Chapter 104: News from the United States
The day after the meeting, Tang Bao packed his luggage and boarded the flight back to the United States with the reluctance of his mother and sister-in-law.
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More than a dozen hours later.
Call.
Walking down the gangway, Tang Bao took a few breaths of air, and his body and mind suddenly relaxed, this is the fertile ground for him to play his best in business.
"Here, Xiaobao!" Suddenly, someone shouted.
Look at the source of the sound.
Tang Bao couldn't help but talk secretly, his mother and sister-in-law really regarded him as a child, and asked Aunt Qing to pick him up. He didn't tell Xu Qing about his return to the United States, but now that she showed up at the airport to pick up the plane, there is only one explanation, it must be that his mother and sister-in-law are not at ease and notified Xu Qing in advance.
"Aunt Qing!"
Dragging the suitcase, Tang Bao walked over and said with a smile. Seeing Xu Qing stretching out his hand to come over and get the suitcase, Tang Bao refused politely, "No need, I'll just come by myself, it's not heavy." β
"Well, that's good. My car was outside and I couldn't get in. I still have to walk a few hundred meters......" Xu Qing looked at Tang Bao, who had already overtaken her, and did not force it.
After getting in the car.
"Xiaobao, are you going to go directly to the school or do you want to go to my place first?" Xu Qing started the car and asked.
I thought about it for a moment.
Tang Bao said: "Aunt Qing, I'll go to the school to register first." This time, I delayed a lot of time in China and asked the school for leave again. I need to go back to the holiday as soon as possible......"
"Okay."
Xu Qing replied and began to turn around.
"Hey. You are not at peace anywhere now, and when you return to China to make such a big mess, the United States is not so moving. β
"Huh? Aunt Qing. What are you referring to. You also know that domestic communications are not very developed, and they are entangled in various things, and during the time they returned to China, they did not pay attention to the situation in the United States at all, could it be that something happened? Tang Bao heard Xu Qing's emotion, so he asked with a smile.
He's not in a hurry.
Even if something happened, Horst didn't tell him. Maybe he thinks he can solve it, and he doesn't want to trouble him with everything.
"Huh? You still don't know? Xu Qing asked in surprise.
"It's really not clear. Whether it's the Phoenix Investment Group or the recently acquired Southern Company. I've delegated all my authority to professional managers. Tang Bao replied. However, if something happens, he can basically be sure that there is something on the side of Phoenix Investment Group, because of the needs of Fule Supermarket, he and Nick have spoken on the phone several times. It is clear that the situation of the American Southern Company is quite normal.
"The newspapers are frantically reporting that Phoenix Investment Group is approaching Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs to buy a stake in BP Oil......
BP ......
Hearing these key words, Tang Bao couldn't help but be surprised, it seems that Phoenix Investment Group has not been involved in oil and energy stocks before, and even if it is occasionally bought, it is only a short-term position. Because of the decline in oil prices in the past two years, the profits of oil stocks are not ideal, and more oil stocks are bought. It can also cause trouble.
Tang Bao kept thinking in his heart, wondering, why did Horst suddenly want to get involved in the stock trading of BP Oil? Reach out to institutions like Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. The number of shares traded will definitely not be small, otherwise you can buy them directly on the exchange.
I thought about it for a long time.
Tang Bao didn't even understand it, so he simply didn't want to.
About forty or fifty minutes later, Tang Bao finally returned to the campus of Columbia University. Xu Qing sent people to the ground, so she drove back directly, and she was also very busy.
Because I was worried about the Phoenix Investment Group. Tang Bao threw the suitcase directly into the dormitory and ran to cancel the leave. I hurriedly bought several popular newspapers such as Newsweek, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. After a quick glance, the news of Phoenix Investment Group's purchase of BP shares occupied a large area and was wildly hyped by various media......
"Wall Street's cutting-edge Phoenix Investment Group has entered the oil market with incomparably ambitious ambitions! It is reported that in the past few days, Horst, president of the Phoenix Investment Group, has had frequent contacts with Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs Group, and other institutions to discuss the acquisition of shares of BP Petroleum in the United Kingdom. Morgan and Goldman Sachs, both lead underwriters of BP oil in the US market, are facing pressure on liquidity due to the backlog of BP oil shares in last year's stock market turmoil, and Phoenix Investment Group may be able to help them get out of the predicament. βThe New York Times.
Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have found their savior, and according to reliable sources, their holdings of BP oil are expected to sell for a good price, and the buyer is the emerging Phoenix Investment Group. The two sides are close to reaching an agreement on the deal......" - Newsweek.
