King of Capital

"Mr. Xie, in fact, in addition to Southampton, Crystal Palace is also interested in putting itself on the shelf."

Richard, a middle-aged white man, shamelessly ignored the signals to leave and stayed there to force his sale, like a real estate salesman.

The government department he is in charge of has the same positioning as the local investment promotion bureaus in China. It is responsible for attracting investment all over the world. It has no direct power, but has to do its best to smooth the channels for foreign investment to enter the country.

New energy, real estate and high-tech are the three main types of commercial investment targets, with Premier League clubs as an addition, but this thing is a "community asset" with cultural attributes and has strong expandability.

To put it simply, we first bring in a Chinese tycoon with a fortune of 20 billion US dollars. When they have fun, there will always be other business opportunities. And this tycoon happens to be in the high-tech field of venture capital!
"Frankly speaking, the massive influx of US dollars, euros and RMB into the British football industry in recent years is gradually affecting traditional concepts. In order to maintain the competitiveness of the team, the original local owners of football clubs are actively seeking foreign investment support."

Richard spoke a little quickly: "In the Premier League, there are Southampton, Crystal Palace, Tottenham, and in the lower-level leagues, the Championship and League One, almost all teams will not reject high-quality foreign investment."

“So I just took the liberty of asking you how long you have been following the British football industry.” He spread his hands to show his sincerity in his conclusion.

The leader of the Taihe Family Office adjusted his glasses and watched the foreigner's courtesy with cold eyes, knowing exactly what he was thinking.

His use of Deloitte's audit to warn the selling team was well-aimed. The British government hired Deloitte as a consulting company to specifically help domestic sports companies to conduct cross-border investment and mergers and acquisitions.

In short, the UK uses the Premier League and other football leagues as super investment platforms.

"16 years ago, a Chinese player ran on the Premier League field and helped Crystal Palace beat Liverpool."

Xie Jing Xing's throat was sore, and he spoke weakly and slowly: "My father happily drank two and a half bottles of beer, and gave me the remaining half bottle of beer. I was ten years old that year."

"...Are you talking about Fan Zhiyi? He won the Best Player honor in his first season after joining Crystal Palace and is still talked about by Crystal Palace fans." Richard said without hesitation.

Although he doesn't understand what kind of family environment would allow a child to drink, he understands Chinese tycoons!
In recent years, Chinese capital has been spending money like crazy and the entire European football is showing signs of taking over the center of the world. This year alone, there have been rumors that a Chinese e-commerce giant is chasing Inter Milan and good things are about to happen.

The reason why he threw out Crystal Palace first was a little trick. After showing off for a long time, he finally accepted the challenge. It was a good start!
"Sixteen years ago you could sit at home and watch football on the other side of the Atlantic, but now you can watch Premier League games in 16 of the 193 member states of the United Nations."

Richard was in high spirits and returned to the main topic: "9 million families and 18 billion viewers around the world follow the Premier League. We are committed to letting the world share the joy of football."

"This is exactly why I want to buy a team." Xie Jingxing made no secret of his purpose.

"Then why not Southampton? You should look at the entire industry and enjoy the inclusiveness of British football culture!"

Richard nodded vigorously and used his usual sales pitch: "I think you are familiar with Rothschild Bank since you work in the financial industry. It is an old shareholder of Tottenham Hotspur."

"You join the Premier League, sit in a sun room surrounded by green fir trees on a warm afternoon with Roche CEO, drink a cup of Darjeeling black tea, and come up with ideas for business cooperation projects while chatting with each other as good friends."

He vividly and blatantly made the promise: "The Premier League has many such high-quality social resources, and you are obviously very welcome to become one of them."

Xie Jingxing was finally touched and forced a smile.

Chen Xi looked at the person in charge of the Taihe Family Office team inconspicuously, as if silently asking where this foreigner came from; the latter responded with an innocent look, who knew that this guy was so eloquent that he could make such a trivial matter that everyone knew clearly.

As expected of him as the person in charge of attracting investment in the United States, she commented silently in her heart and turned around to move a chair.

Since Richard has the ability to stay and not leave, he is qualified to sit down and talk about feelings. This guy himself is a network resource for the boss's subsequent investment in the UK.

There is something special about the ancestral graves in this place in the UK. The afterglow of the sun never sets leaks a little light, bringing endless benefits to an industry.

The concrete manifestation of the so-called "English-speaking world" is that it has the greatest commercial value in the whole of Europe, and competitors cannot catch up with it.

The Middle Eastern guys tried to use dollars to exchange for influence to buy Premier League teams, the Russian guys demonstrated their financial strength by allocating assets to buy Premier League teams, and the Americans wanted to make money to buy Premier League teams, and even wanted to move the team to the United States to play football.

Xie Jingxing possesses all three qualities. There is an upper limit to the domestic market redundancy. Securities firms like Juntai are gradually developing European and American businesses, not to mention Jingxing Group. It is an inevitable trend for financial investment businesses to go overseas in the future.

