America: My Time

Chapter 228 Asma

Chapter 228 Asma
The thought alone is exciting. Perhaps this is a case of luck so powerful that even city walls can't stop it. What started as a mere conflict with the vanguard has unexpectedly taken a turn for the better, revealing even more opportunities. Investing in the Japanese stock market offers potential profits that rival those of real estate. If one can escape before the market crashes, the returns will be enormous!
It's foolish not to make money when it's available. Now that the opportunity is right in front of him, he can't miss it. At this moment, John's mind is racing as he carefully considers its feasibility, what situations he might encounter once it starts, and whether anyone will stand up to obstruct his plan. After some thought, John feels there shouldn't be any major problems. As long as those Japanese guys aren't stupid, they won't interfere with his investment, and they have no reason to, unless they put everything out in the open, which is almost impossible—that would mean turning against him!

Having many women around him can be troublesome, especially now that he has five beautiful women by his side. You can imagine John's situation. Although they seem to get along well, there are always all sorts of things that happen when so many beautiful women are together, making John feel both pain and pleasure.

Before John could even pull himself away from the beautiful women, another unexpected event occurred: a Dutch company approached him seeking a takeover. This company was called ASML. Yes, that's right, the very company that would later become the most powerful lithography machine manufacturer, now actually seeking to acquire John.

John was also shocked when he saw Jat Schmidt in front of him. Although he also had plans to acquire the lithography giant, he did not want to make a move at this time, since ASML was still far behind.

However, the fact that the other party has now taken the initiative to come to them, and even traveled all the way to Tokyo, is truly a tremendous surprise. At this point, ASML is practically worthless; expansion and growth would require massive investment, which ASML's current situation doesn't allow for—they simply don't have the capital!
“Mr. Schmidt, I’d like to know why you chose me. In the semiconductor industry, I don’t seem to be that well-known, and you know I have a decent relationship with Japan. The US has GCA, and Japan has Nikon and Canon. What reason would I have to acquire a company like yours? What benefits would I gain from acquiring you?”

“Mr. John, you should be aware that there are problems in the trade relationship between the United States and Japan. Moreover, the US semiconductor industry is currently being impacted by Japan. Although Nvidia is just a new company, you still have a need for lithography machines, not to mention that you also have an ASUS foundry in Taiwan!”

"It seems Mr. Schmidt has done quite a bit of research on me. What you said does make sense, but can your technology compete with Nikon and Canon from Japan, or rival GCA from the United States? Since you know me, you should understand that if it's an acquisition, it won't be a joint-stock company, but a full acquisition. Can your parent company accept that? Most importantly, do you have enough research talent? If the acquisition is successful, how much capital will be needed, and how much do you know about this market?"

At this time, ASML did not have the strong scientific research capabilities it would later possess. John wanted to know if ASML had any finished lithography machines at the moment. If they didn't even have finished products, he wouldn't acquire them. There was no need for him to waste too much energy, since there would be plenty of time later!
"Mr. John wants to acquire ASML outright? If so, that's not a problem. Philips doesn't value us. As for the investment, it will have to be at least ten million!"

"Mr. Schmidt, if I'm not mistaken about my understanding of the lithography machine market, it's currently dominated by GCA. Moreover, according to Moore's Law, its technology will be updated very quickly, and it's essential to always keep up with the latest technology. Can the lithography machines you're currently researching catch up with other companies? This industry is different from other industries; you can't succeed without advanced technology!"

“Mr. John, we do have the technical issues, but the cost is a bit high. However, given time, we can definitely speed up mass production!”

"No, Mr. Schmidt, your idea won't work. Before long, the next generation of chips will shrink to less than one micrometer, moving from large-scale integrated circuits to very large-scale integrated circuits. Do you think your current lithography machines can meet the production requirements? Instead of mass-producing the existing lithography machines, you should invest all your energy in new research. You've already fallen behind, and if you continue to fall behind, you won't see any future at all. Such investment is meaningless."

