America: My Time

Chapter 286 Vigilance
Chapter 286 Vigilance

John quickly finalized his deal with these old guys, and the acquisition process would proceed rapidly. Everything would be expedited. Meanwhile, John also began contacting Neon Bank to ensure his plans to acquire Hughes Aircraft Company wouldn't be affected, and to ensure his development in the aviation industry wouldn't be hindered.

Back at his New York residence, John pondered Morgan and his associates' proposal regarding the acquisition of Hewlett-Packard. It would be a lie to say he wasn't tempted. Although the privatization process in Britain was accelerating, he wouldn't be able to acquire a significant number of Rolls-Royce shares from the British. The British would be wary of such an important company, and influencing Rolls-Royce was unlikely. In comparison, Hewlett-Packard seemed the best option.

However, another major problem loomed before him: financial pressure. This was no ordinary acquisition; it was an acquisition of an aircraft manufacturing company. With his existing assets in the aviation sector, it would be difficult to withstand the pressure of this loan. But John also understood that if he refused this time, it would be impossible to acquire Pratt & Whitney again. Once those old guys finished their takeover of Japan, they would not sell such an important company to him. He only had one chance.

Was his mind read again? No, John didn't think that those old guys had seen through him. Rather, they were deliberately using this method to delay his development, to drag his funds into the US aviation industry, so that he wouldn't have the energy to expand overseas, continue to expand in the semiconductor field, or even expand in the mining industry.

John had been under the watchful eye of these old guys in the mining industry. The huge sums of money from the sale of the mines were still in the mining company's accounts, which made them uneasy. John understood their concerns, and it was precisely because of their concerns that they made this series of big moves, even getting Morgan and Rockefeller to tacitly join forces and use the aviation manufacturing industry to lure him.

Compared to the profits in the semiconductor and gaming industries, the aviation industry's profits are indeed not very good. The investment is high and the return is low. Perhaps those old guys were not lying. The low profits made them choose to abandon Pratt & Whitney. After all, for these old guys, they don't care about the connections behind Pratt & Whitney. These financial giants have connections all over the United States, but it's a completely different story for them.

If I were to acquire Pratt & Whitney, I would need even more funds. One or two Japanese banks simply couldn't afford such a large loan; the risk would be too great. Even if those guys had a lot of confidence in me, they couldn't possibly handle such a massive amount of money. If something went wrong, they would be in big trouble.

After some consideration, John notified the six major banks behind Japan's six major conglomerates: Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank, Sanwa Bank, Fuji Bank, Sumitomo Bank, Mitsui Bank, and Mitsubishi Bank. An acquisition would require billions of dollars, a huge burden for any bank, but spread across six banks, the problem was significantly reduced.

After John left Morgan, Rockefeller and his ilk did not leave with him, but continued their discussion at Morgan's place. This meeting with John had been very fruitful for them.

"Gentlemen, it seems that this little fox is indeed ambitious and has ideas about the aviation industry. Otherwise, he wouldn't have said such things. It seems that this little guy has a big plan in aviation, but it has been disrupted by our sudden move. At this time, we must not panic. We must meet his demands. Only by keeping his funds tied up in the aviation industry will we have enough time to complete all our plans."

"That's right. This time we need to work together. We're not afraid of this little guy being tempted or greedy. What we're afraid of is him backing down and giving up. As long as we get him caught up in the expansion of the aviation industry, we can limit his development and complete our plan, whether it's catching up in semiconductors or other industries!"

“Morgan, this time you must think about the bigger picture, not just your own interests. You’ve already made a lot of money off that little fox John, now it’s time to take on some responsibility!”

"Do you really think this will work? I'm worried that this little fox will fall for your bait and remain unaffected. I've thought about it carefully these past few days. Pu Hui is good, but will this little fox John really develop according to our plan? I think the possibility is slim. This little fox is too cunning. If he completely ignores his huge debts, perhaps all our previous plans will fall through. So far, he still hasn't used up his funds! Although he has a considerable debt, it hasn't affected his development. He's still developing rapidly. Can our scheme really succeed this time?" At this moment, Morgan suddenly said these words, making the old guys in front of him grit their teeth in hatred. In their eyes, Morgan was simply unwilling to pay the price.

