Reborn Tycoon Rise

Jack Marshall was not very surprised and said with a chuckle: "Mr. Xu, in fact everyone understands the current situation of Huberline Company. I can tell you that before today, no less than ten companies have come to negotiate. They The purpose is the same as yours, it’s just for KFC, Mr. Xu, you should know what’s going on here today!”

"Okay, I understand." Xu Zhi smiled. He understood the other party's thoughts very well. With the current situation of Huberline's main business of liquor, once KFC loses its ability to continue blood transfusion, it will only be a matter of time before it goes bankrupt.

As for the funds from the sale of KFC, the amount is indeed large, but according to the nature of capital, 80% will be divided by the board of directors in advance to avoid further losses.

According to some information provided by Goldman Sachs, many large companies in the United States are very interested in KFC. The richest among them is McDonald's. However, Huberline's board of directors insisted on not selling only KFC. In the end, all buyers became As a "spare tire" in the transaction, he was not rejected verbally, but entered a long waiting period.

Obviously, Huberline hopes that someone can take over the entire company, and shareholders on the board of directors can cash out in one go without any hassle. If the negotiations break down, or are dragged to the end and there is no other way, they will contact these companies again.

Jack Marshall looked at Xu Zhi's expression and asked: "Mr. Xu, Goldman Sachs should have disclosed our conditions. We only accept the overall sale."

"I know this." Xu Zhi nodded and said, "But I also have a condition."

"Mr. Xu, please tell me." Jack Marshall's face changed slightly and he asked excitedly. This is the first buyer who intends to fully take over the company since his company prepared to sell it as a whole.

"You and I are very aware of the current predicament of Huberline Company. The liabilities before I took over the company are not a problem. The amount of the transaction still needs to be determined through subsequent negotiations. But in terms of payment, I will not make a one-time payment, but 30% will be paid after the deal is concluded, and subsequent payments will be made two years later." Xu Zhi stated his request.

Although Huberline's current performance is mediocre, as a wine giant that has been operating for more than half a century, its brand awareness is extremely high in the industry, and it has complete sales channels in Europe, the United States and even Asia, not to mention that its performance is growing rapidly. Development of KFC and other side businesses.

According to Goldman Sachs' estimates, the amount of this transaction will not be less than one billion US dollars. Although Xu Zhi can afford such a large amount of funds, he is not willing to pay it all at once, even if he uses a loan. After all, loans can be Quota is also one of a person's worth.

The previous acquisition of Disney was a result of strong sellers and strict government supervision. The acquisition of real estate was a full privatization in the stock market. It was not Xu Zhi’s turn to choose. In order to complete the transaction smoothly and avoid uncontrollable risks, Xu Zhi could only use Large loans for one-time acquisitions.

But this time the acquisition of Huberline was different. Although he really wanted KFC, he brought a fuel bottle, so Xu Zhi naturally had strong capital.

As for this so-called "oil bottle", in fact it won't be a problem in another year or two. First, the lie created by the red wine industry will one day be exposed, because drinking a lot of red wine without being self-controlled in other aspects of diet People who should get diabetes will still get it, not to mention that genetic recombination technology is developing rapidly and cheap insulin will soon appear. By then, the threat of diabetes will disappear, the market for various high-calorie foods and beverages will expand rapidly, and the liquor industry will also will return to normal or even expand further.

The transaction between Pepsi and polar bears soon had to be terminated, because in recent years, except for global breadbaskets such as the United States and Brazil, other countries have seen food production plummet due to climate reasons. At the same time, oil prices have fallen, and polar bears’ foreign exchange earnings have also plummeted. , in the absence of food and foreign exchange, vodka will also become scarce, and Pepsi's trading methods will have to change.

If history is not affected, then in order to obtain enough cola, the polar bear exchanged a large amount of arms with PepsiCo, including 17 submarines, 1 cruiser, 1 frigate and 1 destroyer. After Pepsi obtained these ships at that time, it was used by the United States The media jokingly calls it the sixth largest fleet in the world. Although these ships are old goods abandoned by polar bears and sealed in warehouses, they are much stronger than the active naval equipment of many countries.

No matter how PepsiCo handles these warships, as long as Polar Bear's vodka does not disrupt the U.S. market, it will be the best news for the U.S. liquor industry.

Therefore, he may not be able to make big profits in the future after acquiring Huberline's liquor business, but he will never lose money. What's more, he has another big move, which is to move the factory to the mainland. At the same time, by the end of the 1980s, domestic The market is beginning to open up, which is also a new opportunity.