A long time ago, in order to raise funds in US dollars and integrate into the New York social circle, he bought some shares of the NBA Knicks team. It doesn't matter as long as the tactic is effective.

A Premier League-level team with influence and good operating conditions without losing money - Southampton, a mid- and lower-tier team that appears right before our eyes, fully meets these two positioning requirements.

Therefore, Zhou Fenglan jokingly asked what to do if the other party did not sell it. Xie Jingxing changed his expression without hesitation, and with a twist of his mouth, he became a loyal fan of another team.

In his eyes, this is just a business. Culture or not doesn't matter. The most important thing is not to be treated as a victim!

Suning is acquiring Inter Milan for only about 300 million euros, while Fosun Group went to the Championship team to inquire about a price of around 100 million pounds.

The market situation is clear, but Southampton dared to offer 80% of the shares for 2.24 million pounds. The overall valuation is as high as 2.8 million pounds, and it is not a full acquisition.

A relegation team that is always on the edge of promotion or relegation and relies on selling players to make money is definitely not worth this price.

In the past two years, Lao Wang and his group have been eager to transfer assets, which has given courage to European teams, which serve as one of the channels for capital to go overseas. They have been driven crazy by the RMB.

The types of assets that can be allocated in the UK are only real estate, traditional corporate equity, and secondary financial derivatives. There are not even many venture capital projects, so Xie Jingxing is not in a hurry.

"So to sum up, your ideal acquisition target is a club that breaks even, owns a stadium, and is in the middle or lower reaches of the Premier League in terms of competitiveness?"

The topic diverged and the communication lasted for a long time, with Richard mostly talking to himself and asking a question from time to time, collecting effective information to paint a full picture of the ideal target.

Firstly, the investment in the rookie team is small, and secondly, the revenue of the football club depends entirely on the sale of players and stadiums. The hedging in two directions means that even if Xie Jingxing is a newcomer and knows nothing about football, a loss of 10 or 20 million pounds a year is enough.

Smart and rational investors.

Richard took the opportunity to label the young rich man himself, thought for a moment and suggested seriously: "Then would you like to consider the top teams in the Championship? They are competitive and of high quality, so you can invest more money in team building."

"Of course, I enjoy the process of helping a little-known team become a household name in England."

Xie Jingxing was not reserved. The acquisition plan prepared by Taihe Family Office was expected to include this approach, buying a Championship team at a low price to play in the Premier League.

Richard couldn't help but reveal a smile of approval from the bottom of his heart. American investors who go to the UK to buy sports teams always act as if they know the UK very well and are so arrogant that they say, "If you follow my rules, don't try to cheat me."

Chinese and Russian investors are rich people who know they don’t understand, but they have money and don’t mind being cheated.

There is no difference between the two, both are disgusting or funny enough.

On the contrary, rational businessmen like the young rich man in front of him and the evil vampire who seems to be very careful and prudent are actually more respected by the public.

The capitalist world has always been like this; being able to scrape away the last penny is always something to be admired.

"He fears power but not virtue." Chen Xi personally escorted Richard out of the door, and returned to the ward to make some flattering comments.

Xie Jing Xing felt better after sweating a little. He said self-deprecatingly with interest, "I think he wants to praise me for having the legacy of an old-school capitalist."

"You're here to discuss business while you're sick? I wanted to give you a change of mood, but now the doctor is blaming me for not letting you rest."

Chen Xi fiddled with lowering the bed and poured him a cup of hot water. "If it doesn't work, cancel the afternoon schedule and move tomorrow's interview to an online video."

"The fever has gone down. It's uncomfortable to lie in bed and sweat all over." Xie Jingxing insisted and didn't want to delay any more.

Seeing that his boss looked fine, Chen Xi stopped trying to persuade him. He picked out the content about the team and players from the acquisition plan, and the two football-illiterate people played a real-life version of the football manager lineup configuration game together for a while, and then he fell asleep again.

After waking up from a nap, having lunch and taking a hot shower, my health bar recovered to six and a half minutes, and I resumed the fundraising process.

…………

April 4th, New York time, was the second to last day before Xie Yun’s birthday.

Her father's health was slowly recovering. He met three waves of investors in one day and rushed to arrange the fundraising roadshow. The only thing left was to meet the Crown Prince of New York. He would invite all investors to a celebratory cocktail party at noon tomorrow and fly home in the afternoon.

The gifts are ready: Einstein's manuscript of "General Theory of Relativity", which is presented by Christie's auction house, and the seller is asking 1000 million euros.

"not bad."

Xie Jingxing shook a stack of manuscript paper, intending to write a few words on it wishing his daughter to be smart and wise, but it was really a waste of talent.

He handed it to Chen Xi and put it back into the box. The convoy stopped at the St. Regis Hotel on 57th Street at the right time. He pushed the door, got out of the car, adjusted his clothes and walked in first.

