The Industrial Giant Reborn

A week later, Jim Hughes arrived with his prize in the presidential suite of the Hilton Hotel in New York City.

"Mr. Chen, several senior employees of the Disney family have agreed to leave the company. However, the severance fee they asked for is a bit high." After Jim Hughes finished speaking, he handed over a white paper with numbers on it. Paper.

"16 people, asking for a total of 12 million US dollars!" Chen Zhiwen frowned after reading the figures and said, "Are these people working as senior executives in Disney?"

"About half of them, and the rest are responsible for some non-core departments or department leaders, such as administration, personnel, logistics, etc., there are only 5 people, they can be regarded as the core leaders of the company, and they manage 2 parks, movie business and cartoon business respectively. , and the other is CEO Ron Miller." Jim Hughes introduced.

"These 5 people, you can talk to them, you can give them a severance pay, just negotiate the price appropriately, and the rest, according to US law, just make dismissal compensation, if you don't agree, stay, and wait for me to get a controlling stake in Disney If you leave again, you will lose all your money." Chen Zhiwen thought for a while and said.

Severance fees are actually used worldwide. During large-scale acquisitions, if you want the high-level executives of the other party to leave safely, you need to pay such a sum of money. Otherwise, if the other party leaves directly, the business will not be handed over and important matters will not be explained. It may cause greater losses later, and it may delay the time of the acquisition. Therefore, it is already a commercial consensus to pay a fee.

For example, in the original history, Niu Bijian, who managed Jardine Land to a debt of nearly 20 billion Hong Kong dollars, received a severance pay of US$1 million when he was driven out by the Keswick family, and Bao Fuda received almost US$600,000.

But this money will only be given to the top management. It is not worth it for those small fish and shrimps who have entered the company through their connections. These people have probably sucked a lot of blood from the company over the years. A kind of default, otherwise it is too extreme, and if it acquires other companies in the future, it may be completely boycotted.

"Okay, that's no problem. I'll talk to them again, but this is also a majority of five high-level people, and there are not too many." Jim Hughes reminded.

"I know that, what should I do next?" Chen Zhiwen asked.

"The rest is to negotiate the purchase price with Disney's shareholder representatives. However, with Disney's current operating conditions and debts, the price we have offered is already very good. If you spend a little more time, you should be able to get it done." Jim Hughes said: "If the price is negotiated, we need to submit a formal application to the U.S. Department of Commerce. It may take a while, but we can get the request from the Department of Commerce first. If you disagree, we at Morgan Stanley will need to Negotiate with the Ministry of Commerce. If you agree, or reach an agreement after the negotiation, then follow the normal process.

According to the law, foreign capital acquisitions of American companies exceeding US$500 million or involving some sensitive technologies need to undergo a hearing. month time. "

"Well, let's negotiate the price and get the conditions from the Ministry of Commerce." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.

No matter how smooth this kind of cross-border large-scale acquisition is, it will take several months. It is naturally impossible for him to stay in the United States for such a long time. Or the government negotiating team, guide the direction, follow up even if you are in Hong Kong, you can follow up with the remote phone, if it doesn’t work, you can come again, anyway, it is very convenient to have a private jet.

"Okay, I'll let you know when I have further news." Jim Hughes said.

...

The price negotiation involved capital, and it was as high as tens of millions of dollars at one point. Naturally, the two sides were unwilling to make too many concessions, especially when Chen Zhiwen knew that these shareholders really wanted to sell, and these shareholders also knew that Chen Zhiwen was not really indifferent. Naturally fell into the process of the game.

But when it will end, in fact, it depends entirely on the opinions of the bosses behind the two parties. If one party agrees, then the matter will be over.

Although Chen Zhiwen wanted to buy Disney sooner, but at this point in his work, the acquisition would be successful in the end. If he could save a little money, he would naturally need to save a little more. Otherwise, the price of inviting Morgan Stanley would not be low. After paying a certain discount, the money spent will naturally be worth the money. Investment banks are best at finding loopholes in the other party to lower the price. At this moment, Morgan Investment Bank can be said to use all its strength to find Disney's financial, operational possible errors in .

