Chapter 742: House of Cards (Middle)

……

If Guo Shouyun was here, he would definitely be surprised, there were really many of his acquaintances here. For example, Jon Winkreid, co-president and co-chief operating officer of Goldman Sachs, Steven Volcker, vice chairman of Citigroup, Daniel Trotter, president and chief operating officer of ING Group in the Netherlands, Charles Prince, president and chief operating officer of Bear Stearns, and Stan O'Neill, chairman and chief operating officer of Merrill Lynch.

William Schiff, a member of the Schiff Family Foundation and a direct heir to the Schiff family, John Watson, President and Chief Operating Officer of Chevrolet Texaco, Carl Corey, CEO of Kongscart, Steven Lippin, CEO of Halliburton Energy, Gary Schwartz, Executive Vice President of General Electric Company, and Jim Hagerman, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Maersk Group.

If we add US Vice President Richard Bruce Cheney, and Barclays Capital CEO Jerry Midell. There were 13 people in the room, representing the most powerful forces in finance, business and politics.

"How?"

Stan O'Neill asked first.

Unbeknownst to him, his plan to buy Merrill Lynch had been leaked, and as we expected, his energy was drawn to today's press release, with the hostile targets being Bear Stearns and the Schiff Family Fund. ”

"We're really unlucky, and we're treated like a bird every time!" laughs Charles Prince.

William Schiff, who was represented, frowned slightly and didn't say much. In fact, he didn't want the Schiff Family Foundation to get involved in a matchup that he didn't think had a good chance of winning. But my father was very interested in this, and my mother was also resentful of Bruce Guo's destruction of the Bahrain family and the fact that her mother's family had become historical garbage. Therefore, even if he was unwilling, he had to rush to Washington to participate in this huge 'anticipation movement'.

Stan O'Neill breathed a sigh of relief. He was the most nervous of all, because once Bruce Guo got into action, it would be a battle for the management of Merrill Lynch. Despite the support of many allies here, as long as he thought that Guo Shouyun had been preparing for the acquisition of Merrill Lynch for more than three years, his scalp was numb.

What is really frightening is not the kind of enemy who stands in the open, powerful but reckless, but the kind of enemy who is stoic and cautious, raises enough chips, and sees the opportunity to strike a deadly blow.

Guo Shouyun obviously belongs to the latter, and he is powerful!

"We need to act now and not wait any longer. Stan O'Neill began.

"O'Neill, don't be impatient. As long as Bruce Guo has not made a large-scale acquisition of Merrill Lynch's shares in the secondary market, it means that his stake in Merrill Lynch is far from meeting the criteria for acquiring Merrill Lynch. Steven Volcker said.

"It's been more than three years, and who knows how much Merrill Lynch shares Bruce Kwok has secretly acquired in these three years or so? What if he plans to do it when he is only 2%, 1%, or even less away from the absolute controlling stake of 50.1%? I'm afraid that when the time comes, I will realize that something is wrong, and I will not be able to return to the sky. ”

After a pause, Stan O'Neill sneered: "I think you plan to let Bruce Guo spend his liquidity on the acquisition of Merrill Lynch as much as possible, so that he doesn't have enough capital to support the city and save himself." So that you can make a lot of money with impunity. ”

"O'Neal, you know, we won't allow Bruce Guo to buy Merrill Lynch, otherwise with Merrill Lynch's strength, it will only allow him to get more cash flow. Daniel Trotter said.

"You'd better understand that. ”

Seeing that the atmosphere was somewhat silent and rigid, Jon Winkrid changed the subject.

"Silicon Valley is ready, and now that the media has hyped up the Iraq war and Bruce Guo, it's time to do it. O'Neill's concerns are also very reasonable. After more than three years of preparation, we don't know how much Merrill Lynch shares Bruce Guo holds, so we can't continue to wait. Merrill Lynch must immediately issue new shares to dilute Bruce Kwok's stake in Merrill Lynch. … The next step is to short LinkedIn, force Bruce Goto City, and tighten his capital chain. … Next up is the matrix. ”

"Carl, it's time to throw out Kongscat's negotiations with the Matrix. ”

Carl Gary nodded, "The reason I joined this negotiation was to get the Matrix Corporation. I want you to keep that in mind. ”

"Of course, we all have our own goals, and that's why we can come together. I'm sure we'll all keep the pact we've made!" said Jon Winkred.

"Then let's get ready to do it!"

……

Guo Shouyun didn't know that he would face a greater predicament than he expected now.

