Reinventing the Millennium.

Chapter 923 The First Acquisition (5k)

Fang Zhuo's psychological quality is very good.

His mental quality has always been very good.

When I saw some follow-up remarks on the domestic Internet, the first thing I didn't worry about was my reputation, but looked at the public opinion in the United States, so as not to have any unplanned situation.

The American media did not care about the ridicule of a rich man on the Far Eastern Network. With the series of shocks such as the bankruptcy of Lehman, the acquisition of Merrill Lynch, and the government's takeover of the insurance group, they were too busy to take care of themselves. There is a lot of excitement.

But it's not that no one mentioned Mr. Fang, and even precisely mentioned the short sale of Lehman.

In order to criticize the head of Lehman Fuld, some media pointed out that he was shorted by Mr. Fang.

"Lehman is so bad, no wonder people short you!"

"Mr. Fang should be short, short, and insist on shorting you!"

"Do you know how to write this word?"

"Shameless!"

Fuld, who was beaten up, was criticized by the media, and he will have a lot of troubles in the future.

At this time, Fang Zhuo would never throw stones at the last head of Lehman.

As for the ridicule on the Internet...he has more and more experience of wandering the rivers and lakes, whether it is misunderstanding or praise, in the end it is all mixed together to create a reputation, just like the visible light of the sun. There are seven colors, red orange yellow green green blue purple, Don't get bogged down in the details inside.

Fang Zhuo's state of mind has improved, and he even got something from watching the calligraphy of Wen Zhengming that he bought earlier, and he wrote four characters in one go - not stuck in things.

On September 9, the world's financial markets were still in shock.

Just when Fang Zhuo was considering what to do after flying to New York, he received a call from Alan Fishman, the new head of Washington Mutual Bank.

MIGA Fund had a very harmonious cooperation with Washington Mutual Bank.

Also because of this relationship, Fang Zhuo recruited Washington Mutual Bank to make up for his professionalism in the process of becoming a shareholder of ICBC.

However, as the MIGA Fund considered the risks of the CDO contract market and discontinued its cooperation with it, the exchanges between the two parties have weakened a lot, and this Alan Fishman just became CEO on September 9, and there is actually no contact .

Fang Zhuo was surprised to receive a call from Allen, and even more surprised to hear the intention after the two parties exchanged a few words.

"Mr. Fang, the financial market has been too turbulent recently, and our bank has gradually suffered a lot of losses this year." Allen said in a heavy tone, "Washington Mutual Bank is currently in a difficult situation, and I really hope to obtain an emergency fund."

Fang Zhuo knew that Washington Mutual Bank had a good time playing CDO before, and knew that it would inevitably encounter this round of backlash, but he didn't know where he had reached. After thinking about it, he knew that the money he asked at this time was in units of 20 million. Said: "Thanks to you, a company that was just listed in my hand has lost more than [-] billion yuan, and the funds in my hand are also very tight, and I can't move it out for the time being."

He continued: "Well, I will go to the United States after a while, and we will meet and talk then."

It is not impossible to borrow money, it depends on what you can get out.

Fang Zhuo believes that Washington Mutual has something to offer, and he can talk about it in detail when he arrives in New York.

"Mr. Fang, Mr. Fang, Yike mobile phone sales are so hot this year, we can really talk in detail, and I can fly to you right now, our bank only needs a short-term pledge loan of 5 million US dollars." Allen's voice was a little anxious , "As long as we pass this level, there is still a lot of room for cooperation between us."

Hearing these words, Fang Zhuo felt vaguely familiar.

Did Qimondaro make similar promises when he borrowed money?

He said regretfully: "Aaron, I'm telling the truth. The global economy is not good now. My industry has suffered a lot of losses this year. The money a company makes is turning back and forth."

Allen was silent for two seconds, and said, "Mr. Fang, the MIGA Fund did very well before and made a lot of profits on the CDO contract. Can you think of a way to help us deal with the emergency."

Fang Zhuo smiled, and said something polite to you, why are you still in a good mood?
"Because I entered the CDO market with you before, the MIGA fund is almost bankrupt now."