One is to reduce the cost of acquisition for our own customers, and the other is to avoid any undiscovered problems after the customer's acquisition. This is both for the benefit of the customer and for ourselves. Because if this kind of acquisition can save money for customers and ensure that there are no major loopholes, it will naturally increase the history of successful acquisitions of your investment bank, thereby attracting other customers who need large-scale acquisitions. On the contrary, this is another direction, especially if given to Customers subsequently brought big pitfalls. Although Morgan Stanley has a way to evade legal liability, the reputation of the investment bank will definitely suffer losses.

During this period of time, Chen Zhiwen also had other things to do. Now in the United States, he also has many industries under his umbrella, such as the AMC automobile business. With the collapse of national oil prices and the gradual recovery of the American economy, the automobile business has also begun to recover. Fuel-guzzling cars are on the rise again.

People in the U.S. market will never forget the pain after their scars heal. A few years ago, they were worried about not being able to fill up the gas, but now they are keen on cars with high fuel consumption and high power.

However, this is a good thing for Chen Zhiwen. The sales of his own cars are also increasing, and the internal capital chain of the car company has also begun to flow. There is no need for Chen Zhiwen to pay extra money for subsidies.

But in the long run, AMC used to be positioned to be more fuel-efficient than the three major auto giants, and now it is directly facing Japanese cars. That is to say, Japanese cars pose the greatest threat to AMC.

Even if Chen Zhiwen is trying to increase his marketing capabilities, such as acquiring 330 Chrysler auto sales stores, investing in building sales channels in Southeast Asia, exporting to the mainland at a small profit to ensure more orders, etc., these are only temporary solutions, not the root cause. It can only alleviate short-term difficulties. In the long run, it still depends on technology. Only by relying on technology and quality can we gain a firm foothold in the automotive industry.

While Morgan Stanley and Disney shareholder representatives were fighting fiercely trying to get the right price for themselves, Chen Zhiwen came to the headquarters of AMC: Detroit, the city of cars.

The person who came to pick him up was naturally Gu Dehua, the most senior Chinese in AMC.

Although considering cultural issues, the entire AMC is still in charge of all the business operations of the original team, but the communication between Chen Zhiwen and here is mainly through Gu Dehua, which is also convenient for himself, not just in terms of language, but as A Chinese with rich experience in the workplace, he can understand what Chen Zhiwen means most of the time. The second is to give Gu Dehua a high enough status in AMC. No matter how he says he is the boss, he still needs to approve or authorize himself for larger matters within the company.

But everything has a balance. There is a balance between Gu Dehua and the American management, and many Chinese arranged by Chen Zhiwen at AMC will also check and balance Gu Dehua. Not to mention rights, Chen Zhiwen can also know clearly what major events are happening inside AMC. In terms of eyeliner, Chen Zhiwen has a lot.

The convoy picking up the plane was a row of Lincolns. Chen Zhiwen asked curiously, "When did you change this car?"

Gu Dehua said with a smile: "When the general environment was not good before, Lincoln's factory had too much capacity, so it sold a batch of goods to the surrounding companies at cost price. AMC's previous reception cars were a bit old, so I bought them. There are a few new ones, because the price is not very high, so I didn't inform you there."

"Oh, it doesn't matter." Chen Zhiwen said indifferently: "The US market has picked up recently, how is AMC's production capacity recovering?"

"It's much better than before, but it still hasn't returned to the state before 1978. If the oil price doesn't rise, it will get better and better. But our small car is mainly fuel-efficient. The conflict with the Japanese car is very serious. We also tested it before. We have tried many different models of Toyota and Honda, and we are really inferior in terms of fuel economy, especially their cars are very light. Although they are suspected of saving materials, overall, they are still a very good car.” Gu Dehua Said.

"You don't have to think about chasing them in the field they are good at. We have our own direction. How is the development of turbocharging technology?" Chen Zhiwen asked calmly. Compared with Japanese cars, especially A-class cars, it is estimated that the fuel consumption can only be compared with that of Japanese cars. When electric vehicles appear in the future, even if it can be realized in the fuel vehicle market, it will be very difficult. First movers generally have a lot of technical experience and patent barriers. It is basically unrealistic for those who come later to catch up.

"The prototype has been made, and our test results also show that it can be more powerful, but there are still problems to be overcome, such as noise, life, vibration, etc." Gu Dehua said.

"Okay, let's go and have a look first." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.

