Chapter 398 Fergus Thigh
Without Ferguson, they would have been carefully woven by capital and crushed by the ultra-high financing interest rate of nearly 16.2%. How could they be as cool as they were later? Xu Liang's acquisition of Manchester United will not be as stingy as the Glazer family.
But of course you have to copy other people’s success paths.
Sir’s thighs should be hugged.
"Mr. Huo, is Hanhua Capital related to Sir Alex Ferguson? Or were you invited by him to acquire Manchester United?"
"We don't know Sir Alex Ferguson.
The acquisition of Manchester United is the result of our comprehensive investigation."
"Mr. Huo, what do you think of Mr. Murdoch's failure to acquire Manchester United in 1998? ? Do you think Hanhua's acquisition will be successful? "
"The main reason why Murdoch failed to acquire Manchester United is that the Football Association wanted to maintain the fairness of competitive sports.
We, Hanhua Capital. It is an investment institution. We do not own Sky TV, and the Premier League is the most open sports market in the world. I believe that the Football Association will not reject an investment institution from the East.”
Huo Yan emphasized the word "Eastern" with emphasis.
Many reporters are smart people and quickly understood the meaning of Huo Yan's word "Dongfang".
"Mr. Huo, do you mean that Hanhua's investment in Manchester United will bring the East to the Premier League, especially the Chinese market?"
Huo Yan looked at the bald middle-aged man in front of him with satisfaction.
Not bad, very good.
After clearing his throat, Huo Yan spoke clearly.
“That’s for sure.
Let me give you a very simple example.
Everyone here should know the American NBA Sports League, right?”
The reporters nodded subconsciously.
"Before 2002, NBA games received very little attention in China. Less than 10 million people watched the NBA league every year.
Maybe everyone thinks that 10 million is a lot.
But it is not the same. Compared with China’s population of nearly 1.3 billion, the NBA’s audience is less than one percent.
But after Hanhua Capital acquired the NBA Golden State Warriors this year and selected Yao Ming from China with the No. 1 pick, The number of viewers of the NBA league in China has exceeded 30 million in less than half a year, and it is still rising.
The same thing must be suitable for Manchester United and the Premier League.
I think no one can refuse a supermarket with 1.3 billion people.
In this huge market, even if only one in 10 people watch the Premier League, there are 130 million.
I can no longer imagine how much benefit this contains. ”
Under Huo Yan’s guidance, the reporters could not help but have a hint of reverie in their eyes.
It is indeed very tempting.
"Mr. Huo, as far as I know, China is very poor now. Although it has a large population, it may be difficult to provide too many benefits." A fat bald man wearing a blue shirt said directly.
Huo Yan smiled and said: "Mr. reporter, have you been to China?"
"No."
"Then you should go on an on-site inspection first. Then give a conclusion. Otherwise, if the basic facts are lost, the news will lose its value."
After finishing speaking, Huo Yan glanced at the crowd and said in a deep voice.
"Dear reporters, China is a large market that is developing rapidly, with an annual growth rate of more than 10%. Although it may not reach the level of England for a long time, it is becoming more and more attractive.
Moreover, anything multiplied by 1.3 billion is a very tempting number.
The Premier League, which aims to be global, should not ignore it.”
“ Mr. Huo, how much equity has Hanhua Capital acquired in Manchester United?”
“34.4%”
Manchester United is a listed company and its shareholding structure cannot be kept secret.
The faces of the reporters changed. They thought that Hanhua Capital must have held a lot of shares in Manchester United, but they never expected that it had exceeded 30%, which was too much.
Now Hanhua is undoubtedly the largest shareholder of Manchester United.
In comparison, Magnier and McManus combined for only 25.3%.
Scotman Dobson owns 6.45%.
Together they are not as good as Hanhua.
So, unless administrative measures are used, Manchester United can already be declared to have fallen into Hanhua's hands.
But with the temptation of the big Eastern market, will the Football Association hinder Hanhua's acquisition of Manchester United?
All the reporters shook their heads inwardly.
They are very aware of the urinary nature of the Football Association. As long as there is money to be made, they will never stop it.
A press conference made Hanhua Capital resounding throughout England.
Soon, countless media reported all the top and bottom personnel of Hanhua Capital and their investment cases.
Of course, there is also the relationship that Hanhua Capital took the initiative to expose.
After all, others will invest only if you are awesome.
You are mysterious, who knows you are awesome?
Hanhua Capital is in the stage of accumulating reputation and attracting capital, so of course we must take this opportunity to spread the word.
As reports came out one after another, it was only then that the UK, and even Europe, realized that there was such an amazingly powerful private equity firm in the East. "This press conference of yours is really a miracle. The number of consultation calls from Europe has increased more than ten times compared with before the press conference. Half of them inquire about the 'Qinglong Fund'."
< br>On the phone, Jiang Xiaoyang said happily.
