money player

Fei Baoqi frowned, subconsciously raising her upper body to release the pressure in her chest. Suddenly, she felt something was wrong with the touch, and unconsciously touched it with her left hand. When she opened her eyes, she saw the clean white sheets.

She suddenly looked up, glanced around, breathed a sigh of relief, and buried her head back on the pillow.

She wasn't in some unfamiliar place; she was in her hotel room.

After a moment, she lifted the blanket and looked down at her chest. She was wearing a clean white men's T-shirt, which was very new. She grabbed the collar and brought it to her nose to smell it, but there was no trace of masculinity in it.

She turned over, her eyes staring unconsciously at the ceiling, lost in memories.

A moment later, a smile appeared on her lips. She had not only eaten a full meal at noon, but she had also eaten very well, better than ever before.

United Kingdom.

“Mr. Brown, I believe the benefits of Pumpkin Carriage’s investment in Aston Martin are self-evident.”

In the office of David Brown, chairman of David Brown & Sons, Dean Group Vice President Erin Jomondley said the following to David Brown.

When Sin Yiu-man passed through London last time, he outlined the next strategic steps for the Dean Group:

He established a subsidiary, Karl, specializing in corporate venture capital, and transferred his previous 49% stake in Woodrow Industries and his subsequent 37% stake in the DS Smith cardboard box factory to the company.

Another subsidiary, Pumpkin Coach, was established to specialize in automotive brand strategy operations. In its early stages, Pumpkin Coach's main strategy was to take advantage of the downturn in the British automotive industry by investing in or acquiring some automotive brands, such as the small brand Aston Martin.

Brown knew perfectly well what Erin Jomondley represented. With the surnames Sassoon, Rothschild, and Jomondley, simply attaching himself to any one of them would solidify his title as the Tractor King.

but……

"Mrs. Jomondley, I acquired Aston Martin out of my love for cars, so I have always been committed to supporting it."

"Mr. Brown, Aston Martin has been yours for over four years. Have you ever considered why you keep needing to inject capital into it?"

"Does Mrs. Jomondley have a solution?"

“Of course,” Erin Jomondley said confidently. “Pumpkin Carriage is offering £3.7 for a 49% stake in Aston Martin, and I promise Aston Martin will be profitable within two years.”

"No, I merged Aston Martin and Lagonda a long time ago. If Mrs. Jomondley wants to talk about investment, she can only talk about investment in Aston Martin-Lagonda."

"OK, my offer is changed to £5.4."

“I have no objection to the offer. If Mrs. Jomondley is willing to include the commitment in the contract, along with penalties for failure, I can agree to transfer 49% of the shares to Pumpkin Carriage.”

“No problem,” Erin Jomondley smiled. “But I have one additional condition: if the promise is fulfilled, Mr. Brown must unconditionally transfer 5% of the shares of Pumpkin Carriage. Of course, the management of Aston Martin-Lagonda will still belong to Mr. Brown.”

"make a deal."

Singapore.

HSBC Bank, Grace Sassoon's office.

"Adam, Eileen wants shares in the Dean Group."

"How many?"

"She's willing to pay £70 for 20%."

“If you give up another 20%, my shares will only be 40% left.” Xian Yaowen stared into Grace’s eyes and said, “Grace, my bottom line is 50.01% of the shares. If I can’t hold that percentage, I will sell all the shares to you and I will withdraw.”

Grace sincerely said, "Adam, we are strategic partners."

“HK$800 million, 9.99%, that’s my offer. Grace, this is the second and last time. In the last ten years, the only change in shareholding is collective dilution.”

Grace paused for a moment, then said, “On behalf of Eileen, I promise you that within three days, 800 million will be deposited into your Hong Kong account. Adam, the Dean Group may be moving too fast.”

Sin Yiu-man gave a wry smile, "Perhaps, given the right opportunity, I wouldn't be able to give it up."

"Thank you, I'm sorry."

"We are strategic partners."

Workshops on Brentfield Road, Stonebridge Park, Wilston, North London.