Soon, a few people came to AMC, and American high-level executives greeted them at the door, and the follow-up reception was also prepared, but Chen Zhiwen was not interested, so he went directly to the laboratory.

The technical expert was a 60-year-old Yankee, who spoke English with an accent, and told Chen Zhiwen for a long time. Although Chen Zhiwen didn't understand technology, he listened politely, but he didn't understand anything. It is difficult to speak English professionally, and then bring an accent.

"Mr. Mark, how many kilometers will our turbine last if it runs normally?" Chen Zhiwen asked.

"About 50,000 kilometers. In terms of materials, we still need to continue testing to find more suitable ones. In addition, we need to build a new heat dissipation system to dissipate heat from the turbine." Mark said.

"I know that Saab in Europe launched turbocharged cars a few years ago. Have you studied their cars?" Chen Zhiwen asked. In the late 1970s, Saab in Sweden was the first company in the world to use turbocharged technology. Chen Zhiwen also knows about cars, but he is not so sure about the technology.

Mark said: "Saab's turbocharging technology is indeed much stronger than ours, and it has passed the test of the market. We also sent people to visit Saab before to seek cooperation or purchase related technologies, but they were rejected. I I heard the same goes for GM.”

"This kind of technology is unlikely to be sold by others. We can only rely on our own research." Chen Zhiwen said that although he does not understand technology, he understands business. Whoever masters this revolutionary technology in the automobile industry will be able to gain advanced Machine, how could it be sold at will.

"Yes, we can only rely on ourselves. In fact, we have obtained some good materials with a long enough life. This material is mainly used in the aviation field, but the cost is too high. We need to find a balance between cost and technology." Mark said again.

"The research and development of materials really depends on luck." Chen Zhiwen nodded, and asked again: "Is there any quick solution?"

One of the problems that traps turbine technology in later generations is the material, because this thing needs to work in a high-temperature environment for a long time. With the small space of a car, it is difficult to quickly cool it no matter how optimized it is.

Of course, some solutions have been solved by several companies now, but their things have already been patented, and similar to Saab and Porsche are high-end cars, it is not a problem to directly use aviation costs for turbines, but AMC obviously cannot.

The most complicated car technology is not a high-end sports car or a handmade Rolls-Royce, but the most basic A-class car, B-class car or small and medium-sized SUV. It is the most difficult in the auto industry to produce the most cost-effective car at the lowest cost. Technology. This has almost abnormal requirements for technology research and development, materials, and quality.

"Boss, there is a method, but the cost is relatively high. Our AMC R\u0026D team is actually not weak in the United States, but it is far behind the three giants. As for materials, the most powerful R\u0026D teams are universities. Laboratories, steel mill laboratories and other institutions, if we can entrust them to develop, the speed will be much faster." Mark suggested.

"You mean to find many companies to develop at the same time?" Chen Zhiwen understood the meaning, because it doesn't cost much to find one to develop.

"Yes, for example, if we look for a R\u0026D team with high temperature resistance and long life span, if we find more, the probability of success will be higher, which is a matter of cost." Mark said with a smile.

"Okay, I agree. You can prepare the list and the approximate cost. If there is no problem." Chen Zhiwen nodded. Although others have developed turbo technology, they are all used in high-end cars. If AMC can be used in mid-priced models Using a turbo is definitely an advantage. Although it is difficult to increase its level significantly, it can also gain more markets.

In comparison, spending a little more on research and development is nothing. The research and development of automobiles cost hundreds of millions of dollars. This is because it was the 1980s and the value of the currency was high. In more than ten years, it would be impossible to spend without billions of dollars. .

The foundation of AMC is not good enough. It is really difficult for it to engage in this kind of professional material research and development. For small companies, if some things need to be outsourced, they can outsource and concentrate on what they are good at.

Moreover, in the automotive industry, it takes ten years for a technology to go from laboratory to application. If money can buy time, Chen Zhiwen is still willing.

PS: I would like to ask everyone a question. Is it uncomfortable to jump from one thing to another in my way of writing?

The main reason is that this kind of large-scale acquisition usually takes one or two years in practice. I have shortened this time in the novel, but it will take a few months anyway. Some rationality must be considered. The protagonist's needs are not very high, so I'm used to writing about other things, otherwise the time is wasted.

If this is really not good, and you like to end things one at a time, then I will write like this from now on.