Schmidt wasn't surprised by John's words. The young man sitting opposite him was the CEO of Nvidia, extremely knowledgeable about the semiconductor industry, and Nvidia had made significant breakthroughs in chip development. Therefore, John's words made sense. In fact, Schmidt suspected that Nvidia was already researching new chips.

ASML now has to halt its current research and shift its focus to the development of a new generation of lithography machines, but its current research capabilities are simply insufficient. ASML lacks the necessary research resources, but John has the people ASML needs: Bell Labs, one of the top laboratories in the United States. With Bell Labs' assistance, ASML could forge its own path.

Schmidt approached John because John not only controlled Nvidia, the gaming world, and manufacturing companies like ASUS, but also top-tier laboratories like Bell Labs. If ASML could be acquired by John, it would have a sufficient environment to survive. However, it seems he has failed. "Mr. John, I apologize for disturbing you!" At this moment, Schmidt was somewhat disappointed, taking it as a rejection from John, and got up to leave.

Just then, John smiled calmly and said, "Mr. Schmidt, wait a moment. If you can convince your parent company to sell ASML, I'm willing to let Bell Labs take over, but only if it's a full acquisition. Otherwise, it's off the table. You should go back and discuss it with your parent company. If there are no problems, come back to me."

At this moment, John's thoughts changed slightly. Since Bell Labs was going to focus on research, it couldn't waste the experts and scholars who chose to stay. If they were to participate in the research of lithography machines, there might really be hope of developing a new lithography machine before the next chip appeared and seizing the market.

The reason why Japan's semiconductor industry has grown step by step is because of the support of the government and the joint research and development by all of Japan's top talents. Nikon and Canon are only at the beginning in the field of lithography. If ASML were to join forces with Bell Labs, it would not be impossible for them to surpass each other. At the very least, they would know the future direction of chip development and have some information about lithography machines. This is their biggest advantage and strongest advantage.

At this moment, Schmidt was somewhat shocked. Although it was only a brief exchange, he could clearly tell that John was not someone who knew nothing about the semiconductor industry, but rather someone who was very knowledgeable about it, and even knew about ASML's situation. Even just deductions were enough to show how knowledgeable John was about the industry. Therefore, he was very surprised that John was able to accept the acquisition request, because before coming here, he had only come with the idea of ​​giving it a try.

Schmidt was well aware of how capital-intensive this industry was, and it was precisely because of this awareness that he didn't believe the two investing companies could continue to support ASML's research for a long time, which is why he chose to find a new owner. However, completing this acquisition wouldn't be easy. Philip was relatively easy to deal with, but the other company was a bit more troublesome, since they had only recently invested, and getting them to exit and sell their shares would be difficult.

Now, these troubles don't need to be borne by John or Bell Labs; they all need to be borne by Mr. Schmidt. Since he has chosen to find a suitable new employer for ASML, he must show some appreciation. If he can't even do that, there's no point in continuing the negotiations.

This is not the future, when ASML will have a monopoly on lithography machines. Now it's a buyer's market, and ASML doesn't have that much confidence anymore. Not to mention, the reason he approached John was for the sale of lithography machines. The gaming world is very profitable, and its demand for chips is extremely high. VCDs also need chips, as does Nvidia. Contractors like ASUS naturally need more lithography machines. This is ASML's opportunity, but it seems that they still need to work harder.

"Okay, Mr. John, I won't let you down. Just wait for my good news, I'll be coming to see you soon!"

"There's no need for that. If you really can do all that, then go directly to Ms. Anne Malcasi, the CEO of Bell Labs. I will communicate with her, provided that you can really do it and get Bell Labs to fully acquire ASML. Otherwise, you won't get anything. We can't waste our time and energy on investments that have no hope, and we certainly won't do favors for others. We won't do things that don't benefit us. You should understand that!"

John didn't take the acquisition too seriously. The opportunity was right in front of him, within easy reach, and the cost was minimal, so he naturally chose to hold onto it. He could deal with other matters later. He had plenty of time to wait for ASML to fall into trouble once again.

(End of this chapter)