When will I have a long tassel?

Linji Group sent a negotiation team headed by Deputy General Manager Zhan Keqin to Germany to conduct merger and acquisition negotiations with PATEO. Liang Zile was hired as the chief investment consultant and participated in the entire negotiation process.

According to Tang Zifeng's idea, there is no need to waste too much time negotiating with Botai. If you just say "If you like it, sell it, if you don't, go away", the other party will probably kneel down.

PATEO had already suffered serious losses before. Since the idea of ​​selling it came up, people have been tempted. The sales department has no enthusiasm for sales, and customers are afraid to place orders easily, for fear that the equipment they bought will not be guaranteed in the future. The business can be said to be It's a cliff-like decline.

If the business is gone, the company cannot easily lay off employees. Because if the company's employees are dismissed, the company will be even less valuable. But to keep these people, the company has to pay them wages, transportation, food, ice, charcoal, etc., not a penny less. Seeing that the financial hole is getting bigger and bigger, can PATEO's board of directors not be in a hurry? ?

In this case, if you say harsh words to Botai, what else can the other side do?

However, after all, Linji is still a company that cares about integrity. Even if the general manager is a bit out of tune, other senior executives are still rational and know the truth of being a human being. When Zhan Keqin and his party negotiated with Botai, they spoke very tactfully and did not have that arrogance.

"Mr. Short, we come here with sincerity. There has been good cooperation between Linji and PATEO, and we have always respected PATEO's technology and good reputation in the industry. This time, I heard that PATEO PATEO has encountered temporary operating difficulties. Out of the friendship of our colleagues, we are willing to lend a helping hand to PATEO, fully acquire all assets of PATEO, and retain PATEO's production and operation system to the greatest extent possible, so that the brand of PATEO May you remain glorious forever.”

In the negotiation room, Zhan Keqin said with sincerity to Short, the sales director of PATEO in charge of the sale.

"Thank you very much for the kindness of our Chinese colleagues." Short scolded in his heart, but was as polite as Zhan Keqin, "We have always regarded Linji Group as our best partner. Regarding the progress of Linji Group over the years, we are I appreciate it very much. Linji Group intends to fully acquire PATEO, which is good news for the PATEO brand and nearly 10,000 employees of PATEO around the world. We are very willing to accept Linji’s acquisition offer and I believe this will be a collaboration that will go down in history.”

"This is our common wish." Zhan Keqin said.

"Of course..." Short changed the topic, "As a global enterprise, PATEO is not the only partner with Linji. I don't know if Mr. Zhan knows that not long ago, Japan's Someno Company also issued a letter to PATEO We made preliminary contact with the acquisition offer, and they also expressed strong interest in PATEO's brand and technology, so..."

Having said this, he drawled in a meaningful tone, waiting for Zhan Keqin to experience it himself.

Someno intends to acquire PATEO, which is an acquisition of a German company by a Japanese company and has nothing to do with China. But just such a piece of news has made it to the front pages of several domestic financial media, and there are also a lot of so-called "industry insiders" commenting on it. Isn't the purpose of it just to let the management on the chance to see it?

Short asked Zhan Keqin if he knew about this, and he was trying to hide it. How could Zhan Keqin not hear it?

"Ranye?" Zhan Keqin smiled slightly, "Mr. Short, such rumors seem to have little significance for our negotiations today, right?"

"This... is not just a rumor." Short said a little awkwardly. "In fact, the company's board of directors takes this matter quite seriously. Although we are very optimistic about the cooperation with Linji, after all, we still have to pay attention to the shareholders. Equity is responsible. If there are other companies with higher bids, it is impossible for us not to consider the possibility of cooperation with other companies."

Liang Zile smiled and interjected: "Mr. Short, I understand your thoughts very well. As a professional manager, it is very necessary to consider the interests of shareholders. Regarding the sale of PATEO, if there are other possibilities, Of course you should consider it, it’s understandable.”

"That's right." Short nodded.

"But do you think Someno's acquisition of Botai is possible?"

"Well……"

Liang Zile's car drove so suddenly that Short was caught off guard.

"Well..., I personally think that there is still a certain possibility..., no, I mean, it is still very possible." Short said hesitantly.

Liang Zile shook his head, looked at Short with sincere eyes, and said: "Mr. Short, in my mind, I have always regarded you as a marketing expert. You won't be so lacking in market experience, right? Please tell me I, you really just said it casually, you didn’t take it seriously. In your heart, you actually know that it is completely impossible for Someno to acquire Pateis, isn’t that right?”

