Qinghewan Country Sports Club.

"Having an absolute controlling stake in an investment company is a prerequisite for Bain Capital's investment, this is a red line, and we will not compromise on anything. ”

Romney, dressed in a blue suit, has a deep gaze and a firm tone.

No one would believe that this man, who looked to be in his early forties, was fifty-one years old this year.

Romney is the founder, partner, and CEO of Bain Capital, and in the early eighties, with the support of Bain & Company, Romney and a few friends founded Bain Capital, which in just a few years became a first-class investment firm in the Boston area, with nearly $10 billion in assets under management.

Romney is a burly man, with meticulously combed hair, a high nose and deep eyes, and a resolute look in his eyes, which at first glance is typical of the American Eastern elite.

This is not the first time that Romney has come to China, and he has always been very optimistic about China's future economic development, and he is convinced that Huaxia will inevitably become one of the world's largest economies in the new century by virtue of its strong human resource advantages.

Therefore, Bain Capital relied on Bain & Company to set up a branch in Huaxia a few years ago to look for investment opportunities in Huaxia.

Bain Capital's investment approach is different from that of Tinder, to be precise, TinderSource is a VC company, which is more inclined to invest in seed and AB rounds. At this stage, investee companies often have not yet generated profitability or even operating income.

Bain Capital, on the other hand, is a typical PE company, the abbreviation of PE has nothing to do with the price-earnings ratio, let alone the project engineer, this PE refers to the meaning of private equity investment.

Of course, this private placement has nothing to do with the private placement of a bunch of scammers in the future of Huaxia. Those scammers in private equity are used to cheat ordinary retail investors and large investors out of their money to stir up trouble in the stock market, while traditional PE focuses more on the acquisition of unlisted companies.

Compared to the emerging venture capital, PE has a long history in the investment world, and twenty years ago, almost no one had heard of venture capital, and PE was the best way for a private company to obtain equity financing.

Unlike VCs, PE's business is more focused on the pre-IPO stage when the company is on the right track, and it is difficult for a company that is still in the cash-burning stage to gain PE's attention.

From this point of view, Galaxy Real Estate is not yet profitable and should not be a target for Bain Capital. But beware, Galaxy Real Estate is a real estate company, and what is the most important thing for real estate companies in a thriving market?

Although Galaxy Real Estate is not profitable, the whole company has been on the right track, and holds the three best plots in Beijing, Shanghai and Bincheng, as long as the project is completed, high profits are just around the corner.

Even if construction is not started at all, the annual rate of return is estimated to be no less than 15 percent just for the appreciation of the three pieces of land in hand.

For this kind of company, Bain Capital will certainly not be stuck on these conditions.

Most PE are branches of various large consortia and investment banks, and the four major consortia on Wall Street have their own PE companies, such as McKinsey and Bain, which are top consulting firms, and will also use information advantages to plug in the PE market.

Bain Capital is the face of Bain & Company in the investment market.

Bain Capital has a bad reputation in the industry, and similar to Carl Icahn's Icahn Enterprise, Bain Capital under Romney is extremely demanding on the companies it invests in, often asking for a controlling stake in the invested company before investing, using the controlling stake to spin off and sell the business, and seeking short-term windfall profits, which are typical characteristics of vulture capital.

The cooperation with Huang Zhirong is no exception, and as soon as the two parties began to fight, Romney rejected Huang Zhirong's request that Bain Capital not interfere in specific business operations, insisting that he must obtain a controlling stake in Galaxy Real Estate.

As the CEO of Bain Capital and the president of Bain & Company, Romney naturally wanted to visit China in person to communicate with Huang Zhirong about the specific matters of the acquisition.

Huang Zhirong had not really been in contact with equity financing before, and he had no expectation of Bain Capital's greed at all, so he couldn't help frowning.

"Mr. Romney, Bain Capital is not the only one involved in this financing, but also Hong Kong Sun Hung Kai and New World. Previously, the request we communicated with Mr. Tang Mai was that each of the three companies accounted for 24 percent, and the management equity was 28 percent, and now you are going to take 50 percent of the equity, which is not something I can call the shots alone, and if you can convince the other two investors, I have no opinion. Huang Zhirong hid a needle in the mian.

Tang Mai is the Chinese name of Michael Thornman, and after this foreigner arrived in China, he chose a Chinese name for himself, which is also regarded as a local custom.

Huang Zhirong's wishful thinking is crackling, if the management can account for 28 percent of the shares, the other three, even if any two of them want to overthrow the management, as long as Huang Zhirong can win over any shareholder, the combined voting ratio of the two will exceed 51 percent, and he will not lose control of Galaxy Real Estate.

But obviously, Bain Capital didn't want to cater to Huang Zhirong's mind, and Romney shook his head and said, "As far as I know, Michael never agreed to this condition. Mr. Huang, you must know that every penny of Bain Capital comes from the trust of investors, because they believe in the ability of Bain Capital, and believe that after a company is acquired by Bain Capital, the management and planning of Bain Capital can bring greater development to the invested company. But if Bain Capital can't take a controlling position, it all loses its meaning. This is the foundation of Bain Capital's survival, and we can't compromise. Unless... ”

"Unless, the management can promise that within a certain period of time, the performance of Galaxy Real Estate can meet or even exceed the expectations of the management. ”

Huang Zhirong knew in his heart that this was a bet.

If the VAM agreement is not so easy to sign, the investor has already figured out the possible performance of the invested company before investing, and the performance targets set in the agreement are often at the critical point of whether they can be achieved.

Huang Zhirong argued several times, but Romney always had this attitude - if he wanted Bain Capital's investment, he could either exchange a controlling stake or sign a VAM agreement.

Both of these are difficult results for Huang Zhirong to accept, but he really has no more options. Sun Hung Kai and New World are just contributing to the relationship, and when it comes to investment, Bain Capital may be the only option that Huang Zhirong can find now.

No matter how difficult it is, Huang Zhirong can only pinch his nose and admit it.

"Buzz" twice, and Romney's phone on the table vibrated twice.

Romney picked up the number and looked at it, his pupils shrank: "Mr. Huang, I'm sorry, I'm going to make a call outside, please wait." ”

Huang Zhirong also breathed a sigh of relief, these stupid foreigners are too special to toss, no matter what bullshit happens. Romney went to answer the phone, just in time to take a break.

Five minutes later, just as Huang Zhirong and Xue Hongbing were waiting a little impatiently, Romney walked back with a serious face.

"Mr. Huang Zhirong, I'm sorry, we have to end this negotiation. Michael, let's go. ”

(End of chapter)