George Soros has just completed an acquisition for the company, acquiring a 65% stake in Forrest & Webber for £2000.

Forrest and Webber is a top British custom body manufacturer. The company does not produce chassis; it designs and manufactures entirely handcrafted aluminum bodies for clients' existing or newly purchased chassis. Its main clients include Rolls-Royce, aristocrats, overseas tycoons, and Rolls-Royce and Bentley dealerships.

Due to the impact of high purchase taxes and Rolls-Royce's shift to producing its own bodies, its business has shrunk significantly, but it still maintains high-end bespoke services.

Because it was all done by hand, the company's fixed assets were negligible, and because of the shrinking business, the business itself could not be converted into assets. The only valuable assets left were a dozen or so senior technicians, including the two shareholders, Victor Freestone and Alfred Webber, as well as the design drawings. Pumpkin Carriage was valued at £5.17.

The reason why 60% of the shares, valued at 5.17 pounds, could be acquired for only 2000 pounds is because Pumpkin Carriage signed a supplementary agreement with "Forrest and Webber":
Pumpkin Carriage guarantees to provide the other party with 10 orders per year (excluding the chassis, the custom body cost is no less than £1500 per vehicle), which is equivalent to an annual sales volume of £1.5. If there are no orders or the amount is insufficient, Pumpkin Carriage will pay the other party a share of the profits out of its own pocket.

In this way, Pumpkin Carriage gained control of the high-end handcrafted body manufacturing process, which effectively opened a door to the world of top-tier car manufacturing.

In 1951, they could only take things one step at a time. If it were decades later, in the new energy era, they would have already been thinking about holding online and offline new car launches simultaneously, releasing the design drawings, boasting about the performance, and receiving deposits left and right.

London.

Essex Street, Anley Law Firm.

Jean Desais shook hands with George Allen and Thomas Ofry, the two founders of Anri, announcing that Victor had acquired their partnership interests, and Anri had now become Anri Victor.

Partnerships can be difficult at times. George Allen and Thomas Overeve, who had worked together for twenty years, had their relationship deteriorate completely last month. Even when discussing business matters at their firm, they refused to meet face-to-face and communicated only through written notes.

Given the two men's behavior, the other partners considered kicking them out. Coincidentally, senior partner Jim Thomson, who was handling acquisitions for Dean Group and knew Victor very well, took the initiative to invite Victor to participate in Anli's business.

Victor paid George Allen and Thomas Ofry each £5 in retirement funds over five years, thus facilitating the integration of Victor's business with the Security Council.

Dean Group, 3rd Floor, No. 1 Poultry Street, Financial City.

meeting room.

Jim Thomson is explaining the acquisition plan to Eve Ashley.

“Ms. Ashley, Jovit's current assets include factory buildings and production lines, valued at £3.4; semi-finished goods inventory, valued at £2; and brand value, valued at £2, for a total value of £7.4. Jovit's finances are relatively healthy, with no significant debts and only approximately £2.7 in accounts payable.”

Ashley flicked his cigarette ash and said, "How does Anri plan to begin?"

Thomson handed Ashley a document: "In January of this year, Jovitt terminated Meadows' supply contract and switched to using 4-speed gearboxes produced by its own Idle factory. Initially, things were very optimistic, and production was not hindered. However, the gear cutting process was more complex than expected."

In April, the Korean War led to a shortage of the critical steel EN36. The switch to alternative steel caused gear durability problems, such as wear and shifting difficulties.

In May, production was briefly suspended for testing, and the pass rate of the transmission was less than 70%, resulting in a dual-gear selection failure.

In early August, the assembly line was piled up with bodies without powertrain components, and there were about 300 Javelin semi-finished vehicles in stock, resulting in an overall production drop of 20%.

Since the beginning of the year, many users of Jovit have reported that their javelins overheat at high altitudes and that their transmissions are unreliable, which has seriously affected the brand's reputation.

Please see page 5.

