Chapter 1426: England’s big bargain hunting (third update, please subscribe)
Don’t take the unusual path.
Sometimes, if you want to succeed, you cannot take the usual path, you have to break the rules and think outside the traditional way.
At the end of Li Yi'an's visit to the UK, the Borneo Sovereign Fund was negotiating with the British Dougal Oil Company in London.
Dougall Oil Company is one of the top four oil companies in the UK. However, now, this company is in a serious crisis.
"Your oil fields in Iraq have become a thing of the past, and the results of the arbitration by the International Court of Justice are also extremely unfavorable to you."
Howard, who was sitting on the other side of the conference room, looked at the gentlemen in front of him. His tone was extremely calm, and he talked about the future of this company in a light tone.
"Even if the International Court of Justice requires Iraq to compensate you for your losses, how much compensation will they give? 10 million or 15 million pounds? Then what? They will have ten or even twenty years to phase it out. Compensation.
The only question is, can you sustain it for so long?”
When Howard’s words fell, Sir Anderson, a veteran British man born in the Victorian era, said: I even thought about walking away.
But he finally sat down. He was over sixty years old and had been in the business for forty years. He knew very well what was most important in the capital market - capital.
What does the young man in front of me represent?
It is a sovereign fund!
The only sovereign fund in the world!
They invest the income from the National Annuity, oil and natural gas into foreign companies, stocks and bonds to serve as reserves for future generations.
This is a major initiative for them. Ten years ago, when they established this organization, the capital market was still at a loss. But now, ten years later, they already have more than 35 billion US dollars in funds.
The funds they control even exceed the gross national product of many countries. For example, Italy only has 38 billion US dollars.
The gross national product of some countries is not even that much.
Because of this, this sovereign fund has now become a giant in the world's capital market.
As long as they are willing, they can wave their checks at any time and make waves in the capital market. It is not easy to acquire Dougal Company.
If he refuses now, they will definitely choose to acquire it directly in the capital market. By then, what kind of results will be waiting for him?
Even without thinking about it, Sir Anderson knew very well what the other party would do - they would release some information in newspapers and TV stations, and even ask Iraq to disclose their compensation plan in advance.
What is the result?
The company's stock plummeted and turned into a pile of waste paper. They only needed a few million pounds to complete the acquisition.
Just waiting for the fate of the company.
"Well, thank you very much for giving me such a fair opportunity, I'm really grateful!"
Although he was unwilling to admit it, Sir Anderson knew very well that he had no choice.
"So, Jazz, now I have a suitable offer for you."
Howard wrote his offer directly on the note, then pushed it forward and said:< br>
“This is our final offer. I believe it is a very fair offer! I will acquire 55% of your company’s shares at this price.”
After taking the note and looking at the zero at the back, Sir Anderson understood that the other party's offer was indeed very fair.
"Thank you sir, I seem to have no reason to refuse!"
While speaking, he handed the note to several colleagues around him. After they read the quotation, They all nodded in agreement. This was indeed a very fair offer, one that could even be said to be unimaginably fair.
The next thing is a matter between lawyers. It only takes a few days to complete the acquisition. There will not be any official intervention during this period because this is an internal matter between the Commonwealth. Corporate acquisition, if it is a foreign enterprise, requires official permission for the acquisition.
After leaving Dougal Company in the car, Howard looked out the window from time to time. He leaned back and lit his first cigar of the day. When the car drove to Charing Cross station, the secretary sitting opposite saw that he was in a good mood, so he tentatively said:
"Manager, in fact, we can completely adopt a commercial acquisition method to acquire Dougal, and even only need to spend one-fifth, maybe less, of the capital. From a business point of view, we have spent a lot more money on this investment. !”
Looking at the young man in front of him, Howard smiled and said:
“Sometimes, business doesn’t work. This is how it is done. Do you remember the shareholder structure of Dougal Company? "
"In addition to a few large shareholders, there are more than 100 small shareholders. Those shareholders usually do not participate in the company's decision-making. They even I don’t even care..."
Suddenly, Zhang Qiliang seemed to have figured something out and said:
"They... they don't care because, for them, this is just an investment, right?" Nodding, Howard said:
"Dougal Company was established In 1912, just before the war, when the Anglo-Persian Oil Company was just established, a group of British aristocrats - it was the last moment of glory of the British aristocracy before the war. Many aristocrats invested in this company, and their investments were in the past. The decades have paid off handsomely, but... These are scattered among large and small shareholders all over the UK, and a large number of them seem to be married women or widows."
