During the discussion, which lasted for several hours, there was only one person who did not speak from beginning to end, and that was John Brown of Merrill Lynch. Thain.

As the head of Wall Street's third-ranked investment bank, John Brown. Sain is also a well-known figure in the financial markets. This guy who started as a small clerk at Goodman & Co. and rose through the ranks to the top professional manager once saved the New York Stock Exchange, so he is considered by Wall Street to be the best at handling crises.

Merrill Lynch is also in crisis, and so far, at least, they have not shown a significant decline. But John. Sain and the CEOs in the room are well aware that if Kaminami is done (going bankrupt or being acquired), then the next target for the market is Merrill Lynch.

It is precisely because of this reason that everyone knows that John. Sein didn't say a word.

"John, can you give me a minute?"

Paulson announced the dismissal of the meeting, and the CEOs walked out the door. Lewis quietly walked over to John. Sain's side said in an imperceptible voice.

“……”

John. Sain turned his head and saw that it was Ken. Lewis, his expression was stunned, but the next moment his face immediately reverted to a state of no waves, nodded lightly as well, and then walked outside as if nothing had happened.

In this passing moment, the two sides tacitly completed an exchange.

……

The next Saturday, at eight o'clock in the morning, bankers and lawyers in suits filled the corridors of the Reserve Bank of New York, and they were analysts sent overnight by various financial institutions, covering accounting, auditing, mergers and acquisitions, legal affairs, bonds, real estate, equity interests, foreign exchange, and so on. These people will sit together for two days today and tomorrow. Jointly review Kaminari Brothers' balance sheet, analyze its true operations, and then estimate a detailed figure to inform the decision to acquire Kaminari Brothers as a whole.

Prior to that, they had made a clear division of labor, with analysts at Citigroup, Merrill Lynch and Stanley responsible for Kaminman Brothers' balance sheet and liquidity. Analysts from Goodman, Credit Suisse and Deutsche were responsible for Rehman Brothers' real estate, while JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America and Barclays were responsible for researching the structure and position risk of Rehman Brothers and others, and estimating the amount needed for the acquisition based on previous research.

The mountains of Wen Jiàn were transported to the conference rooms in piles, and there were crowds of people everywhere, and the maximum air conditioning could not stop the sweat beads from the foreheads of the analysts. Almost everyone was calculating and evaluating, and even some CEOs were on the scene, including Merrill Lynch CEO John Brown. Thain.

Stayed last night, Ken. Lewis didn't say much to him, but agreed to have a deep conversation this afternoon. But John. Sain has understood Ken. Lewis means. The other party is more interesting to Merrill Lynch, and may give up the acquisition of Kaminari Brothers.

In September last year, the two sides held talks about the acquisition, when Merrill Lynch's share price was around $70, and Bank of America offered a premium of $90 per share, but Merrill Lynch refused. And now that Merrill Lynch's stock price has plummeted to about $20, Bank of America will certainly not offer a similar price in less than a year. Merrill Lynch shrank by more than two-thirds, which left John Lynch. Sain was overwhelmed with emotion.

"We're in big trouble. Very big trouble. ”

At noon, analysts were still anxiously analyzing various numbers. Dimon walked into John. Sain's office, quietly pulling him aside, whispered.

"I know it's very bad." John. Sein's face was ugly, "But Jamie." It's not so bad that it is. Belch...... Are you talking about us Merrill Lynch, or the Kaminari Brothers? ”

"Of course it's you!" Jamie. Dimon looked straight at John. Sain, his face full of disbelief, "John, if it's the Kaminari brothers. Do you think I'm going to tell you this? As you should be aware, we at JPMorgan Chase & Co. are the settlement bank for Kamiston Brothers and Merrill Lynch, so some position losses will be reflected in our settlement accounts, if not on the balance sheet. ”

"According to the preliminary calculations of analysts just now, the assets of Kaminmen Brothers are at least 8 billion US dollars undercharged, and it is expected that after the entire ledger is calculated, this figure is very likely to expand to 20 billion US dollars. And according to Bank of America yesterday, the credit line for their acquisition could be expanded to $500 to $60 billion. ”

"Again, for you Merrill Lynch, it's just as bad. Although, so far, your situation is better than that of the Kaminari brothers. But as soon as the Kaminarimon brothers' crisis is resolved, it will be your turn next, it is obvious. My man, you have to get ready. My lads were already talking about Merrill Lynch's bankruptcy. ”

Looking at Jamie who shook his head and left. Dimon, John. Sain was confused for a moment, not knowing what to do. What was originally a guess is now gradually becoming a reality. Sain was mentally prepared, but still couldn't accept the reality.

With a sense of gain and loss, John. Sain went in the afternoon to Ken located near Central Park. Lewis's apartment.

This is a top-of-the-line apartment located on the top floor of the building, with a 360-degree view of New York, with three bedrooms, five bathrooms, and a total area of more than 400 square meters. But John. Once Sain entered, he quickly realized that it wasn't Ken. Lewis's property, because there is no dazzling array of furniture and art in this luxuriously decorated room, is clearly not in the style of the top CEO of Wall Street.

