Chapter 327 The choice of the system

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"Boss, what do you think of the Fortu family...?"

"Don't think about it, I'm just asking. And, from a negotiation point of view, it will be better for us to know more about our opponents. Guo Shouyun said.

"Rebecca, you've been with Vivendi for the longest time and know them the most. What do you think are the impact of this change in Vivendi's corporate strategy? How many companies will be left on the list for sale?"

After a moment of silence, Rebecca Mark replied: "The biggest impact is that Vivendi may transform into a mega company that combines telecommunications and media in the next few years. But their corporate development strategy will not change much, and once the situation is reversed, mergers and acquisitions will follow. The reason for this judgment is also based on the fact that Jean-René Fortu gives me the impression that he is more ambitious than Jean-Marie Messier, the former CEO of Vivendi, who has now left!"

Jean-René Forto is more young and strong than Jean-Marie Messier, and he will not be willing to be dull at the peak of his honest career.

“… Also, I think the negotiations with Jean-René Fortu will be relatively difficult for us. And, although Vivendi is losing money, its business has no shortage of buyers. So, the companies on our previous acquisition list, Vivendi Games, Universal Music Group, Net Hold, and Canal+, may not succeed in the end, or they may only acquire one or two. ”

Guo Shouyun nodded, and after thinking for a moment, "Which one do you think is most likely to succeed?"

Canal+, a pay-TV network owned by Vivendi, somewhat similar to Time Warner's HBO, has about 15.7 million subscribers in 11 countries, including France and Spain. But it's still much worse than Europe's largest Net Hold cable network. Moreover, in recent years, due to the popularity of the Internet, the number of users of the Canal+ TV network has been declining. Revenues are also shrinking, and there is a high possibility of being sold. It's also the company we're most likely to acquire. In addition to the Canal + TV network, Vivendi Games is a possible acquisition. ”

"Oh, why?" Guo Shouyun said with interest.

"Vivendi's approach to the game sector is to squeeze, they don't operate games as the company's main business or a key industry, they just see which game company is making money, they buy it, and then squeeze enough profits to give up and look for new targets. Xuele Mountain, which has developed classic games such as "The Secret History of Kings Series" and "Ghost Spirits Series", is the best example. The current game development department of Xuele Mountain has been closed indefinitely by Vidiwang, and only the publishing department is still operating. ”

“… In the past, Blizzard, which was acquired by Vivendi, also spread rumors that Blizzard's game developers and Vivendi's management had a violent conflict because Vivendi excessively withdrew game development funds to alleviate the company's difficulties. Although this news has not yet been confirmed, it is likely to be true based on Vivendi's usual style. If that's the case, as long as we come up with enough money, it won't be difficult to eat the Vidi Wan game!"

Guo Shouyun nodded, as long as you have a little understanding of the game, you are no stranger to the famous 'Dark Four' leaving to found Northern Blizzard. So, Vivendi's internal conflict with Blizzard is 100% real. Moreover, the story of 'the wolf' between Vivendi and Ubisoft in later generations became popular on the Internet, which can be regarded as making people see Vivendi's urine clearly.

"Universal Music Group and Net Hold Cable Network are unlikely to be sold again for Vivendi, who is looking to transform into a media company. In addition, they will not sell all of them as for Vidiwang Environment, the most likely is to sell some of their shares to us, and the controlling stake may be a challenge!

"If we don't get a controlling stake, then the Vidiwang environment doesn't mean much to us!" Guo Shouyun said.

"I understand that if we ask for a controlling stake, we may pay a big price in terms of money. And Vidiwang, who is facing a financial crisis, will ask for cash payments. With Vidiwang Environment's asset profile, we may have to come up with at least $4 billion in cash to get a controlling stake. If the premium level is higher, the cost may be even greater. ”

"You don't have to worry about the funding, I'll solve it! Your task is to preside over the negotiations with Vivendi. ”

At the beginning, taking the opportunity of 9/11, Guo Shouyun obtained nearly $30 billion in liquidity. Half of this money was used to alleviate Enron Pacific's financial woes and support its development. The other half, in addition to the $5 billion diversification of Matrix, Ruby, and Guo's, the remaining $10 billion is all invested in the stocks of Merrill Lynch, Yahoo, and eBay. Now, as the U.S. economy gradually improves, the stock prices of the three companies that Guo Shouyun bought at the bottom have soared, and the stocks that were once worth $10 billion have now appreciated by 27.9% and are still rising. Using this equity as collateral, it is easy to scrape together the funds to acquire part of Vivendi's business.