Although the newspapers had pushed him into the vortex of war and anti-war, he was already in a good mood when he had succeeded in the battle for Merrill Lynch.

"The global economy is improving, and gold is blocked by multiple lines!"

"Bearish gold, the general trend on Wall Street. ”

"OPEC successfully expanded production, and oil prices fell below $42 per barrel. ”

"Wall Street analysts are bearish on oil!"

The Wall Street Journal, Fortune Magazine, Barron's and other major US financial media are full of long-term bearish reports on gold and oil futures. And analysts at Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs are also promoting these arguments. Despite the positive signals from some financial institutions, including Forbes, Ruby's LinkedIn News and Global Wealth Network, as well as Phoenix Bank, the price of gold and oil futures inevitably fell.

Of course, none of the declines were too large. Far from touching the warning line set by Guo Shouyun on gold and oil futures.

So, after just paying attention to these financial news, I turned my attention to other aspects.

It was now his fifth day back from Washington to San Francisco, and he was in no hurry after confirming that he had absolute control of Merrill Lynch. Prepare to wait a week for the 2005 Chinese New Year of the Rooster. With the importance he attaches to the Chinese New Year in his bones, he plans to go home first to spend this Spring Festival, and then go to New York to let Stan O'Neal get out!

But there were always things that he didn't expect.

"Bosses, Kongscater rejected our offer and wanted to get a 51% stake in the new company, as well as a seat as CEO. On the phone, Buddy Morris said in an angry tone.

Guo Shouyun frowned, "I remember last time, didn't they promise to share the controlling stake and CEO seat of the new company with us?

They replied that it was a decision by the board of directors of Constat because they did not believe that the assets and future of the matrix company were worth the high price they had to pay. ”

Guo Shouyun thought for a while, "Since their asking price is too high, let's refuse." It's not like we can't do without Kongscat!"

"Yes!" he replied, "Boss, I always think something is strange this time. In the three months we've been negotiating with Downscart, they've abruptly raised their offer three times when they were about to reach an agreement. It seems to be dragging us on purpose!"

"What do you think is the purpose of Kongscut?" asked Guo Shouyun.

"I don't know. I can't think of a reason why they would do that, but that's not the case in normal business negotiations. Buddy Morris said.

Guo Shouyun nodded in agreement. After pondering for a moment, "No matter what the purpose behind Kongscat, as long as we ensure that our business is running normally and our cash flow is abundant. The matrix will not suffer any crisis. ”

"Hmm!"

"Is Gary Barber's lawsuit now resolved?"

"It's still a stalemate!"

This is the case with commercial litigation in the United States, and it is normal for a lawsuit to be fought for five or six years. A patent battle over the graphical interface of Apple's operating system with Microsoft lasted nearly a decade before the two sides reached a settlement under the auspices of Steve Jobs. However, the lengthy legal proceedings are too time-consuming and drain the energy of business managers, and Guo Shouyun is willing to spend some money to reach an out-of-court settlement if it is not necessary.

"Gary Barber's conditions are still like that?"

"Yes. He's still asking us to pay him $70 million in pensions!"

"It's just wishful thinking. Since he wants to fight a lawsuit, then satisfy him!"

"Yes... Boss, one more thing. ”

"What?"

Robert Cohen refused to direct "The Mummy 3: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor", and Rachel Weisz also turned down the actress's offer. ”

"Why? Didn't we all talk about it in the first place?"

"He... They say they don't want to work with a company that supports the war!" said Buddy Morris, in a somewhat apprehensive tone.

Guo Shouyun's brows instantly furrowed, and the anger in his heart skyrocketed. However, the calming kung fu he had been exercising for a long time allowed him to calm down again after taking a few deep breaths.

"Since they don't want to, we don't have to force it. Hollywood has directors and actors who are willing to work together. ”

"Yes!"

"Also, I don't want to see them in the Matrix Company's film production list in the future!" Guo Shouyun said coldly.

Blatantly tearing up the contract that has been signed means that the preparatory work for "The Mummy 3" has almost all been reversed. At the very least, this cost the Matrix millions of dollars, and it would have been good not to sue them.

“… In addition, when the company signs the contract in the future, the liquidated damages will be doubled!"

"Understood!"

After Buddy Morris said there was nothing else to do, Guo Shouyun hung up. But as soon as he hung up, a new call came in.

"Boss, just got the message. Richard Grubman will replace West Martin as Maersk's trusted CEO!" said Will Harrington.

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