Here, John. Sain in addition to meeting Ken. In addition to Lewis, he unexpectedly met another person, and this person should be in charge of many bankers in the New York Fed building at this time, and he is Fed Vice Chairman Geithner.

"Mr. Vice-President......"

John. Sain was a little confused, but greeted him politely, and then whispered to Ken. Lewis asked, "Ken, what the fuck is going on?" ”

He kept his voice low. Naturally, I didn't want Geithner to hear it too. But since Ken. Lewis invited Geithner, naturally he would not hide it, and said loudly at the moment: "John, to be honest, I invited you here this time to discuss the acquisition of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America." Let's be honest. We're not interested in the Kaminari brothers, we're interested in you. ”

"Are you crazy?" John. Sean glanced at Geithner and quickly said, "Ken, do you know what you're talking about?" Acquire us? Didn't you save the Thundermon brothers? Do you know how much of a shock it would have to the market if Kaminari Brothers went bankrupt? ”

"Relax, my friend!" Willing. Lewis followed John. Sein's gaze was after glancing at Geithner. Only then did he smile and give the other party a reassurance, "Mr. Vice Chairman also knows about this situation, and he supports us." ”

"What?" John. Sein was dumbfounded, and became more and more confused.

At this point Geithner stood up and walked over to John with a smile. Sain's side said in a relaxed tone, "John, don't worry. I support Bank of America for what it is interesting for you. As for the Kaminari brothers. Isn't there still Barclays? As soon as the guys at the New York Fed finally come to an agreement, I'm going to explain these things to Paulson and Dimon in person. ”

"Yes. John, after our financial analysis of Kaminari Brothers, we don't agree that this company is worth buying. But you're different, and although you've not been doing very well so far, we've always been bullish on you. I believe that buying you will be the right choice. "Ken. Lewis also helped, "Yes, this would be at least a more correct choice than buying the Kaminari brothers." ”

"But how are you going to explain it to the Minister of Finance?" John. Sain still couldn't believe this fact. Although he had long expected Ken. Lewis and Bank of America were interested in Merrill Lynch, but he never expected that Vice Chairman Geithner would also be involved in this matter.

Just a day ago. Geithner and Paulson also vowed to unite with Wall Street conglomerates to save the Reminham Brothers. But just a day later, Geithner joined Bank of America, which was considered the most likely to buy Kamisman Brothers, in expressing support for the Merrill Lynch acquisition.

The change was just too fast, too sudden.

"Confession?" Geithner snorted coldly and said rather disdainfully, "John, you haven't figured out the political meaning behind this matter at all. Paulson just had to account to the public, to the taxpayers, and he didn't spend their tax dollars. As for the Kaminari brothers, no one cares at all. I believe that yesterday, as you can see, no one notified them to come to the meeting at all, which has already doomed them. What we do now is to maintain the stability of the market, not out of sympathy or pity. ”

"As long as someone saves these institutions that could jeopardize the market, and it's not taxpayers' money, Paulson doesn't care which institution Bank of America buys!" Geithner's dissatisfaction grew, "Since Kaminarim already has a British bank interested, and the Bank of America is interested in Merrill Lynch, wouldn't it be better for everyone to bid for what they like?" The market has also been saved, and the people have been given an account, how could Paulson disagree? ”

In the whole matter, because he Bank of America had to be involved in the Kaminari brothers' bid, which made him particularly unhappy, so he and Ken. After Lewis had privately agreed, Bank of America decisively turned to the rationale for buying Merrill Lynch.

Of course, the deal was premised on Bank of America's interest in Merrill Lynch, and as it happens, it did.

It can be said that Geithner secretly fought with Paulson on this matter, and finally let out a bad breath. Although so far, Paulson does not know the specifics, he may compromise on this.

"9.9% stake, plus $20 billion in credit authorizations!" Just in Geithner and Ken. Lewis looked at each other and smiled, basking in the pleasure of getting rid of Paulson. Sain, however, made an inopportune offer to acquire Merrill Lynch.

John. Sain has been on Wall Street for a long time, so he is naturally not easy to match. Even when I saw Geithner, I was already pondering in my mind about the possibility of a stake in Bank of America. The 9.9% stake will basically not touch the red line of launching the acquisition, and the $20 billion credit authorization will solve the liquidity problem of Merrill Lynch at once, "If we can, we can sit down now and talk about the specific price." He went on to add.

"Nope! No! No! "Ken. Lewis's face changed greatly, and he couldn't laugh out loud for a while, only to see him say sternly, "John, if you don't have 100% control, or you can buy it, there is no third choice!" ”

Geithner, on the other hand, looked at John with great meaning. With a glance, Sain slowly paced to the floor-to-ceiling window in the distance, and took in the scenery of Manhattan seriously. (To be continued......)

PS: Thank you to book friends Huang Tianlong and Jiangnan Liu Feiyan for voting for the monthly pass! Thank you for another reward from the book friend Xiaoqi Civilization Miracle! This month, the author has been working hard to write a book, but I can't tell why the results are not as good as before, it seems that what has been lost is really not so easy to recover, I have no choice but to continue to work hard, I hope more book friends can support this book~