"It's expected. Acquiring Manchester United is the best advertisement." Xu Liang said with a smile.
"How many shares of Manchester United have you acquired now?"
"36%."
"You acquired more than 20% of the shares in half a month, and now three days have passed before you acquired Less than 2%?" Jiang Xiaoyang said.
“There is no way, there are too many people who want to take advantage. Investment institutions throughout the UK are acquiring shares of Manchester United, hoping to take advantage of the opportunity to make a fortune. Even if I have money, there is no share for me now.
< br>And I don’t want to be taken advantage of and be exploited by those capitals.”
Jiang Xiaoyang nodded clearly, "What are you going to do next?"
"Talk to those two Scots. As long as I acquire 25.3% of his shares, I can control more than half of Manchester United." By then, we can bring down Manchester United’s stock price. In the future, whether it is to acquire the shares from the secondary market or buy the shares of small shareholders, it will be much easier than it is now.”
Once Xu Liang acquires more than half of Manchester United's shares, those stock market snipers who took advantage of the opportunity to make a profit will retreat.
Because the major shareholders have taken control of the company and will no longer spend a large price to acquire the company's shares, the stock price has lost the power to continue to rise, and the vultures will naturally not wait any longer.
"Are you sure they will sell?"
"Of course. Just spend a little more money is enough."
The reason why Glazer's acquisition of Manchester United was successful was the support of Sir Alex Ferguson.
Why does he support it?
This has to mention the ‘Rock of Gibraltar’ incident that almost all Manchester United fans know.
Rock of Gibraltar is Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson's horse.
The time goes back to 2001, when Manchester United shareholder John Magnier was a famous Irish horse racing tycoon.
With many horses under his command, Ferguson selected this horse named Rock of Gibraltar on the racecourse and bought it in partnership with John Magnier's wife.
When registering ownership, Ferguson's name was not recorded, which left hidden dangers for the future.
The relationship between Magnier and Ferguson became increasingly close, and another Irish tycoon, JP. McManus, began to partner to purchase shares in Manchester United, and eventually became the largest shareholder of Manchester United.
Later, the horse began to sweep the tracks in England and the United States, winning a total of 1.8 million euros in prize money.
After being retired in 2003, "Rock of Gibraltar" earned as much as $132,000 per breeding as a stallion.
However, when Ferguson asked John Magnier for the 50% interest in the Rock of Gibraltar, he found that his name was not in the register.
Ferguson was furious and took Magnier and McManus to a Dublin court in 2003.
As the legal dispute escalated and became public, the Coolmore organization, led by the two major shareholders, put pressure on Ferguson in January 2004.
First, they purchased 3.4% of the shares from another major shareholder of Manchester United, Dutch media tycoon De Moor, worth approximately 20 million pounds, increasing their total holdings in Manchester United to 28.89%.
Secondly, the famous "99 questions" were raised at the board meeting in January 2004, openly questioning Manchester United's transfer and financial operations, and threatening to replace Ferguson with Celtic head coach Martin O'Neill. Handsome position.
The two sides exchanged words, but the fans overwhelmingly supported Sir Alex Ferguson.
In the end, John Magnier threw out his trump card. The private detective he hired investigated and found out that Ferguson's son, player agent Darren Ferguson, received a sum of money in the deal for American goalkeeper Howard to transfer to Manchester United. Very generous commissions.
This incident made Ferguson anxious, and he finally decided to settle with the two major shareholders out of court.
However, the relationship between the two parties has broken down to the point of irreconcilability, so Glazer was able to take advantage of this to gain the share of Manchester United's largest shareholder.
So, the Scottish rich will definitely sell their Manchester United shares.
If not now, then next year.
"As long as you have confidence." Jiang Xiaoyang continued: "Is there any indication from the FA?"
"We have already called, but they are still discussing internally. , there is no accurate news yet. For now, no news is good news.”
"Well. Where is Manchester United?"
"We are preparing to go there for a visit." Xu Liang said with a smile.
"It seems that you are already confident about the acquisition of Manchester United."
"Almost. By the way, how much money has Kunpeng Fund raised now?"
"There is Bill. ·Gates’ good demonstration effect, coupled with your publicity this time, we have raised another US$800 million during this period. It is estimated that by the end of the year, if not US$1.5 billion, it will not be much different.”
Xu Liang said, "Keep this money in the account for the time being. Don't invest it."
"Why, are you afraid of risks too?"
Xu Liang responded with a smile, too. Not much explanation.
Risk?
Where else are the risks?
In September of this year, George W. Bush began to have a verbal spat with Uncle Sa. Although the conflict has not gone off the rails yet, the situation has already begun.
He is not investing now, he just has other ideas.
After chatting for a while, Xu Liang hung up the phone.
Lu Hui came over.
"Mr. Xu, the Golden Eagle is ready."
Xu Liang nodded, "Let's go to Manchester."
(End of this chapter)