"The bank is short of funds. I'm very busy now. I'll give you the phone number of my secretary. You can see if you can come up with a charter. I look forward to more cooperation between us in the future."

Fang Zhuo ignored the voice on the other end of the phone who was still working hard, and ended the call.

Listening to Allen's request and voice, he should be about the same as Mr. Luo, the head of Qimonda who is in trouble, and he has already ignored it in order to find money.

Only then did I find myself who had never dealt with him before, and was able to mention MIGA Fund's profits from CDOs in the past.

Today's American public opinion does not have a good impression of CDO, and it is uneasy and kind for Allen to bring up the past.

Fang Zhuo is not afraid of this at all. MIGA Fund was liquidated very early in this regard, and current clients also have the ability to intervene in public opinion.

As for the attitude towards the former partner Washington Mutual Bank, it can only be... just business.

However, having said that, Washington Mutual is definitely one of the top ten largest banks in the United States. Has its situation deteriorated to the point where the CEO needs to call a familiar stranger for $5 million?

Fang Zhuo considered the significance of this matter and called Geithner's newly activated number to seek advice from the New York Fed in the name of thinking about borrowing.

"Its situation is very bad now." Geithner suspected that Mr. Fang was spending the money he saved in the fund, "Don't be associated with it at this time."

He paused for a while, afraid that a rich man like Mr. Fang would be obsessed, and revealed a piece of news: "This bank is about to be taken over, and Allen will be the shortest-lived CEO. Neither it nor him will be a problem. We are working hard for it." Looking for a buyer."

Fang Zhuo was stunned: "Are you looking for a buyer for it? Alan didn't mention this, and he concealed the situation from me?"

Geithner paused for a long time this time, and said: "Washington Mutual is very bad. If it hadn't been for the impact since the 15th, it might still have a chance, but it can't do it now. We can't let the situation spread." , Don't let Washington Mutual open a bigger hole, Allen didn't hide it from you, he doesn't know this."

"The CEO of the bank doesn't know that you are helping them find a buyer?" Fang Zhuo felt amused, "Are you sure it's not illegal?"

Geithner said seriously: "Whether it is illegal or not, we must not make mistakes again."

Immediately, he added: "Of course it will be legal, everything will be legal."

At this time, Fang Zhuo recalled the voice from CEO Alan Fishman, and felt that the voice was a desperate wail.

Now that I have called, I will report the itinerary.

"I'm flying to New York in two days."

Fang Zhuo only talked about the itinerary and nothing else.

Geithner naturally understood what this person meant, sighed, and said in the same simple way: "Just wait."

What are you waiting for?
Waiting for the $7000 billion bill submitted by Abramovich to pass in Congress?

Waiting for Jermaine O to reverse the election situation with McCain?
Waiting for Geithners to have more power in charge?

Waiting for the situation to become more erosive?
Fang Zhuo did not do too much reading comprehension, but only slightly corrected the arrangement of the upcoming flight to the United States, focusing on his own affairs first, and then looking at how to help Geithners detoxify the "toxic assets".

That night, he called Su Wei and talked about the bank asking him to borrow money.

"The bank asked you to fill the capital hole with money..." Su Wei was surprised and amused, "You are really a rich man, one of the few rich men in the world!"

She added: "This Allen really used the wrong method. He should fly to Xiangjiang immediately, knock on the door of your room, and offer high-quality assets. It's better to shed two more tears. Maybe he will get it from you." money."

Fang Zhuo was silent.

Su Wei asked in surprise, "Isn't that all right?"

"Now I feel that there is a lack of money everywhere. Whoever comes, I have to do my due diligence first." Fang Zhuo sighed, "After all, it is not easy for us to make money. It is easy to hold some money, of course Take your time."

Su Wei only felt that she wanted to vomit, but she didn't know how to vomit.

Finally, she mentioned something that happened to her competitors: "It's true that everyone is short of money. I heard that Dangdang's logistics center in Wuxi has stopped working."

"Isn't the logistics center over there going to be a demonstration?" Fang Zhuo was a little surprised.

