"Porsche wins!"

Rodney. Jones hurriedly ran into Soros's office, waving a piece of paper in his hand and shouting, "Just a few minutes ago, the EU Court of Justice announced the outcome of Porsche's lawsuit against the Volkswagen Act." Porsche has won! ”

During World War II, Volkswagen was drafted by the government, and although it was later returned to private individuals, the Lower Saxony government retained a 20.1% stake. In order to prevent the country's automobile industry from being acquired by foreign companies, the German government at that time created a law specifically for Volkswagen in 1960, known as the Volkswagen Act. The law stipulates that when the shareholding of Volkswagen is less than 20%, the voting rights are calculated according to the actual shares. Once it exceeds 20%, no matter how much it is exceeded, the actual voting power is only 20%.

Of course, in order to break through this shackle, the law also stipulates that when the shareholder owns more than 80% of the shares, the right to vote beyond 20% without full exercise of voting rights will be invalidated. But due to the importance of Volkswagen to the Lower Saxony government, the Lower Saxony government will not give up its stake at any time, and their stake is exactly 20.1%, which means that no other consortium can hold more than 80% of the stake in any case.

With this law, Volkswagen is not afraid of any kind of takeover. But Porsche has coveted Volkswagen for a long time, and where can it be bound by such an unfair law. In '06, they decisively filed a lawsuit before the European Court of Justice, alleging that the Mass Law violated the EU's Antimonopoly Law. Because the Anti-Monopoly Law has a status in economic law that is similar to the status of the Constitution in many laws, it is a law within a law, so if the lawsuit is won, it means that the Public Law can no longer continue to protect Volkswagen companies.

It was Porsche's move to sue the Volkswagen Act that made the market realize that Porsche had coveted Volkswagen, which in turn attracted widespread attention from hedge funds in Europe and the United States.

After a lawsuit that lasted up to two years. The European Court of Justice finally handed down its final verdict and declared Porsche in favour. This means that at the legal level, Porsche AG has removed a huge obstacle to the acquisition of Volkswagen.

"Take it easy, Rodney, that's a good thing!" Soros didn't have any waves on his face, and he was completely in control. "This is not unexpected by the market. Before that, the media wind has spoken for itself, and the Mass Law is indeed an unfair law, and it is time to repeal such a law. ”

"But in this case, our short positions are in jeopardy!" Seeing such a bland reaction from Soros, as always indifferent, Rodney. Jones was really in a hurry, "The 4 billion euro position is betting on the short position of Volkswagen stock, which is simply too big." I always had a feeling of panic. It seemed like something was going to happen, and it made me feel very bad. ”

"Relax, man!" Soros looked straight at Rodney. Jones suddenly smiled, "Rodney, maybe you don't know that there is another law in Germany that restricts the acquisition of Porsche." ”

Rodney. Jones' role as a macro strategist and economist at the Quantum Fund means that his eyes are always on macro data and central banks and governments. There is very little attention paid to one company. This time, if it weren't for the judgment of the European Court of Justice, plus the quantum fund blocked 20% of the funds in a single stock. Nor will he be focused on the Volkswagen acquisition.

So on a microscopic level, it's normal for him to have something to ignore.

"Oh, what the hell is going on?"

Rodney at this time. Jones also lost his initial panic, pulled a chair and sat down, patiently waiting for Soros's explanation.

"The German Company Act stipulates a controlling stake of 75% in a company. That is, to gain control of the company, which is our absolute controlling interest. Unlike our 50.1%, they have a full 25% more stake. And unlike us, the starting point for their takeover offer trigger is 30%. This also means, between 30% and 75%. A full 45% stake is required. ”

"With the exception of the 20 percent stake in the Lower Saxony state government, only 80 percent of Volkswagen shares are circulating on the market, and there is no doubt that the Porsche family will not have absolute control over Volkswagen as long as the current management of Volkswagen retains more than 5 percent of the shares. But this is the extreme case. If it really develops to this point, the current CEO Ferdinand . Piëch will surely be thrown out of the board outright. So in any case, the shareholders who support Piëch's side will certainly retain more than 5% of the shares. ”

"And then there's the most important issue, money! To acquire 45% of Volkswagen's shares, can the Porsche family come up with so much cash? I don't think the Volkswagen Group would be willing to trade in a stock exchange, so it's important to have cash reserves. Since the middle of the year, the Porsche family has announced that it wants to buy more than half of Volkswagen's shares. But so far, they have not accomplished this goal, and they are even halfway there. I think that at this time, due to the impact of the acquisition news, Volkswagen's stock price rose like crazy, which made Porsche's acquisition cost rise by more than 50%, which should be far beyond their expectations. So they either continue to borrow money to buy, or they give up the acquisition. ”

"If you want to complete the last 35%, this amount of money is not many people who can support them if you look at the whole of Europe and even the world. Even if there is a strong intervention of the consortium, when Porsche's shares reach a certain point, we can still calmly exit the market and lose a part of the capital at most. But if they can't support it, the current obviously inflated Volkswagen stock price will definitely have a downward adjustment, and our opportunity is here! ”

"To put it simply, it's a must-win situation!"