Thomson paused briefly, and after Ashley finished turning the page, he continued, "The bodies for both the Jovitt Javelin and Bradford brands are outsourced to Briggs Bodyworks' new Doncaster plant."

Briggs Bodyworks provides the Jovette with a fully assembled aluminum unibody chassis. Supply had been very stable before, but in early July, Jovette's inventory backlog caused payment delays, prompting Briggs Bodyworks to demand stricter credit terms.

The two sides held negotiations, but the results seemed unsatisfactory.

Ms. Ashley, on page 7 there is a report from the United States stating that Walter Briggs, the owner of Briggs Manufacturing, the parent company of Briggs Bodyworks, is suffering from a deteriorating heart condition and may be on the verge of death.

Walter Sr. was the key figure behind Briggs & Co.'s success; without him, it would have been impossible to maintain the major contracts with Ford and Chrysler. Walter Sr.'s son, Walter Jr., has always focused on baseball and real estate and has no interest in the automotive industry.

Furthermore, the Briggs family will face a huge estate tax. Based on the assessment of Walter Sr.'s assets, the estate tax would exceed $3500 million. The Briggs family cannot afford this amount, so selling Briggs Manufacturing is a tax-deductible transaction to provide liquidity.

Ashley read the report and asked, "Is the sale of Briggs Manufacturing now a certainty?"

“Yes,” Thomson said confidently, “and the buyer will definitely be Chrysler.”

"why?"

"Since Ford first built its own body plant on a large scale in 1925, the proportion of its body production has exceeded 90% this year. Only the high-end Lincoln parts are outsourced. Ford does not need to increase its domestic body production capacity in the United States. It will not be interested in Briggs manufacturing, but only in Briggs body production."

In recent years, Chrysler's sales have exploded, but its in-house body production capacity is limited, creating an urgent need to increase production capacity.

Why would Ford be interested in the Briggs body style?

"For strategic reasons, please see page 14." Thomson paused slightly and said, "Ford has one of the largest single car manufacturing plants in Europe in Dagenham, producing cars that Ford sells in the European market and the Commonwealth."

After 20 years of operation, Dagnam has encountered some problems, such as insufficient body stamping capacity, with a daily output of only 800 sets; a shortage of steel plates, with a weekly share of only 1200 tons, leaving a shortfall of 600 tons; and aging paint lines, with manual painting taking 4 hours per car.

Briggs Body Works’ Dagnum, Doncaster, Southampton and Manchester Trafford Park plants were mostly built in the last two years and have large production capacity, which can make up for Ford’s insufficient production capacity.

Ford's acquisition of Briggs Body Works not only addresses its insufficient production capacity and steel shortages, but also allows it to seize control of Britain's most modern body manufacturing capacity amidst the chaos, consolidating its market monopoly.

"So, once Ford acquires Briggs Body Works, will it kick Jovit out?"

“Yes,” Thomson nodded. “If Jovit can’t solve its car body production capacity problem, it will be on the verge of bankruptcy.”

Ashley pondered for a moment, then tapped the document twice. "Attorney Thomson, that's enough for this morning. Let me finish reviewing the documents before we continue."

"OK."

Clapham, London.

In the Allard Motors office, Judy and Sydney Allard shook hands, announcing the completion of Pumpkin Cars' acquisition of Allard.

Allard's founder, Sydney Allard, was a race car driver whose motivation for founding Allard was to drive a race car bearing his own name on the track.

Judy easily acquired all of Sydney Allard's shares with a bid of £4, plus the promise to continue unconditionally sponsoring Sydney Allard in racing and not to change the name.

As a result, Pumpkin Carriage acquired a sports car brand.

"Adam, Judy is in Clapham."

“I know.” Xian Yaowen nodded, raised his left hand to look at his watch, “At this time, Alder should already belong to our Dean Group.”

“Perhaps Judy could go to Coventry. Riley owes Morris £32 and is already insolvent. Pumpkin Carriage could symbolically offer £1 to acquire it.”

Xian Yaowen said calmly, "Grace, we have encountered a good opportunity. The pound has depreciated, and Great Britain's car prices are not as competitive as those of Germany and France, resulting in an overall decline in exports."

