Chapter 584: Cunningham's Temptation

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"Mr. Guo!"

Looking at the other party's right hand that took the initiative to stretch out, Guo Shouyun smiled and shook it.

"Mr. Cunningham, your visit has made me hit a wall here!"

"Mr. Guo is gracious, it is my honor to be here as a guest. ”

"Please!"

"Mr. Guo, please first!"

After a few brief polite words, Guo Shouyun greeted Bob Cunningham into the living room.

"You may be seated!"

"Thank you!"

After Wang Jue served the tea prepared in advance, "Mr. Cunningham came to visit, I don't think it was a temporary idea, right?"

Cunningham smiled slightly, put down the teacup in his hand, looked directly at Guo Shouyun and said, "Mr. Guo is very wise, this time I came to visit, and there are indeed some things to discuss with you." ”

"Oh? I'm curious. ”

Bob Cunningham didn't speak immediately, but gestured around with his gaze.

Guo Shouyun understood what he meant, "Don't worry, there are no outsiders here." Mr. Cunningham has whatever he has to say. ”

"In that case, then I'll speak!"

"Please!"

Mr. Guo owns 27.8% of Merrill Lynch's common stock, making him the largest shareholder. However, it has always been excluded from the board of directors helmed by Stan O'Neill, and has not been given the status and power represented by shares. Mr. Guo must be dissatisfied with such a result, right?"

Looking at the other party's eyes staring at him, Guo Shouyun smiled faintly, "Of course there will be a little dissatisfaction, after all, I own the most common shares of Merrill Lynch." But not so serious as to Mr. Cunningham. And when I first took a stake in Merrill Lynch, I had already talked to Mr. O'Neill that my investment would not involve acquisitions, but would benefit from capital appreciation as a strategic investor. ”

"Doesn't Mr. Guo want to buy Merrill Lynch? After all, you already hold enough shares, and it is not difficult to acquire Merrill Lynch with the capital you control. ”

"That being said. But I'm curious to see what Mr. Cunningham will get out of it if I buy Merrill Lynch or not?" asked Guo Shouyun.

"I hope to be able to replace Stan O'Neill after helping Mr. Guo succeed in his acquisition of Merrill Lynch. ”

As he spoke, Bob Cunningham's face showed naked ambition.

"Although somewhat offensive. But what I want to say is: Mr. O'Neill is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Merrill Lynch, and you are only the Chief Operating Officer of Merrill Lynch, how can Mr. Cunningham be sure to help me achieve this?"

"I'm sure of all that. … Maybe Mr. Guo doesn't know very well, my uncle Chris Cunningham once served as the chairman of the board of Merrill Lynch in 78~86, although more than ten years have passed, he still has a deep influence within the board of Merrill Lynch. In addition, I have worked at Merrill Lynch for nearly 30 years, and I have also accumulated deep contacts. In addition, I think that although Mr. Guo is rarely involved in the management and operation of Merrill Lynch, he must have his own forces. … On this basis, as long as we plan properly, we have a very good chance of success together. ”

Guo Shouyun nodded, "Mr. Cunningham is so enthusiastic about helping me, isn't he afraid that I will regret it after the matter is completed?"

"To say that you are not afraid of it is a lie. However, judging from Mr. Guo's past performance, the security of working with you is very high, and you can be trusted. As for your own control of Merrill Lynch, I am least worried. From the perspective of the operation of your companies such as Matrix, Ruby, Apple, Google, etc., except when it comes to the company's strategic development and decision-making, you rarely ask about the company's management. Mr. Guo's strategic vision in the financial field has always been admirable, and when it comes to Merrill Lynch's strategic decision-making, I will not only not oppose your intervention, but even strongly approve of it. ”

After a pause, "Mr. Guo, you must know it well. With Merrill Lynch's current scale, if you want to make money, excellent management skills are important, but what is more important is the connections and strength in the financial and business circles in the United States. I believe in the strength of the Cunningham family, and if I were to be in charge of Merrill Lynch's day-to-day operations, it would be in the best interests of Mr. Guo and Merrill Lynch. Moreover, Mr. Kwok has outstanding talent and long-term vision in finance. The combination of our two sides is a perfect combination, and it is not difficult to surpass Da Mo and become the world's largest investment bank in the future!"

Looking at Bob Cunningham's fiery eyes, Guo Shouyun smiled faintly.

"To tell you the truth, Mr. Cunningham's words are really heartwarming, and if it had been before, I would have said yes. But now I have Phoenix Bank, which is a full-fledged bank and has its own investment banking business. Although I can't compare with Merrill Lynch in this regard, I would rather put this investment in Phoenix Bank than the time and effort it took to acquire Merrill Lynch. Therefore, I can only refuse Mr. Cunningham's kindness. ”

"Mr. Guo doesn't think about it anymore? ”

"No need. I promised Stan O'Neill that he would not buy Merrill Lynch or interfere with his management of Merrill Lynch. It didn't before, and now that I have Phoenix Bank, it won't. ”

After taking a deep look at the man opposite, Bob Cunningham showed a look of regret on his face.