Soros patiently explained, then looked at Rodney. Jones, with a smug look on his face, "Rodney, now you understand why I invested so much money in this acquisition." I'm sure other hedge funds are aware of this, and that's why they're flocking in. ”

But before Bell Stone appeared at the Porsche family party. What does this mean? "Rodney. A boulder in Jones's heart finally landed, but another question soon emerged, "Is he planning to fund the Porsche family?" If that's the case, then Porsche really has a chance of a successful acquisition of Volkswagen. ”

"I don't know about that!"

Soros frowned, then slowly relaxed. "No matter what this little guy is up for, the end result is a combination of these two situations. But now it seems that the little guy has not helped the Porsche family much. ”

"So what do we do next?" Rodney. Jones also couldn't figure it out, but now that he has a near-foolproof strategy, it doesn't make much sense to think about why Bell Stone appeared in Germany at that time, "Continue to increase the shorting of Porsche?" Or just wait for Porsche to make the final decision? ”

"Continue to short, of course!" Soros waved his hand proudly and said confidently, "If my guess is correct, other hedge funds will soon follow." When the time comes, find a few more brokers. Preferably the kind of market maker that can provide no real bonds. The German market is very different from ours, and we have to adapt to it as soon as possible. ”

As Mr. Soros expected, Frankfurt soon gathered hedge funds from around the world, all of whom flocked to short Volkswagen shares. None of them are optimistic that Porsche will eventually acquire Volkswagen, believing that Porsche will automatically retreat at a certain point. For this reason, they aggressively shorted Volkswagen's shares, and because the German Securities Act stipulates that market makers do not have the corresponding physical bonds. It can still provide securities lending and borrowing functions. Therefore, Volkswagen's securities lending business has expanded rapidly and is getting bigger and bigger.

……

"Mr. Chung. On behalf of the Porsche family, I sincerely invite you to the celebration reception in Stuttgart! Not long after the verdict of the European Court of Justice was announced, Zhong Shi's phone rang in his office in Hong Kong. On the phone, the fourth generation of the Porsche family, Schwarz. Porsche said solemnly.

"Celebration?" Zhong Shi was stunned and asked puzzled, "What are you celebrating?" Mr. Porsche. What the hell is going on? ”

"You don't know?" Schwartz's reaction was even more astonished than Jongshi's, and he explained, "Well, just now, the European Court of Justice declared that the Popular Law violated the Antitrust Law. We, the Porsche family, won the case. ”

"So, is that time almost up?" Zhong Shi understood the news, and a mysterious smile rose on the corner of his mouth.

"What's the news?" Schwartz. Porsche was confused, "Mr. Zhong, are you talking about the acquisition of Volkswagen?" If this is the case, then I can tell you the news in advance, my father decided to postpone the acquisition of Volkswagen after careful consideration. Prices are now clearly beyond what we can afford to spend. Two days later, at the celebratory reception, I will make the announcement on behalf of the Porsche family. ”

"It turns out that he doesn't know anything." Zhong Shi snorted, not continuing to dwell on this issue, "Please tell Mr. Wolfgang that I will definitely attend." ”

Schwartz got the news. Porsche hung up the phone satisfied, unaware that what Zhong Shi said was not referring to Porsche's acquisition of Volkswagen, but something else. Because this matter is highly confidential, it is only known to a few third generations within the Porsche family. Porsche was also kept in the dark.

"Are you sure this is possible?"

As Zhong Shi's right-hand man, Jiang Shan has been involved in the whole project, and even some details he helped the Porsche family design. Now when he heard that the harvest season had come, he was surprised and delighted, and his whole body became troubled and lost.

This is the first big deal he has planned since he entered the Tianyu Fund, and when it was first designed, even Zhong Shi was full of praise for it, and Jiang Shan was also full of confidence, thinking that it was definitely a foolproof big plan. As the plan was implemented, events developed as expected at the beginning, and more and more hedge funds were attracted to it. But the more this is the case, the more worried Jiang Shan's heart becomes, because the market has lost its mind, and the funds gathered far exceed his expectations.

"Take it easy, even if it is pointed out by thousands of people, in the end it is the Porsche family who bears this infamy." Zhong Shi seemed to see Jiang Shan's hesitation and hesitation, and persuaded in a deep voice, "Since Mr. Wolfgang wants such a result, we will design one for him." But he's going to get so much, and we're going to have to make him pay something, aren't we? ”

"Can the Porsche family really finally buy Volkswagen?" Jiang Shan took a few deep breaths and tried to calm his emotions, "After this battle, I'm afraid that one side will suffer heavy losses, and the victorious side can easily achieve its goal without raising its hand." ”

"The world is unpredictable!"

Zhong Shi's face suddenly became serious, "Until the last moment, don't jump to conclusions." (To be continued......)

PS: Thank you book friend Demon Dragon War Ghost for voting for the monthly ticket! It may be a little slow to write in the finishing ideas, everyone who can write it will look at it first, and the author will continue to work hard, hoping to get the support of more book friends~!