Liang Zile grew up in the United States, and when talking to Short, he spoke directly in English. The Chinese translator in turn translated for Zhan Keqin and others. When Liang Zile said this, Zhan Keqin and others almost laughed.

Liang Zile, this young man, used to have a bit of the elite temperament of a Wharton master. In the past few years since he came to China, he has been hanging out with liberal arts students from the National People's University such as Tang Zifeng and Li Kejia. Those who are close to black are black, and his moral integrity is running in the negative direction of the number axis. He has become less and less. See the law. Those few words just now can be said to have reached home, and I don’t know if Short can bear it.

"This..." Short felt like he had a toothache. We are all smart people. Who doesn’t know what the facts are?

He Jian came up with a plan to use Ranye to put pressure on Linji. He thought he was smart, but in the eyes of a truly smart person, he was actually completely stupid. He Jian said that his strategy was to play hard to get, but the result was that there was no silver here, which made people see Botai's weakness.

Indeed, if PATEO was not insane, how could it have accepted such a clumsy plan? Mercer was just too stupid to see it. Wordenberg and other senior executives actually thought they might as well give it a try. This was not a case of seeking medical attention in a hurry. ?

Short himself also thought of this and felt that it was inappropriate to use Someno as an example, but he also thought that since he had already done this, the Chinese might not be able to see it for a while, so wouldn't they be able to deceive the other party?

Liang Zile's words were like a slap in the face to Hong Guoguo. Yes, after all you are an old man and a senior professional manager. Is it possible for Someno to acquire PATEO? Don’t you have any ABCD numbers in your mind? Wouldn't it be embarrassing for you to use such a simple routine in public?

"Mr. Liang, I think there may be some... uh, misunderstandings."

Short organized the logic in his mind and said stumblingly:

"Indeed, judging from Someno's current situation, the possibility of acquiring PATEO... is slightly less likely. However, if the price is right, Someno may also hope to obtain the technology owned by PATEO, as well as our global service system. , which is somewhat complementary to Someno’s service system.”

"Uh-huh." Liang Zile made an original American shrug, noncommittal.

"In fact, although we prefer to cooperate with Chinese companies in order to give PATEO better market opportunities, the EU has issued a sales ban to us, prohibiting us from selling sensitive technologies to Chinese companies. After all, PATEO is still a company European companies have to accept the EU ban, and it is precisely because of such obstacles that we will consider cooperation with Someno."

"Mr. Short is saying that the EU will not allow us to obtain PATEO's core technology?" Zhan Keqin asked.

"That's certainly the case at the moment," Short said.

"So, what's the point of us negotiating here?" Zhan Keqin pressed.

Scholte said: "The EU's ban is not without leeway. We are also actively negotiating with the EU to prove to the EU that the technology we sell to China is not sensitive. If the EU can accept our explanation, then lifting the ban will also be possible."

“I want to make it clear, does PATEO mean that the technology sold to us is not sensitive, or does it plan to remove sensitive technology from the list of sales?” Zhan Keqin asked.

"Both possibilities exist." Short responded.

The so-called two possibilities are that one is that PATEO removes the technologies prohibited from sale by the EU from the sales list and only sells technologies that are not subject to EU restrictions to Linji; the other is that PATEO sells all technologies to Linji , just lied in front of the EU, saying that these technologies were not sensitive.

The sudden acquisition of PATEO was largely due to the so-called sensitive technologies of PATEO, which PATEO is very clear about. If PATEO does not sell these sensitive technologies due to pressure from the EU, China's acquisition intention will not be so strong.

What Zhan Keqin asked Short was about Botai's attitude on this matter. But Short knew that this question was a proposition, and neither answer option was appropriate, so he could only vaguely answer that both were possible.

Think about it, if PATEO says it can definitely sell sensitive technology to Linji, what can Short use to negotiate the price with Zhan Keqin? And if PATEO says it cannot break through the EU ban and cannot sell these sensitive technologies, what else can be discussed in future negotiations?

Zhan Keqin could easily be fooled. He stared at Short and said: "Mr. Short, before continuing the negotiations, I hope you will give us a clear answer. Are you sure you can persuade the EU to give up on the negotiations?" Limitations of so-called sensitive technologies.

"If you don't have this confidence, then we don't have to waste any more time. The most valuable asset of PATEO is the technology we own. If PATEO cannot guarantee the complete transfer of these technologies to us, we will not consider acquiring PATEO. of."