Chapter 177: The helmsman of Merrill Lynch

……

At this time, Guo Shouyun, who left the Capitol, came to a private club in Washington in a low-key manner.

"Mr. Guo?"

At the same time as Guo Shouyun just walked in, a middle-aged man in a black suit and gold-wire glasses answered.

As he nodded, the other party stretched out his right hand, "Hello, I'm Mr. O'Neill's secretary Jack!"

"Hello!"

After a brief handshake, "Mr. O'Neill is already waiting for you, please come with me!"

Guo Shouyun nodded, followed the other party into the depths of the clubhouse, and after knocking on the door to open a room, he walked in.

Looking at the middle-aged black man who was getting up from the sofa and was slightly obese, Guo Shouyun walked over with respect in his expression. He knows very well what price a black man has to pay in the United States, a country with obvious racial discrimination, if he wants to go to the position of CEO of Merrill Lynch and take charge of this capital empire comparable to ***** and Goldman Sachs!

Stan O'Neill's background, in particular, is very ordinary. Like many black Americans, Stan O'Neill, who was born on the plantations of the South, felt the coldness of racial institutions acutely as a child: picking cotton in the fields under the scorching sun, collecting firewood in the fields in the winter winds, and tending livestock to others at night...... Almost all of the farm work and tiring work that the descendants of blacks have done have done O'Neill. This kind of experience is unimaginable to Guo Shouyun.

In addition, even though he had already achieved impressive results at Merrill Lynch in the seventies and eighties, it was not until this year that he won the opportunity to take charge of Merrill Lynch. It can be said that Stan O'Neill is the top elite among tens of millions of black people in the United States. His perseverance and outstanding talent are highly admired even by Guo Shouyun.

"Mr. O'Neill, it's a pleasure to meet you!"

"Mr. Guo is polite, please take a seat!"

After a brief pleasantries, the two sat down opposite each other on the couch.

"Knowing that Mr. Guo likes to drink tea, I specially prepared 'Lu'an Gua Pian' from Huaxia, and asked Mr. Guo to taste it!"

"Lu'an Gua Pian is one of the top ten famous teas in China, and the taste is naturally first-class!"

While the two were talking, Jack, the secretary who brought Guo Shouyun in, poured tea for the two. After a brief politeness, the two of them raised their glasses at the same time and took a sip.

"The soup is clear and bright, sweet and mellow in the mouth, and it is really a good tea!"

"As long as Mr. Guo likes it!"

Putting down the teacup, Stan O'Neill waved his hand, and the knowing secretary Jack beckoned a few bodyguards next to him to walk out.

Seeing this, Guo Shouyun also waved his hand and let the bodyguards around him follow him out of the box.

"Mr. Guo, what you said on the phone last time, can you explain it in detail now?"

With only two people left in the private room, Stan O'Neill smiled.

"Of course!" Guo Shouyun nodded, and after organizing the language, "Mr. O'Neill, you must also know about Enron, right?"

"Enron? Of course I do. Now the whole Wall Street knows that Mr. Guo has $3.12 billion in short selling funds in his hands!"

"That's not what I'm talking about, Mr. O'Neill. ”

"Oh?"

"As a top elite in the financial industry and an underwriter of Enron bonds, I believe you must know more about the internal situation of Enron than I do. If it goes bankrupt, Merrill Lynch will be under scrutiny from investors. This is not a good thing for Merrill Lynch, which is not doing well today. ”

Stan O'Neill frowned, "Bankrupt?" Mr. Guo seems to have exaggerated. Enron has more than $70 billion in assets, and while she does have an internal crisis right now, bankruptcy is a bit too alarmist!"

"Enron's assets are huge. It is a pity that Jeffrey Jilin and Kenneth Lee do not have Mr. O'Neill's managerial talents, and Enron is just a tool for their own interests. It's too unrealistic to expect these two people who are already secretly selling Enron's equity and are preparing to flee to save Enron!"

Guo Shouyun's admiration did not make Stan O'Neill's heart much better. Because, Enron is a highly controversial project within Merrill Lynch itself.

Guo Shouyun, who had already paid the investigation company to conduct a detailed investigation of Merrill Lynch before he came, could roughly guess Stan O'Neill's mind at this time.

"Mr. O'Neill, with all due respect. The current Merrill Lynch is no longer the Merrill Lynch that led Wall Street through financial innovation. Although it is still huge, the organization is bloated, staffed, and decision-making is slow, like an old man in his twilight years. If you want such an 'old' Merrill Lynch to regain its vitality, you need a major surgery from the top down. In addition, it will also help you establish your authority in Merrill Lynch thoroughly!"

"I didn't expect Mr. Guo to be so interested in our Merrill Lynch!" said Stan O'Neill, after a moment of silence.

"Merrill Lynch has always been our Phoenix's role model, and it's not surprising that I keep an eye on her!" After a pause, Guo Shouyun continued with a glint in his eyes, "Mr. O'Neill, Merrill Lynch's Head of International Investment Banking Dan Bailey, Senior Analyst Donato Essie, Merrill Lynch's Head of Energy Investment Banking, Merrill Lynch's Director and Senior Partner Skyler Tierney, these people are not only inextricably linked to Enron, but also the most annoying racists within Merrill Lynch, they are our common enemies!"