"A dark horse is quietly emerging in the capital market in the oil field, are you ready? Recently, Phoenix Investment Group is in the process of acquiring shares in BP Petroleum in the United Kingdom, aiming to gain a place in the oil and energy sector. Some analysts said that it is not ruled out that Phoenix Investment Group may use this as a springboard to enter the field of oil investment in a big way. It may even take a direct stake in an oil company! -- New York Daily News.
"A few days ago, due to the impact of the harsh environment in the financial market, BP's share price has been depressed for a long time, and it is reported that BP intends to seek new investors to improve market confidence. Phoenix Investment Group is well-capitalized and can accept higher prices, and it is a potential investor that BP is optimistic about! βThe Wall Street Journal.
"Phoenix Investment Group is quietly acquiring BP. According to reliable sources, Horst, the president of Phoenix Investment Group, had a secret conversation with a mysterious investor in the Middle East and secretly formed an alliance in an attempt to control Britain's largest oil company! -- Business Week.
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It's messy enough.
After reading a few newspapers, Tang Bao only felt a mess in his head, and he was dizzy, and he didn't know which was true and which was false.
"It's a pity."
Tang Bao was silent for a while. He whispered with a little regret. He seems to have missed the perfect opportunity to buy BP shares!
Now.
Tang Bao couldn't help but recall the information about BP.
As far as he knows, BP is the largest energy company in the United Kingdom and one of the major oil and energy giants in later generations. But it wasn't all smooth sailing. When carrying out the IPO, it was very unfortunate to encounter the unprecedented "Black Monday", which fell below the issue price as soon as it was launched, and even fell again and again, and no one cared about the stocks held by investment institutions for sale. This not only dealt a blow to the rise of BP, but also made it possible for the underwriters involved in the underwriting of BP shares to face heavy losses.
Then.
BP's underwriting price was around Β£3.30, with the underwriters only having to pay Β£1.2 in cash in advance, while the remainder could be deferred. This means that the underwriters are responsible for the deferred payment. If the market trades at a share price higher than the underwriting price, they will make a lot of money. Below the underwriting price, they need to bear it themselves. Unfortunately, they were unlucky and crashed into "Black Monday". The share price fell to only a few tens of pence.
It's obvious.
No one would be foolish enough to buy BP shares from underwriters at a price several times higher than the market price, even if individual investors who had made an appointment before, broke the contract. At this time, the underwriters were facing huge losses, including Rothschild and Warburg in the United Kingdom, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Salomon Brothers and Lehman in the United States.
Arguably.
At that time, whoever could stand up and eat the shares of BP at the underwriting price was the savior of Goldman Sachs, Morgan, Huabao and many other investment institutions.
Their friendship will be harvested too!
Pity.
At the beginning, Tang Bao was still buying stocks in Japan, but after returning to the United States, he was bombarded indiscriminately by the news media, and he wanted to hide far away. How can you be in the mood to pay attention to others. What's more, frankly speaking, his attention has always been focused on the United States and Japan, and he has not thought of BP as a potential stock at all.
Alas.
It took so long to calculate. In the end, I missed a big fish.
But.
Thinking of BP's share sale, the entire British government has continued to follow up, and even if he can seize the opportunity, he will not have a chance to eat all the shares.
If he remembers correctly, it seems that the Kuwait Investment Authority took advantage of the extremely low share price of BP to increase its stake in large quantities, even exceeding 20% at one point. But these shares were not kept. He was soon interviewed by the British government and forced to reduce his holdings. until it is reduced to less than 10%.
The mystery investor in the Middle East mentioned in Business Week, ten out of ten* refers to the Kuwait Investment Authority!
"Whew...... I wonder if Horst actually had contact with the Kuwait Investment Authority? Hopefully, this news is just made up. β
Tang Bao thought secretly.
At this time.
The British government is very wary of national capital, and if it is suspected that Phoenix Investment Group has an ulterior secret alliance with the Kuwait Investment Authority, perhaps Phoenix Investment Group will be banned from buying shares in BP. Although there was no such law, Tang Bao had no doubt that the British government would dare to do so.
Tang Bao thought as he walked towards the Phoenix Investment Group.
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Arriving at the headquarters, Tang Bao went straight to Horst's office, desperate to find out what was really going on.
After knocking on the door a few times, Tang Bao walked in.
"Ah, boss. When did you get back? When Horst saw Tang Bao walking in, he quickly got up and walked around the desk, and said in surprise.
Tang Bao smiled and said, "Just arrived." β
"Boss, you're trying to ask me about BP?" He poured a cup of hot water himself, handed Tang Bao, and then asked.
"Huh? Why do you ask? β
"Hey, hey. It's basically been hyping up this matter these days, and the boss has a few newspapers in your hand, it's not hard to guess. Horst said.
"Not bad. I rushed here for exactly that. β
"Boss, none of the news reported in the newspapers is true...... "Horst waved his hand, making a very innocent look. (To be continued) R655