"Well, according to Dangdang, it is comparable to our No. 1 demonstration warehouse in Kunshan." Su Wei said, "They want to establish a foothold in East China through Wuxi, saying that they spent a lot of money to build it, but this year's opening The economic situation is not so good. It is said that Dangdang got funds from abroad, and when Lehman went bankrupt, the construction site in Wuxi stopped working.”

Dangdang has realized its shame since supplying a private jet last year, and has worked hard to catch up. It has truly become a worthy opponent of Tesco in the B2C industry.

Three people, there must be my teacher.

The awakened Dangdang has basically learned from the development of e-buy, built its own warehouse, established logistics, and developed categories. It can be said that it is quite ambitious and has indeed made progress.

But there is also a problem. Dangdang is a non-listed company, and its sources of funds are not so abundant.

However, domestic investors either became cautious due to the economic situation, or felt that B2C has already had e-buy pearls and jade, or believed in Mr. Fang's business development methods, and they were not very willing to invest in Dangdang.

In the end, Dangdang took money from foreign financial institutions.

"I know that Dangdang took money from Bear Stearns once." Fang Zhuo got the news right, "Bear Stearns was acquired by Morgan this year, and I don't know how to deal with the money."

"Then we don't know, it's definitely not just this time." Su Wei was skeptical, "Anyway, it goes straight to the point of shutdown, which shows that the situation is really bad."

Fang Zhuo was speechless.

Regarding the matter of enterprise development, at first he disliked Qingzi's cautiousness and disobedience, but now he has made great strides and suffered another crime. It's really...impermanent.

"In short, it's quite chaotic. I'm afraid many companies will close down on the Internet this year." Su Wei said, "I plan to see the situation. If Wuxi really can't continue to build, I think it would be good for e-buy to take over."

Fang Zhuo sighed: "Aren't you being too cruel?"

They wanted to build a logistics center comparable to the No. 1 warehouse in Kunshan, but half of the construction was taken over by competitors who worked hard to catch up. No matter how you look at it, you feel sad.

Su Wei said lightly: "You taught me that business is so ruthless, and besides, maybe they would be willing to have someone lend a helping hand."

Fang Zhuo didn't say anything, after all, Mr. Su is the president who controls the specific affairs.

However, later on, he didn't expect to talk about Dangdang when he received a call from Lao Xiong.

"Eco Mobile is great."

"Financial markets are messy."

"Dangdang's situation is not good."

The communication between Xiong Xiaoge and Mr. Fang tends to be simple in many cases. First, he praised the first two things in a concise manner, and then focused on the third thing: "Dangdang's warehouse construction in many places has been suspended, and some suppliers are in arrears. The situation is more serious."

"I had a brief communication with Mr. Li. If we don't deal with it in time, the risk of bankruptcy will be relatively high."

Fang Zhuo was startled: "Dangdang went bankrupt? Isn't it so?"

"Why not?" Xiong Xiaoge was very surprised that Fang always had this kind of reaction. For example, "Lehman was ruined by you. How big is it? How big is Dangdang? In order to repurchase the shares in your hand before They took their own mortgages, and the development in the past year was also very radical, but unfortunately, they encountered this financial turmoil.”

"If it weren't for this turmoil, they might be thinking about going public so they can get more money to grow."

Fang Zhuo was silent.

After a while, he remembered to refute a question: "I didn't cause Lehman to close down. It's so big, and I don't have the ability. It's purely self-inflicted."

"That's what it means. The focus is on the problems encountered by Dangdang." Xiong Xiaoge said, "Our team has analyzed that Dangdang and e-buy are both B2C, and their businesses are similar. The most important thing is that Dangdang's money is also invested in warehouse construction. If e-buy can acquire Dangdang, it will just strengthen its strength."

"Now Taobao is also engaged in Taobao Mall. E-buy uses acquisitions to strengthen its strength. I personally think it is advisable."

"President Fang, what do you think?"

Fang Zhuo carefully stroked the proposal from the old bear.

The country was also affected by the financial crisis. Previously, he paid more attention to the semiconductor industry, thinking about maintaining the development of the industry and coordinating administrative forces as much as possible. Now he focuses on e-commerce...

