America: My Time

Chapter 1530 Morgan's Pressure

Chapter 1520 Morgan's Pressure

"Are you kidding me? If you were given another chance, you would still make the same decision. You couldn't accept an investment of several years, and a billion dollars at that. It's precisely because of such an astonishing investment that we have everything we have today, but even so, there are still significant problems. Under the relentless pressure from those old guys, I had no choice but to break it up, otherwise they would have schemed against me again!" John said with a cold laugh, a hint of anger flashing in his eyes!

Seeing John's reaction, Morgan said with a wry smile, "John, the situation in the US has nothing to do with Morgan. It's the greed of some guys on Wall Street. After all, they have huge amounts of money and want to find a place to invest, so they've set their sights on your restaurant brand. Don't worry, those old guys will definitely give you a satisfactory explanation."

"Hoping they'll give me a satisfactory explanation is pointless. By the time that day comes, the restaurant brands I own will already be under their control. Mr. Morgan, you were the ones who handled the IPOs of these brands, but now such a huge problem has arisen. Do you think this is appropriate?" John's gaze turned somewhat gloomy at this moment, putting pressure on Morgan. Such accusations were not good for him, nor for Morgan!

"We did make a mistake in this regard, allowing those with ulterior motives to scheme against us. We didn't expect them to be colluding in secret. Don't worry, I will definitely give you an explanation and make those guys pay the price. Morgan's integrity is inviolable. If they try to damage Morgan's reputation, they will face our counterattack!"

John shook his head and said, "Forget it. Since they want all of this, I'll give it to them. I'll sell all my shares in those brands, keeping only Subway. But this time I need to take back all the shares. I don't think that will be difficult for Morgan, will it?"

Upon hearing this, Morgan was taken aback, then his expression changed drastically as he said in a deep voice, "John, this is no joke. Are you sure you want to sell these brands? You should know that many of them were just acquired!"

"If I could, do you think I would sell? There's no way now. Since these guys have already taken action and joined forces, even if I wanted to stop them, I couldn't. Everything is already set in stone. I'll sell all the restaurant brands in the US, keeping only Subway! However, since they started this, they shouldn't blame me for doing the same. They're fighting me in the stock market, so they should be prepared for my counterattack. They started all of this!"

Seeing John's angry expression, Morgan had a thousand words to say, but could only let out a long sigh. It wasn't that he didn't want to persuade John, but that he couldn't. John had already said so much; if he tried to persuade him again, it would only transfer John's anger to Morgan.

Although Morgan didn't know how John would retaliate, or why John only kept Subway, he understood that John must have thought of a way to fight back. Once this counterattack was launched, those old guys would probably pay a heavy price, and those fools on Wall Street would pay a heavy price for their stupidity!

John's restaurant group is enormous. Whether it's Morgan or Qingyang, not to mention the brands they just acquired, the entire system of brands like Pizza Hut, Burger King, Starbucks, and Dairy Queen is enough to shock people. The rapid decline of a restaurant giant in such a short time would have a significant impact on the United States. But now John has made up his mind, and Morgan doesn't dare to persuade him, since they are the ones who made the mistake!
Taking a deep breath, Morgan nodded and said, "No problem, Morgan will do everything in its power to complete everything. We will ensure everything goes smoothly in this transaction and you will not suffer any losses. This is Morgan's promise and Morgan's reputation!"

The fact that Morgan could speak to such an extent shows how angry and annoyed he was. However, he had no choice but to do this, otherwise Morgan's reputation would be completely destroyed with this transaction. Once he lost his credibility, the cooperation between Morgan and John would come to an end, and no one would dare to cooperate with Morgan at a deeper level in the future. After all, John's failure is a cautionary tale that everyone can clearly see!
"That's good. I trust Morgan's integrity. This was just an accident, or perhaps a carefully orchestrated conspiracy to damage our relationship and destroy our cooperation. I personally still believe in Morgan's integrity and will continue to cooperate with them. However, there will be a slight change in the IPO plan, which I believe you can understand!"

John had put it this way, so what could Morgan say? After all, John had given him ample 'trust.' If Morgan couldn't understand, it was their own problem—it was all caused by their mistake. As for whether it was a mistake at play, only Morgan himself knew. Since John didn't want to pursue the matter, Morgan naturally wouldn't have any other thoughts and could only accept John's good intentions!
"Don't worry, I understand. What can I say about such a scheme? These guys really think I'm a fool, that I, Morgan, have no temper. Since they dared to do this, they'll have to bear Morgan's wrath, and someone has to pay the price. Rest assured, these guys won't be getting any more shares from me from now on!"

"There's no need to do that. If they want it, just give it to them. For a long time, I haven't been in the mood for a major war with them. After all, there are too many things to deal with in Asia. They want American assets, so just give them to them. This is yet another instance of them taking targeted action against me. It's not that I intentionally want to transfer assets; they're forcing me to give up. I hope they can stay happy!"

John's words sent a chill down Morgan's spine. Despite John's polite tone, Morgan felt a sense of unease, sensing a hidden conspiracy behind John's compromise. He believed that while these assets held immense potential in John's hands, their value might not be so high in someone else's.