Taking his eyes back, Howard continued:
"Their husbands. Or sons, died in World War I or World War II. However, this is not important. What is important is the identity of these shareholders. A considerable number of them are hereditary nobles and members of the House of Lords. Even Churchill held the position. There are shares of this company! ”
Instantly, Zhang Qiliang was stunned.
“Ah! He still exists!”
“Everything you can think of is there. Before World War I, the British nobles were willing to invest. At that time, in their hands They were rich and had status, but later, two wars changed everything, but in any case, a skinny camel was bigger than a horse, and their The influence is beyond the reach of ordinary people.”
“So, we want to acquire this company at a premium?”
“It’s not a premium, but a normal acquisition. We can definitely use ordinary acquisitions. Acquisition through commercial methods, but destroying people’s wealth is like killing their parents, why should we offend them?”
Howard smiled and said:
"Rather than offending them, we need to let them understand that under our management, Dougal Oil Company will become a hen that lays golden eggs. , they will do everything possible to protect us when the time comes!"
"Manager, do we want the Iraqis to negotiate?"
Zhang Qiliang said subconsciously:
" To repossess the company’s assets? ”
"Can you spit out the meat you eat in your mouth? Besides, those oil fields have long become the property of other oil companies, and even part of us. How can there be any reason to cut off your own flesh?"
Howard took a look at the guy in front of him and said:
"Dougall Company owns the oil exploration rights on the continental shelf near the North Sea. They They obtained the exploration rights a few years ago, but because their oil fields were nationalized by Iraq, their investment in oil field exploration has been very limited, which directly resulted in that they have not made any new discoveries until now."
Sometimes, that's just the way it is, only by investing enough money can you get a return, otherwise everything is empty talk.
In fact, the company declared bankruptcy just a few years later. After all, without the support of oil profits from Iraq, as an oil company without oil fields, it was difficult to rely solely on petrochemical plants. Maintain business.
It’s just that no one realized at that time or now that for this company, their most valuable asset is the offshore oil exploration rights owned by the company.
After all, in the past few years, no company has discovered oil in the North Sea, which also means that the so-called exploration rights are worthless, at least until oil is not discovered.
Oil exploration is such a fantasy.
"So, will there be oil there?"
Zhang Qiliang asked curiously.
"Who knows?"
Howard shrugged, and then he said:
"If so, with their support, we can control that oil field forever In hand.
Of course oil exploration is more. It depends on luck, maybe this luck is on our side, who can say for sure? Just like the Persian Gulf oil field."
When riding to the Persian Gulf oil field, Howard's words were full of admiration. , after all, the exploration rights to that oil field were purchased with your permission.
In fact, the same is true here, not just here, but also in Libya, where the oil fields have been put into production. Faced with the success of those two oil fields, although the oil company executives are very curious about what kind of judgment you based on to determine that there are oil fields there, they are more of an admirer.
After all, those are two big oil fields!
And they are all world-class. It was thanks to your foresight that they had to pick up the slack in Occidental Petroleum Company. With such success ahead of them, who else would do it now? Do you doubt your judgment on oil investment?
For this reason, after you authorized the acquisition of Dougal Company, they immediately implemented the plan at the same time as your visit to the UK. This can be regarded as your gift to the British!
Of course, this is a gift for everyone!
Now just those two oil fields can bring more than one billion US dollars in income to the National Annuity and Foundation every year. Because of this, everyone there can get a certain dividend every year, ranging from a few dollars to dozens of dollars. Although it is not much, for most ordinary people, it is an extra income. Whenever they receive this check, they will use the money for daily consumption - watch two movies, go out After a couple of meals, sometimes they even choose to travel, which of course requires additional expenses.
But what is certain is that everyone will be very happy when they receive that check, because they know that - they, all of them are sharing the dividends of development, and because of this, there Everyone will give willingly.
Because they are not paying for others, but for themselves, themselves and their descendants.
Howard couldn't help but murmur to himself as he thought about the excitement he felt when he received that check for the first time.
“Actually, that is the life we want!”
(End of this chapter)