"If it's only two years, it shouldn't be a problem, but I need to consult the board of directors again." Jack Marshall thought for a while, nodded and agreed. In the US capital market's huge mergers and acquisitions, it is normal for some funds to be postponed. After all, many people The plan is to acquire the company, split it up to make a profit, and then repay the funds acquired. Although there is profit in the process, the room is not large. Many people follow a routine similar to a white wolf with empty hands, so they are unwilling to do so. Loan route, because with a huge loan, the risk increases and the profit decreases.

Of course, it is also possible that the buyer just puts the money in the hands of the seller in order to save two years of interest. The question here is how the seller and the seller play the game.

Jack Marshall then asked: "Mr. Xu, since you intend to acquire the entire Huberline, we also hope that this is a normal business merger and acquisition, rather than a financial speculation, so we hope that you can discuss employment and subsequent operations." The company has made a commitment not to break up Huberline at will."

"You are in charge of too much. If it weren't for the losses in the liquor business, I guess your board of directors would be eager to spin it off to get higher profits." Xu Zhi vetoed forcefully. The reason for the previous acquisition of Disney was that in order to deal with the hurdles of the U.S. government, we had to make some commitments to maintain employment and stable operations, and Xu Zhi himself would not make any big moves against Disney at will, because many of Disney’s internal staff They are all top talents in the industry.

But what is Huberline? Although the scale is not small, it is just a brewing and food company. As long as it is not a top grain merchant like ABCD that can control the global grain trade, the U.S. government is eager for foreign capital to acquire such an ordinary enterprise to increase domestic GDP and promote more employment.

After acquiring Huberline, KFC's business will definitely focus on development, but the packaged food business is not large in scale and relatively low-end. Naturally, it will sell it as much as possible to cash out a certain amount of funds and reduce the company's debt pressure.

As for the liquor business, according to the current market conditions, it should not be easy to sell. It is naturally focused on stable development. If layoffs are needed, we will lay off employees, or transfer them to the KFC department as needed. After a few years, when the liquor industry picks up, we will proceed according to the situation. Decide next.

In short, I will never keep any promises I make. I may be merciful and not lay off employees in the future, but I will never tie myself up and make any promises at this time.

"..." Jack Marshall was speechless. For a moment, the atmosphere in the office became awkward.

Xu Zhi looked at the other person's expression and understood immediately, and said, "Mr. Marshall, are you worried about your future?"

"Yes, Mr. Xu." Jack Marshall could only admit in embarrassment. As the top executive of Huberline, he was actually just a manager. Some of the shares he owned were only annual year-end bonuses, and his share was not much. , to him, the amount of the deal is not important, what is important is how the new boss will deal with the entire company once the deal is completed.

If the other party really only values ​​KFC, then he, the CEO, will inevitably be abandoned. Even if he is not laid off, he will be squeezed out of the highest power level.

For people like him, money is actually not important. Their income in the past year is enough for ordinary people to achieve financial freedom. As long as they don't live too extravagantly, their previous accumulation can easily last a lifetime.

But people always have goals in life. There are many rich people in the world, but few retire completely when they have enough money to spend. Most people continue to work hard, not just for more money, but also for achieving goals. The value of their own lives is important, or in other words, they have become addicted to the huge rights brought by money and capital.

Xu Zhi had many people like him, so he naturally understood what the other party was thinking. After a pause, he said: "I can tell you bluntly, I acquired Huberline Company just for KFC. Therefore, after the acquisition is successful, KFC will definitely It will be spun off from Huberline and become an independent company.

But I won’t be in a hurry to sell Huberline’s other businesses. You can continue to manage all the remaining businesses. I will give you two years. If you can make the company survive successfully, I will continue to keep it. The entire company, of course, if you have the ability and the company's business develops well, then I can also inject more funds and use some of my own channels and resources to sell Huberline's liquor to the world! "

Jack Marshall nodded. He understood what Xu Zhi meant, but he still said: "Mr. Xu, Huberline Company's liquor business has been losing money for several consecutive years. During this time, I have laid off several employees and closed two factories. , achieved certain results, and the losses have also been reduced, but the current situation is that the entire market continues to deteriorate, and if the company lays off more employees, I am afraid it will affect the future development of the entire company. After all, if the liquor market recovers, we will also need enough manpower to carry out operations.”