The Korean War drove up the prices of steel, aluminum, and copper, making it impossible for small independent car manufacturers to sign long-term contracts to lock in prices, and the government was also unable to supply sufficient steel.

The cabinet adopted a blanket approach, raising the purchase tax to 66.67% for cars priced below £1000, and the central bank is also raising interest rates, increasing the cost of car purchases on installment plans.

Several factors emerged in succession, pushing the small-but-complete model of car companies to the brink. With production too low and unable to amortize fixed costs, their successive bankruptcies were inevitable. However, if they could hold on until the war ended, the situation would improve.

Entering the automotive industry now is the best entry point in recent years. Even if Pumpkin Car cannot expand, as long as we maintain a few car companies, we can resell them after the Korean War ends and make a lot of profit.

But that doesn't mean we can do whatever we want.

Riley and Morris were stepfather and stepson, and William Morris brought Riley under the wing of the Nuffield Organization, thus entangled him in charity.

"If we were to launch an acquisition of Riley, let alone whether we could acquire him at a low price, just considering the employee issue, do you think William Morris would ask us to contribute money to his philanthropy?"

“Okay, I take back my suggestion.” Grace pointed to Sin Yiu-man’s coffee cup. “Would you like a refill?”

"unnecessary."

Grace picked up her coffee cup, took a sip, and said slowly, "Let's talk about Jin Fugui Holdings."

Sin Yiu-man pretended to frown, "It seems that you and Michelle don't get along very well."

“That’s not important.” Grace put down her coffee cup. “Under the same conditions, I can raise $300 million, take a 10% stake, buy a 5% stake, and before you’ve done anything, you’ll have a $100 million profit.”

"If Jin Fugui Holdings ultimately ends up losing money, how will I die?"

Grace glanced at Xian Yaowen, "Hang him."

“Alright,” Sin Yiu-man chuckled. “Can a 5% annual return cover your costs?”

"Adam, you don't need to worry about this."

Sin Yiu-man shrugged. "Please state any other conditions you have at once."

"If you deposit $100 million in a two-year fixed deposit account, I'll help you secure a $100 million loan. Over the two years, you'll only have to pay 3.75% interest."

"So you mean you forced me to pay a $3.75 kickback?"

"Your interpretation isn't entirely wrong."

"Tomorrow I will fly to London to meet with Chairman Harry Politico and ask him to be my introducer so that I can swear an oath to join the Communist Party of Great Britain under the party flag and overthrow the capitalists."

Grace glanced at Sin Yiu-man. "The Communist Party of Britain's slogan is to reform capitalists, thank you."

"Okay, capitalist."

"Next topic."

"what?"

"Bankman".

Sin Yiu-man's face turned serious. "You're interested in Bankman?"

“You’re the one who wanted to pique my interest, aren’t you?” Grace looked at Sin Yiu Man, her eyes brimming with mockery. “In August 1888, HSBC opened its first branch in Bangkok, becoming Siam’s first modern commercial bank.”

"What a coincidence, exactly 63 years."

"Adam, I want to eat French food tonight."

"Okay, tomorrow night at 6:30, at Narcissus's house."

Grace lowered her head, picked up a document, and said, "See you tomorrow night."

Sin Yiu-man buttoned up his suit jacket, stood up, and said, "Your secretary is quite nice. Does she have a boyfriend?"

Grace replied without looking up, "Married."

"Good news."

Grace looked up and glared at Xian Yaowen. "Don't bother seeing me out."

“No need to send it.”

After leaving the HSBC building, Sin Yiu-man got into his car and glanced at the HSBC logo.

With shrewd people like Grace and Michelle in charge, HSBC's development for the next fifty years is worry-free. The little princess is already so capable; I wonder what the heir will be like.

"Airport."

As the car drove away, Sin Yiu-man took out his piccolo, carefully wiped it clean, placed the mouthpiece to his lips, and began to play the mournful theme song from Schindler's List. (End of Chapter)