Taobao no longer concealed its intention to compete, and Qingzi had a really good relationship with him.

If e-buy reaches out to win Dangdang, it can further expand its advantages in logistics and realize a user experience with a wider radiation range and faster transportation speed as soon as possible.

In E-buy's planning for the next few years, warehousing and logistics are always a high priority.

"Old Xiong, are you acting as a lobbyist for Qingzi?" Fang Zhuo asked.

"It doesn't count. I'm an investor after all. From an objective point of view, I think it's a win-win situation." Xiong Xiaoge thought, "The only thing that might hinder you is probably Mr. Li's perception of you. It's not like it doesn't exist. I would rather sell it to someone else than to sell you the total possibility."

Fang Zhuo asked again: "Dangdang has a part of logistics and warehousing system, do you think Taobao will start at this time?"

"It depends on what Mr. Ma thinks. If he sticks to his way of being a platform and light assets, then he won't." Xiong Xiaoge has already thought about it, "After all, he would rather change Taobao's CEO and stick to it." Thoughts, but if he has a new experience during this period of time, maybe he will do it."

Ma Dian’s Taobao mall is now the prototype of a platform-style B2C, and it is still attracting major brands to settle in. It does not have its own warehouse. It is somewhat similar to Taobao’s C2C gameplay, but only upgrades small and medium businesses to large businesses.

Fang Zhuo thought about it quietly for a while, and felt that there was something between the two. The established development model of Taobao Mall may not have been frustrated, but it may also be cut off in order not to strengthen the opponent.

"Old Xiong, you and Qingzi haven't lost contact, so you should communicate first. I'm going to New York in two days. I'll leave this matter to Mr. Su. In principle, I think this is a good opportunity."

"Okay, there's no need to be in a hurry." Xiong Xiaoge ended the call quickly, "Dangdang's situation is likely to deteriorate in the future, and everyone is also watching the economic situation this time."

Fang Zhuo pinched his mobile phone, completely unaware that the first acquisition decision after Lehman's collapse might come from China, and it was for an old friend.

He suddenly had the feeling that it was only seven days in the mountains but a thousand years in the world.

Fang Zhuo thought about this matter for a while, called Su Wei again, and explained the situation concisely.

Su Wei didn't expect to hear something completely different after a while.

I just want to buy a warehouse, this man actually wants to buy Dangdang directly?
She hesitated for a while, and asked in the words she heard earlier: "Aren't you being too cruel?"

Dangdang has come to the point where he is really inseparable from this man, and if he ends up being bought by a competitor...it's too sad!
Fang Zhuo was helpless: "Then I can only teach you one more time, business is so ruthless."

"Received, I'm looking at the situation in China, and the most important thing is to find out about Dangdang's debt situation." Su Wei quickly drew up several policies in her mind, and she agreed that the acquisition of Dangdang is to enhance competitiveness.

Fang Zhuo put down his phone and couldn't help but walk to the floor-to-ceiling windows to look at the night view of Victoria Harbour.

If this is the case, it may not be a good thing for Qingzi to take the money and leave. After all, there are still many opportunities in this era.

It will take time for the first possible acquisitions to be validated and approached.

When Fang Zhuo was getting ready to go, the latest news from the Washington Mutual Bank came from the United States.

On the 25th, the headquarters of Washington Mutual Bank in Seattle was seized and taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), while its head, Allen, was still on the plane at a loss.

The FDIC was rumored to be interested in facilitating Morgan's takeover of Washington Mutual.

All the procedures were indeed legal, even though the bank management had no idea that the authorities had found a buyer for them.

From the news, Fang Zhuo sensed the spread of legal and secret power.

Following Morgan's acquisition of Bear Stearns, it is very likely to acquire Washington Mutual Bank at a steep price and continue to expand its scale in the financial crisis.

It is worth mentioning that on this day, the media declared that "the worst is over."

With Washington Mutual becoming the largest bank failure in U.S. history, it's clear that the worst is just beginning.

(End of this chapter)