"What countermeasures does John have, and why is he so confident?" Morgan pondered this question in his mind, but unfortunately, he couldn't figure it out. After all, it all happened so suddenly that it caught him off guard!
After their exchange, Morgan gleaned some information from John, but also had many more questions. He couldn't press further, as that would only anger John and damage their relationship. Fortunately, Morgan had already made some progress in semiconductors and electronics; a chip war was inevitable, but this time, Japan and South Korea would be the first to be eliminated, with Japan having already made a concession. "What? This is impossible! How could John so easily give up these restaurant brands and even sell them off as a package deal? Has he gone mad? What is Morgan doing? What is John trying to do?" When they learned of Morgan's move and John's plan to sell the restaurant group, the old guard was shocked, and the Wall Street guys were dumbfounded.

Although they had noticed that Subway had been spun off and that Morgan had made a lot of moves behind the scenes, it didn't seem to bother the old guys. After all, Subway's influence wasn't strong enough. What they cared about most was the sale of the entire restaurant group, and then the sale of the whole group as a package. What angered them the most was that Morgan had directly split the entire restaurant group into two large restaurant groups, which was the thing they couldn't accept the most!
The reason for this is clearly to target their acquisition and force them to pay a higher price. But they are already in the game, and even if they don't want to acquire, they have no choice. If they don't acquire, someone else will. After all, once the acquisition is completed, they will directly acquire a catering giant.

What was John doing when this dramatic shift in the restaurant industry occurred in the United States? He was still in Taiwan, but this time John wasn't idle. He was arranging for the acquisition of restaurant brands in Taiwan and Hong Kong, and he was also building a new factory.

However, John's actions did not attract the attention of those old guys, and even the presence of beautiful women around John in Taiwan did not surprise them. In their eyes, this was normal, but there was something more to it than that! John was readjusting the sales of those farms and making targeted arrangements.

"Pre-cooked meals? Factories in Hong Kong and Taiwan are going to produce pre-cooked meals? What are pre-cooked meals?" When they heard John's plan, many of the women were surprised and couldn't understand it. After all, it was the first time they had ever heard of pre-cooked meals!

John had no intention of entering the ready-to-cook meal industry, but those old guys in the US had gone too far, and the Europeans were also targeting him. This made John want to give them a profound counterattack, to let them know what pain is, and to let the entire catering market suffer a terrible storm!

"You don't need to know what pre-cooked food is now. You'll understand once the factory is up and running. You just need to make some adjustments to the management of the farm, and you don't need to worry about anything else. However, you need to make proper arrangements on the Korean side, speed up the pace of retail, and even accelerate the global plan. I want 7-Eleven to be available in Asia, Europe, and North America. This time, we will spare no expense."

“But 7-Eleven in North America has already been spun off and listed, operating independently. Although we still have control over it, further expansion won’t be easy!” At this moment, Lee Boo-jin expressed her concerns. After all, she had been in charge of the entire retail industry, and she had some worries about John’s plan!
"The reason I'm telling you to speed up your pace in South Korea is so that you can free up your energy to focus on the US, acquire another convenience store there, expand rapidly, and regain control of the North American market."

John paused at this point, then said to Kikuchi Momoko, "Momoko, you need to speed up the integration on your end as well. We also need to expand into Europe. I need a convenience store brand in Europe that is independent of 7-Eleven, and it needs to quickly seize the European market. If these old guys want to play, then let's have a head-on confrontation with them and show them what madness is!"

"Isn't this too crazy and too dangerous? It requires a huge investment, and neither Korea nor Japan has enough funds to complete your plan. Whether it's Europe or North America, rebuilding a new retail brand is no easy task, and even acquisitions require immense effort!" Lee Boo-jin felt that John was losing his mind, and this decision was somewhat unrealistic. Even if 7-Eleven has some problems, it's not insurmountable. With Hurricane Investment's strength, they could easily regain control on the stock market.

“I understand your concerns. In your view, there’s absolutely no need to do this; 7-Eleven is enough. But have you considered how difficult it is to get 7-Eleven shares back from the stock market? Those old guys aren’t fools, and Wall Street isn’t just for show. They’ll sense our presence as soon as we make a move. Rebranding will make them feel threatened; it will show them what fear is. Do you think creating a new brand will affect 7-Eleven’s stock price?”

"Openly repairing the plank road while secretly crossing the Chencang pass?" Lee Boo-jin exclaimed in shock, her eyes filled with astonishment. This scheme was too insidious!
"No, you're wrong. I want both of our convenience store chains to become retail giants in Europe and North America. The retail industry will continue to grow rapidly for a long time to come. I want to gain more market share before the market becomes saturated, so I can prepare for the future!"

Time was of the essence. John knew that if he didn't speed things up, things would get really bad once his pre-made food factory was up and running. He would either have to take decisive action, or he would have to launch a massive attack on the catering industry, directly seizing market share in Europe and North America and dealing a fatal blow to those catering brands.

Of course, Hong Kong and Taiwan alone are not enough. John needs to make larger investments in China. However, if the plan is launched in China, the demand for supplies will be a major problem, requiring advance preparation. Time is of the essence for him; every day of delay means a loss. It's important to understand that John is determined this time to target those who plotted against him, to teach them a lesson, and to seize market share in the lower tiers of Europe and North America.

(End of this chapter)