"If you change your mind, you can always contact me. ”

"I don't think I'll change my mind!"

"Okay, it's nice to meet Mr. Guo today, and I'll take my leave. ”

"It's noon, and it's not too late for Mr. Cunningham to stay with me for lunch. ”

"Thank you Mr. Guo for your kindness, but I have already made an appointment with another person for dinner, so I can only wait for the next opportunity to come to Mr. Guo to disturb him. ”

"I see, then I won't delay Mr. Cunningham any longer. ”

Bob Cunningham smiled and suddenly said, "Mr. Guo is not curious about who I have dated?"

"If Mr. Cunningham wants me to know, you will say it even if I don't ask. If you don't want me to know, then why bother with it?!"

"Haha, Mr. Guo is really wise. After speaking, Bob Cunningham's eyes froze, "If you can't cooperate with Mr. Guo, I always have to talk to the alternate partner." ”

"Then I wish Mr. Cunningham a happy cooperation!" Guo Shouyun said with a smile.

Bob Cunningham's pupils shrank slightly, "Mr. Guo really didn't consider my previous suggestion at all?"

Guo Shouyun shook his head slowly.

"I've already decided, so I can only say sorry to Mr. Cunningham. ”

The latter shrugged, "What a pity. I hope to have the opportunity to work with Mr. Guo again next time. ”

"I hope so, too. ”

"Farewell!"

"I'll send Mr. Cunningham. ”

Accompanied by Guo Shouyun, Bob Cunningham got into his black BMW and drove away from Shanglin Garden. About two or three kilometers away from Guo Shouyun's mansion, he took out his mobile phone from his pocket, found the number and dialed it.

"Hello?"

On the other side of the phone, a slightly hoarse, and at the same time somewhat muffled voice rang.

"I'm out. ”

"Did he agree?"

"No, refused!"

"Retreat as advance?"

"No, it's a no-brainer. I feel that after the establishment of Phoenix Bank, he no longer had the slightest idea about Merrill Lynch. After a pause, "O'Neill, are you a little distracted?"

"I wish I was doing more. But Bruce Kwok is getting more and more incomprehensible to me now, and it's hard to say whether he's really lost interest in Merrill Lynch. And his nearly 30 percent stake in Merrill Lynch common stock has always been a big threat. ”

In that case, it would be enough to issue another batch of new shares to dilute Bruce Guo's equity. Merrill Lynch's power is still in our hands anyway. ”

"It's not that simple. ”

"Why?"

"Most of Bruce Kwok's companies are not publicly listed, and most of them are growing rapidly and have a bright future. In the future, once it goes public, it will be a huge profit that is difficult to calculate. This profit, Merrill Lynch cannot miss. If we dilute his stake in Merrill Lynch, I am afraid that he may not necessarily hand over the listing underwriter qualifications of these companies to Merrill Lynch. ”

Guo's Business, Matrix Corporation, Ruby, Google, Pacific Energy, Unocal, Phoenix Bank, counting these unlisted companies under Guo Shouyun, as well as their status and strength in their respective industries, Bob Cunningham can somewhat understand Stan O'Neal's hesitation at the moment.

"O'Neill, maybe this is an opportunity. You can dilute Bruce Guo's stake in Merrill Lynch a little to test whether he really covets Merrill Lynch!"

"I've thought about it, too, but now Merrill Lynch's internal situation makes me hesitate. If we lose Bruce Guo's financial resources, our situation at Merrill Lynch will be even more tense. When the time comes, even without Bruce Guo. Merrill Lynch's board of directors will also let us go. ”

Stan O'Neal is a black man who has climbed his way to the core of power as the current chairman and CEO of Merrill Lynch on his own right, but his position under the ass is not secure. Especially after he took office, in order to change the dilemma of Merrill Lynch's bloated internal personnel structure and low efficiency, he cut personnel, merged departments, sold non-core businesses, and reduced Merrill Lynch's business lines. Although this made Merrill Lynch's situation slightly better, it also offended many people.

Previously, Guo Shouyun's personal loan and bond business and his various companies brought a lot of income to Merrill Lynch, and also gave Stan O'Neal a lot of support, which provided him with great help in establishing his position as chairman of the board of directors and CEO of Merrill Lynch.

In particular, with the rapid growth of Guo Shouyun's various companies, this kind of help is becoming more and more important to him. Although Guo Shouyun alone is not the whole of Merrill Lynch's business, if he is missing, it will undoubtedly make Merrill Lynch's business have a large book write-down. It just gave him the opportunity to attack those competitors.