his analysis made sense.

For the huge Chinese market, there is a great possibility that the Football Association will not only not set up obstacles, but may also provide some invisible conveniences.

After all, no one dislikes money when it is reasonable and legal.

"Besides, no matter whether this matter is successful or not, Manchester United's equity is valuable, and I will not be short of Standard Chartered's share." Xu Liang continued.

After John Humphrey pondered for a moment, he made a decision in his heart.

"Xu, we at Standard Chartered are very willing to cooperate with Hanhua."

As Xu Liang said, regardless of the final success or failure of this transaction, Standard Chartered will make money.

"Wise choice."

Xu Liang also breathed a sigh of relief.

According to the securities law, if the total number of shares held by an investment company or affiliated company exceeds 5%, it is required to submit an investment letter of intent to the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the target company.

Standard Chartered is not an affiliate of Hanhua and does not need to disclose it until it owns 5% of Manchester United's shares.

Coupled with the acquisition of Hanhua itself.

This allows the two parties to collectively acquire more than 10% of low-priced stocks, which can effectively reduce Hanhua's acquisition costs.

Xu Liang doesn’t want to be like the Glazer family, which spent three years and nearly 800 million pounds acquiring Manchester United.

The price is too high.

After finalizing the general direction of cooperation, Xu Liang, led by John Humphrey, walked around Standard Chartered Bank and then left.

The subsequent negotiations will be handled by Red Rock Fund and Hanhua Capital London Branch respectively.

Return to hotel.

"Mr. Xu, the hotel in Paris has been booked for you." Lu Hui came over and said.

"Leave tomorrow."

"OK."

Jingle Bell…….

The phone suddenly rang.

After looking at the caller ID, Xu Liang pressed the answer button.

"I have good news for you. Kunpeng Fund has exceeded US$1 billion." Jiang Xiaoyang's voice came over.

"It seems that the richest man Li has set a strong example."

Xu Liang smiled.

"Of course. We had to make phone calls one by one before they would invest in Kunpeng Fund.

As soon as Li Jiacheng's US$100 million came out, we were almost flooded with calls from VIP clients for consultation and investment.

In less than half a month, it has exceeded the amount of funds raised in the past few months. "

"This is the difference in background. The reputation they have accumulated in most of their lives is not what we can compare with now." Xu Liang said with emotion.

Lao Li has always been a mythical existence in the Chinese circle, and he has a deep folk foundation.

It wasn't until ten years later that everyone understood.

He is not a moral model, he is just a businessman from the inside out.

Jiang Xiaoyang nodded and Wen Yan comforted him: "But I believe you will be stronger than him in the future."

"Haha, that's for sure. By the way, how are the preparations for Fuhua Group going?"

"It is being prepared. But it will definitely be completed before the end of the year."

Xu Liang nodded.

Fuhua Group is Xu Liang's reintegration of Hanhua's real estate business.

The newly established Fuhua consists of three businesses.

Fu Wah Apartments, Fu Wah Properties and Fu Wah Properties.

The former is an unfinished building project that is currently being acquired, and the latter is a residential property.

Fuhua Property is responsible for the property management of all projects.

After the establishment of Fuhua Group, it will become the holding company of Hanhua's Xuanwu Real Estate Fund.

"Let Lao Sha worry more about the group's preparations. You can prepare for Fuhua's backdoor listing." Xu Liang said.

Fuhua Group has only been established for a short period of time and it is very difficult to pass the IPO review.

Even if it can be passed, it will take a year or two to go through a series of processes such as road shows, scheduling, silence, etc.

Xu Liang didn't want to wait so long.

Therefore, the best way is to go public via backdoor listing.

Now the Hong Kong stock market's system for backdoor listings is not as strict as it was later.

But it’s not easy to go public through a backdoor listing. There are also hidden reefs under the seemingly beautiful water surface, and you can step into a trap if you’re not careful.

For example, Huabao International went public through a backdoor merger and was unable to inject assets within two years; Sanyuan Group was actually sentenced to delisting after buying a shell?

Gome was even disgraced by the "Xiangjiang Shell King" Zhan Peizhong.

No one in capital is kind.

"I know. But there are too few net shells here in Xiangjiang. Many nominal net shells have hidden debts. It is not easy to find a suitable 'shell'." Jiang Xiaoyang said.

"Take your time, don't rush."

After some discussion, the two hung up the phone.

After resting for the last night in London, Xu Liang flew to Paris.

He had visited this world-famous romantic city several times in his previous life.

It was fine in the early days, but the results got worse as time went by.

The surging refugees, successive strikes, and more and more crimes have overwhelmed Xu Liang's good impression of the city.

Of course, it's still pretty good now. Although there's a lot of petty theft, at least it's not that messy.

——

Presidential Suite at the Waldorf Astoria Paris.

"Mr. Xu, there are currently three main companies competing with us for Vivendi games, Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony." Xia Weidao.

"Where are EA and Ubisoft?" Xu Liang asked.

"They bid too low and were basically eliminated."

Xu Liang asked, "Which company has the highest price now?"

"Microsoft and Sony. Microsoft's offer is US$2.6 billion in all cash, and Sony's offer is US$2.7 billion, paid in 60% cash and 40% stock. Although Sony's bid is higher, Vivendi now wants cash more."

Xu Liang nodded.

Vivendi Games' net revenue in 2001 was US$400 million and net profit was US$86 million. Including copyright assets, the value is about US$2 billion.

2.7 billion US dollars, which has increased by 33% on the original basis. It is indeed very sincere.

"Where's our quotation?" Xu Liang asked next.

"Our quotation is based on Sony, but Vivendi has not given a clear reply. We probably want to wait for Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo to see if they will come up with a higher quotation." Xia Wei said.

Xu Liang understood that if it were him, he would choose the same strategy.

The one with the highest price gets it.

"You make an appointment with Jean Foch for me, and I'll meet him." Xu Liang said.

"OK."

——

"Liang Xu wants to see me?"

Jean Foch was surprised.

"Yes."

The secretary nodded affirmatively.

Jean Foch took off his glasses and wiped them, then put them back on, his amber pupils showing deep thought.

“I didn’t expect that the founder of Hongmeng would come to Paris in person.”

"Sir, this is a good thing for us at Vivendi." The secretary said respectfully.

"It's indeed a good thing."

The arrival of Xu Liang means that Hongmeng attaches great importance to Hongmeng Games.

The more attention they pay, the higher the price they will sell.

"You can reply for me. I will wait for him here at nine o'clock tomorrow morning."

"OK."

The secretary turned and left.

"I wonder what kind of price Hongmeng can offer?" Jean Foch thought to himself.

To be honest, he was still very attracted to Hongmeng Company's conditions.

Although they also use cash and equity, the potential of equity in a rapidly growing company like Hongmeng is far more attractive than that in established companies like Sony and Microsoft.

"It's a pity that Nintendo has already withdrawn. Otherwise, if four companies compete for it, the price of Vivendi's games will be even higher."