"What you said makes sense. The deterioration of the entire market is indeed not that easy to overcome." Xu Zhi nodded and said, "However, I don't agree with you. Since the U.S. market is shrinking, foreign markets can also be developed. Well, I own a Xiangjiang company with a large number of retail channels in Asia, which can help you develop the Asian market.

But there are still ways to save costs in the United States. Since we can no longer lay off workers, we can lower everyone’s wages to reduce costs. "

"I can give it a try." Jack Marshall nodded.

"By the way, has Hubline established a trade union?" Xu Zhi remembered an important question.

"Yes, they are indeed troublesome, but I can handle it. If they cause trouble, I will shut down the entire factory. At worst, I will move the factory to Asia or Mexico." Jack Marshall said hurriedly, fearing that Xu Zhi, a Chinese, would not understand the power of this. : "Boss, although relocating the factory will increase costs, we must not bow to the union. After this time, there will be a second and third time in the future, and the unions in other factories will also follow suit. In the end, It will cause huge trouble, and the automobile industry is a lesson learned from this."

"Don't worry, although I'm not an American, I know the stakes here very well. I can't afford to offend American labor unions." Xu Zhi smiled and waved his hand. Mainlanders in later generations have basically heard of the strength of American labor unions. , especially in the automobile industry, during several financial crises, the UAW (United Auto Workers) negotiated with the three major automobile giants several times, and finally killed General Motors and Chrysler in 2009.

Although it represents the interests of workers, the UAW has long since become a parasite in the automobile industry. It organizes strikes and confrontations against automobile companies, and imposes high membership fees on automobile workers. As a result, the biggest enemy of American automobiles is neither Japan nor Japan. European automotive peers, but their own union.

In other industries in the United States, some unions are not as strong as the UAW, but capitalists are unwilling to pay attention to these people. Many entrepreneurs would rather close or move factories in the United States than let unions succeed.

For example, in later generations, Wal-Mart has 4,000 retail stores throughout the United States, but none of its internal employees has a union, because as long as a branch has established a union, regardless of the store's operating conditions or geographical location, the headquarters' orders are direct Closed, no room for negotiation.

The closed storefronts naturally suffered heavy losses, but this also prevented other Wal-Mart supermarkets from forming trade unions, closing one store after another, and everyone lost their jobs. Wal-Mart harmed others with its capital, and eliminated the troubles of the union.

After all, Wal-Mart Supermarket is a service industry. Compared with traditional factories, the service industry cannot withstand continuous strikes. If this kind of thing really happens, the losses will be much greater than a few stores.

Therefore, among the Wal-Mart supermarkets around the world, unions have been established only in supermarkets in mainland China, and none in other countries.

"It's good that Mr. Xu understands the reason." Jack Marshall said with a smile.

Xu Zhi continued: "But you are right about one thing. We can move the winery to the mainland. The cost there is very low, and there are also considerable tax benefits. Moreover, the Chinese have always had the habit of drinking. There is a There is a huge market, even if you get a very small part of it, it will be enough to live a very prosperous life!"

"Okay, I will focus on investigating the situation in the mainland." Jack Marshall agreed.

Xu Zhi nodded and said: "After talking for a long time, this is all for the future. Should we discuss the acquisition now?"

"Mr. Xu, I can only get involved here. I'm just here to confirm whether you have the intention to acquire the entire company. If not, I need to be responsible for convincing you as much as possible. If you agree, then the board of directors will be specially formed to The team will conduct the next negotiation." Jack Marshall said with some embarrassment: "After all, my position is not suitable for participating."

"Okay, I understand. I will let Goldman Sachs participate in the rest." Xu Zhi also understood. After all, if he really makes the acquisition, Jack Marshall still hopes to maintain his position in the company. If he is responsible for the business Negotiations, Huberlain's group of board members naturally didn't believe it.

This situation is not uncommon in the United States. Companies with strong boards of directors do not believe in mergers and acquisitions organized by the company's top management, because it involves their own interests.

The subsequent negotiations are naturally left to the investment bank Goldman Sachs. Although the fees are not low, the service is considerate. All economic risks and legal issues in the acquisition will be assessed by them and then handed over to Xu Zhi for confirmation.

What Xu Zhi wants is KFC. As for Huberline, all he needs to do is figure out the debt problem, and then evaluate the acquisition amount based on the actual situation, and the entire transaction will be considered preliminarily confirmed.

What's left is the U.S. government's side. A food company, even if it's large, won't have any national security issues.