Rebecca Mark replied, she was still very confident in the strength of her boss.

After nodding, Guo Shouyun's gaze shifted to Alphonse Varane next to him.

"Alphonse, in this year's financial statements of Anping, the European part has been losing money, and there is a tendency to expand. I... Need an explanation?"

Facing the boss's fierce eyes, Alphonse Valla's heart sank. Although he knew that he would inevitably be held accountable for this, he still felt deeply stressed when the real thing came.

After taking a slight breath and organizing the language, "Boss, Enron Pacific doesn't have many projects in Europe, especially after selling some companies that have nothing to do with the company's main business. Of these limited operations, most of them are in the red, with the exception of a few power plants in Romania, Turkey, and Georgia that are profitable. In particular, the energy service project inherited from Enron is the main source of losses. ”

"Go on!"

"Yes... At the beginning, in order to expand their electricity and natural gas sales, Enron intervened in the European electricity consumption market by reducing prices, and on this basis, they recruited large power users such as enterprises and universities to buy Enron's electric energy and undertake the maintenance of power equipment of these units. But Enron did not have many power plants in Europe itself, nor did it have a distribution and retail network. Therefore, in order to provide electricity, Enron can only buy electricity from local power plants at the original price and sell it to electricity consumers. ”

The consequence of this is that Enron bears the intermediate loss. However, the damage rate of power equipment is not high, and maintenance business alone cannot make up for the difference in price. As a result, Enron's losses are getting higher and higher. Now, Enron has been acquired by us, and we have taken over this part of the loss. Moreover, the duration of the power supply agreement is mostly five to ten years. So, unless we break the contract, we have to bear the loss. This is also the main reason for the loss in Europe. In addition, unlike North America, Europe can offset the losses with revenues from power plants, gas pipelines, oil development and smelting, and the only thing that can be counted on is the Teesside power plant in the United Kingdom, which is also being rebuilt and has not yet been put into operation. So, financially, the European part of the company has been losing money. ”

"Have you thought of a solution?" Guo Shouyun said.

"Thought. The most appropriate way to do this is to increase revenue. The most ideal way to increase revenue is through investment and M&A. However, after hundreds of years of development in major developed countries in Europe, the pattern of energy business has long been fixed. With the exception of Central and Eastern Europe, which is lagging behind, it is difficult to find potential businesses in Western Europe. And even if we find it, it may not be our turn. ”

"So, what do you think is the best fit for M&A?"

"Yes! Inheriting a mature system and market requires less effort and saves time than investing in new construction. ”

Guo Shouyun nodded, and after a moment of silence, "As a senior executive of the company, you should understand the company's strategic development plan at this stage. ”

"Reduce or terminate large-scale mergers and acquisitions to improve internal management, reduce losses, reduce non-major businesses, save money, and add no more than three large-scale projects per year on the basis of completing existing projects. Alphonse replied.

"If only you understood!"

"I do understand. However, I didn't plan to do a big M&A in Europe, but I focused on small projects, step by step, and gradually turned around the company's losses. After a pause, seeing that Guo Shouyun was paying attention, Alphonse continued, "The power industry, from power plants to users, there are also sub-industries, including power grids, distribution, retail, and equipment maintenance. There are a lot of companies in every segment. And we, Anping Electric Power Company, operate every subdivision except the power grid. So, I'm going to pick one of them, buy some of the smaller companies, and then integrate them, reduce expenses, and increase revenue. The first goal is to balance the balance of payments. The second goal is to make the company profitable. ”

"It seems that you have been thinking about this plan for a long time. ”

"Yes! As the president of Anping Company in Europe, I have the greatest responsibility for the company's losses, and I am also the most obliged to solve them!"

Guo Shouyun nodded approvingly.

"Is there a goal?"

"Yes. I'm going to start with two areas: electricity retail and equipment maintenance. There are fewer giant companies in these two areas, which makes it easy for us to expand. ”

"Rebecca, do you know about this plan?" After a moment of silence, Guo Shouyun suddenly turned his head and asked.

"Yes. ”

"Boss, Ms. Mark has worked in the power field for many years, and her experience has given us a lot of inspiration and supplements!" Alphonse said quickly.

"You don't have to explain. I didn't blame you!" Guo Shouyun waved his hand.