"Mr. Guo's eloquence is truly astonishing. But I don't think they're my enemies. Instead, they're all my friendly business partners within Merrill Lynch!" Stan O'Neill said, staring deeply.

"Why should Mr. O'Neill deceive himself. Last week, Skyler Tierney publicly attacked Merrill Lynch's board of directors for being a 'dark-skinned idiot' from rural Atlanta!

The humiliation he had suffered in the past had always been something that Stan O'Neill was reluctant to talk about. Now that Guo Shouyun has revealed it in person, even if he has a good temper, he is a little angry.

"Didn't Mr. Guo think what he said just now was rude?"

Looking at Stan O'Neill, who looked gloomy, Guo Shouyun said in a sincere tone: "I'm very sorry, Mr. O'Neill. Those reckless words just now were not my intention, you know that we Chinese people in the United States are not much better than blacks. Therefore, I can very well understand the humiliation and hardship that you have suffered. That's why it's all the more important for us to help each other. ”

After staring at him for a long time, Stan O'Neill said slowly: "Since you know Merrill Lynch so well, you should know that when my foundation is not strong, it will cause Merrill Lynch's turmoil, or even decline, then I will also lose my position." ”

Guo Shouyun felt a burst of excitement in his heart, he knew that Stan O'Neill's heart defense had finally loosened. Hurriedly took a deep breath, suppressed his emotions, and continued after ensuring that his thinking was clear: "Mr. O'Neill, I think you also know about the situation of several companies under my control, and I promise here that when they are listed in the future, Merrill Lynch will be the main underwriter." ”

O'Neill's eyes lit up, just like Guo Shouyun had deliberately learned about Merrill Lynch before meeting. He also carefully studied the other party's information before today's meeting. Under the man in front of him are some of Silicon Valley's most high-profile companies: Google, LinkedIn and PayPal. And the matrix group is also growing rapidly under the leadership of the other party. Once these companies are listed, there is no doubt that they will be sought after by capital, and as their main underwriter, Merrill Lynch will also earn huge profits!

However, in order to win over Stan O'Neill, he weakens his own hostile group. The feast prepared by Guo Shouyun is obviously more than that.

“… In addition, all the proceeds from Enron's short selling this time will be used to invest in Merrill Lynch. In the future, once Enron is detonated, Mr. O'Neill's transformation of Merrill Lynch, causing the company's stock price to fall, and when the bears gather, I will use this money to support Merrill Lynch. ”

"Moreover, I am willing to enter into a legally binding contract with Mr. O'Neill to ensure the validity of the previous commitments. Guo Shouyun said in a deep voice.

Stan O'Neill's eyes flashed with a gleam.

"Good investors know that if you want to get, you have to give. Now, Mr. Guo has paid so much, what do you want from me?"

"It's very simple, I want to know what kind of plan An Ran has prepared to deal with me?" Guo Shouyun said with a cold look in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I don't really know that. Although Merrill Lynch helped Enron a lot, they didn't invite us to join this time!"

Merrill Lynch underwrote $3 billion in asset-backed bonds for Enron, and you're a partner in the energy futures market. The relationship between your two companies is not even *****. How could they possibly leave you out?"

"That's the way it is, they invited Goldman Sachs and turned Merrill Lynch away. Stan O'Neal spread his hands.

Staring at his expression until he was sure that the other party was not cheating, Guo Shouyun frowned tightly.

The reason he met Stan O'Neill today and paid a huge price was because of the idea of 'knowing each other and knowing oneself, and not being defeated in a hundred battles'. But now, it's clear that his plan is falling through.

"I think there must be some reason for this, right?" After calming down, Guo Shouyun said calmly.

"Because Goldman Sachs holds a short position of $5 billion in Enron, Kenneth Lee, Jeffrey Jilin and other Enron executives must clear these shorts if they want to get rid of their stocks at a high price. And Goldman Sachs is obviously not easy to mess with, so it has become everyone's consensus to pull it to play an 'insider trading'. Enron, which is in deep crisis and has a huge amount of capital, is the best target for operation in the eyes of capital, especially when its internal senior management and its cooperation are met. ”

"Insider trading!?" Guo Shouyun's pupils shrank.

"That's right, they call the plan against you a 'hound'. And the Hound Project is just an affiliate plan for them to prepare for this insider trading. If it weren't for the insistence of Enron's top management, and you do have a lot of enviable assets in your hands, I'm afraid Morgan, Bank of America, and Goldman Sachs wouldn't have targeted you in any way!" Stan O'Neal played.

A cold light flashed in Guo Shouyun's eyes, "Hound, this time my 'dog' must break a few of your teeth!"

Thinking of this, Guo Shouyun raised his head and said, "Since Merrill was not invited, how did you know this?"

"I've been on Wall Street for decades, and now I'm the CEO of the second-largest investment bank in the U.S., because of more than just business acumen!" Stan O'Neill smiles.

Looking at his confident and proud eyes, Guo Shouyun was silent. This is also the biggest gap between him and the other party. If he has Stan O'Neill's deep network, then this time in the face of Enron's alliance, he doesn't have to worry as much as he does now, and he can sit in the Guo Manor and sit firmly in the Diaoyutai.