Sitting in the corner of the lobby were two men in black suits, the same type as the bodyguards behind him. They followed the cloth man who came to greet them and took the elevator upstairs. Chen Xi and his bodyguards and other entourage were stopped directly at the entrance to the corridor.

The whole floor was silent, with only a few men in black suits standing guard. He had booked the entire floor, and the style of a crown prince was just right.

“Everything is an investment for future generations – and Saudi Arabia’s real achievement is that people agree with that view, from the time when its founding king Ibn Saud conquered the dusty streets of Riyadh.”

In the hotel suite, many men and women were busy working in an orderly manner. The crown prince, who was only in his early thirties, was wearing a robe and sitting by the window overlooking the Central Park with its spring greenery. The translator was standing three steps away and translating in English.

Next to him was a low round golden stool, half a body length behind him, the difference was almost unnoticeable.

Xie Jing Xing sat down by himself, thinking about the meaning of this opening remark, and responded: "The day after tomorrow is my daughter's birthday. I prepared Einstein's manuscript as a gift for her. I wish her to be smart and studious. It is also an art investment for her."

"It's a very creative gift. Venture capital should be so imaginative." The Crown Prince looked away and smiled at him.

Xie Jingxing nodded slightly and smiled modestly. It was true that some people now called him the best post-90s generation, but he was still a few notches behind the two strongest post-80s generation on the planet.

There is no need to say much about the neighbor at home, the Sun. At this moment, the crown prince with thick eyebrows and big eyes who has the right to use hundreds of billions of dollars is very likely to become a powerful ruler like the founding monarch in the future.

After he ascended the throne, it was rumored that he locked up hundreds of royal relatives to conduct anti-corruption and seized $800 billion from their homes. Afterwards, the relatives went to his mother to complain, and then they found out that he had imprisoned his own mother...

He is tough at home but open-minded abroad, and holds a positive and progressive attitude towards business technology, gender politics and other policy philosophies.

“Have you ever considered setting up an office in Saudi Arabia?” the Crown Prince asked straight away.

It was another investment promotion. Xie Jingxing understood it instantly and declined with regret and distress: "Grapefruit Capital is very young and it is difficult for us to devote our energy to enter the overseas market in a short period of time."

"PIF has just completed its reform this year and has already planned to set up an office in China." The Crown Prince said in a calm tone without any emotion.

Xie Jingxing was speechless. He had pulled Zhou Kaixuan in Silicon Valley a few days ago just for this reason.

The Middle Eastern fabrics are far from conforming to the stereotype of people who are stupid and have a lot of money as joked about on the domestic Internet. Whoever thinks they are stupid is the real stupid one, such as a large number of managers of small and medium-sized venture capital institutions in China.

After the epidemic, the dollar LP completely retreated, and many colleagues heard that there was money in the Middle East, and they rushed to find money.

As a result, the proposal was first blocked by Arabic communication, and then by other conditions such as veto power, fee reduction, and setting up an office in the Middle East.

Finally, the cloth pieces announced: You can now compete fairly with your Silicon Valley counterparts to see who can attract more of my investment.

After being treated as a nouveau riche by the whole world for decades, even if he was really stupid before, he now wants to know the weight of the chips in his pocket.

Deeply influenced by the thinking of European and American financial industries, it is more conservative and powerful.

Harsh conditions can be negotiated, but Xie Jingxing cannot accept excessive strength from LP. The orthodox dollar views him as a darling, but the spiritual illegitimate child of the dollar wants to teach him how to do things.

What's the point?
The Crown Prince wants to bring Chinese venture capital projects back to Saudi Arabia, and he wants to bring Saudi dollars back to China. There seems to be a clear conflict between the two sides.

After a brief conversation, an official came over and ended the communication on the grounds that the crown prince had other important matters.

Xie Jingxing said goodbye calmly. After all, it was not a loss to meet a person of this level of power. The success or failure was already established. The international situation would have to change again if it changed suddenly.

I hope PIF will remember him when it is unable to invest directly in Chinese projects.

"Thank you. Wait a moment. This way please."

While Xie Jingxing was planning to return to the corridor entrance and meet up with Chen Xi and the others to wait for the elevator, the English translator and the affairs officer came over from the hotel room to try to stop him.

He raised an eyebrow in confusion: "What's wrong?"

"You are here today to raise funds for the fund, aren't you?"

The officer spoke in a heavy accent, speaking in plain English: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is willing to provide you and your fund with a subscription amount of 20 billion US dollars."

"..."

Everyone was dumbfounded. Chen Xi raised his wrist to check the time. The boss had been in there for 20 minutes at most. One hundred million dollars a minute?!

Xie Jing Xing was silent for a few seconds and shook his head gently: "I respect His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and I also respect other LPs."

There are many people who want to invest in grapefruit, please queue up. (End of this chapter)