“You can’t say that. If his debts in aviation are too high and he can’t repay the loans, he’ll inevitably have to withdraw funds from other companies. But now he can withdraw funds from which companies? I don’t believe this little fox isn’t on guard at all, and he can’t possibly completely trust those Japanese banks.” “Mining! If he continues prospecting and acquires another large mine, the pressure won’t be on him, but on us. We’ve paid a considerable price, and I don’t believe everyone is willing to sell Pratt & Whitney. In short, we should be cautious in this matter and prepare for the worst!”

"Damn Morgan, he's clearly just trying to avoid taking the pressure off us!" At this moment, all the old guys in front of them were incredibly annoyed. Morgan was the one who raised the issue, and now this bastard doesn't want to take responsibility. This is too insidious. He wants them to bear all the pressure while Morgan only gets the benefits and doesn't pay any price!
At this moment, those old men were all staring intently at Morgan. Morgan remained unmoved by their sharp gazes, calmly accepting them without a hint of malice in his actions or words. Although this was the excuse he had used to refuse these old men, Morgan now harbored a slight unease. He hadn't thought about it carefully before, but after uttering this 'reason,' he felt a growing unease, a sense that this might indeed be a possibility.

"If Morgan has such concerns, then you should cooperate with us even more. You can also find him another mining company to deplete his last remaining funds. Wouldn't that solve the problem? Isn't this Morgan's forte? With Morgan's capabilities, you can definitely do it. We await your good news!"

“That’s right. Since you have such concerns, take action. We believe in Morgan’s abilities!”

In response to the old men's counterattack, Morgan took a deep breath and said, "Do you think John is a fool? Does he not realize the danger he's in? With such a huge debt, how could he possibly be prepared? How could he possibly listen to our Morgan advice? His refusal to directly agree to the acquisition of Pratt & Whitney is a perfect example. So I hope you all will be cautious. Of course, if you insist on doing so, don't blame me if you don't achieve a satisfactory result in the future."

“Morgan, tell me your thoughts. Since you’ve thought of this, you must have a different perspective.”

"My view is actually quite simple. Because the market value of the companies John owns is increasing rapidly, if his debt in the aviation sector doesn't collapse in the short term and doesn't put pressure on him, then he can gradually offset the debt as his assets increase. This can be seen from Legendary Entertainment Group. I don't know if you all understand Legendary Entertainment Group, but what I want to say is that Legendary Entertainment Group has already come out of its predicament. Even with a considerable amount of debt, it still has net profits. It was carrying four billion US dollars in debt!"

"Impossible. We haven't received any news about Legendary Entertainment Group making a profit. Are you sure you're not mistaken?"

"Do you think Morgan Stanley would make a mistake on such a big issue? The reason you didn't receive the news is because they used their profits for expansion, which is why there's no profit on the financial statements and they even have a little more debt. But Legendary Entertainment's assets are growing, it's just that all of that growth is overseas, so it's normal that you don't know!"

"Legendary Entertainment's assets are growing, which means its other subsidiary, Phoenix Media, is also growing. No wonder this little fox dares to directly challenge Warner Bros. and Disney. Is entertainment really that profitable? Why don't we see Warner Bros., Disney, or even the entire Hollywood industry making money? They're all losing money."

"This is exactly what I'm worried about. We can't see a way to make money, but John, that little fox, has an unimaginable vision in this area. He's done what Hollywood hasn't. If, and I mean if, John has the same ability in the airline industry, reviving two major airlines and getting them out of crisis, would he still be under so much pressure in the aviation sector? What worries me most is NBC's IPO and financing, which will also bring him considerable gains and relieve his financial pressure. You haven't forgotten about NBC, have you?"

(End of this chapter)