"What? Is this true? Even though it was three o'clock in the morning and he was sleepy, Julian Robertson jumped out of bed after hearing the call, and his athleticism did not match his age.

"Okay, okay, I got it. Stay in touch and keep you informed about what's going on over there. After receiving an affirmative answer, he hung up the phone decisively, and wanted to yell a few times to vent the surprise in his heart, but realizing that he was in the middle of the night and would wake up his family, he could only suppress this thought.

It's just that he doesn't feel sleepy at all at this time, he simply puts on his pajamas and walks back and forth in the room, and it's too difficult to calm him down at this time. Although his movements were slight, he still woke up the person next to him, and by the dim light, his wife asked in a low voice, "Darling, what's wrong with you?" Still not sleeping so late? ”

Seeing his wife awakened, Julian felt a little guilty, sat on the edge of the bed and said softly, "Everything is under control, sweetheart." I just heard the news that Chicago has decided to abandon the acquisition of Peregrine. ”

"Peregrine?" His wife was stunned when she heard this, and then realized that her husband was talking about business, and immediately felt excited, and after glancing at him unhappily, she turned around, "Honey, please don't bring your work home." Good night, please turn off the lights, thank you. ”

As the wife of a hedge fund manager, she was used to her husband's life being reversed, and Julian was very comfortable not talking about her work at home, but today she was too excited. It made him get a little carried away.

Julian, who knew that he was wrong, silently turned off the lamp, but he couldn't lie down anymore, he stared at his sleeping wife for a moment and then went back to sleep, and then walked to the study.

In that phone call, Tiger Fund employees reported to him the latest news that Zurich Center Group and First Chicago would withdraw their capital injections into Hong Kong investment bank Peregrine.

Peregrine, an investment bank, was founded in Hong Kong in 1988 with a registered capital of 300 million Hong Kong dollars, and its founders include Nian Botao, Du Kanghui and other bigwigs in the investment industry. In addition to these professionals, the list of shareholders also includes a total of 18 Hong Kong celebrities and wealthy businessmen and groups, such as Lee Ka-shing and Yung Kai-hong.

The investment bank, which has brought together some of Hong Kong's top business players from the start, has set its sights on the increasingly developed mainland market. Among them, Nian Botao, who is in charge of mainland affairs, is like a fish in water in the mainland business community through his strong connections. Frequently arranges for red-chip companies to list in Hong Kong to raise funds. In the past few years, at least 70% of the newly listed red chips have been sponsored or underwritten by Peregrine, and in the past 97 years alone, Peregrine has raised at least HK$15 billion in Hong Kong for mainland red chips. Nian Botao himself is also known as the "father of red chips".

Du Kanghui, a Briton in charge of overseas, is also actively exploring new markets. Over the years. Benefiting from the duo's collaboration and growing presence in the Hong Kong market, Peregrine gradually opened its presence in the United States, Europe and Southeast Asia.

By '96, Peregrine's turnover reached a record 175.5 billion Hong Kong dollars. Converted into about 23 billion dollars, becoming a member of the top investment banking club, you must know that the turnover of Merrill Lynch, the boss of Wall Street at that time, was only this number.

However, this prosperity was soon shattered by the engulfing Asian currency turmoil, which caused heavy losses in billions of Hong Kong dollars in the Hong Kong stock market crash that erupted in October. In desperation, Peregrine had no choice but to announce large-scale layoffs, laying off 10% of its employees worldwide.

Although Peregrine's turnover is close to 200 billion Hong Kong dollars, its own assets are not much, only more than 20 billion Hong Kong dollars, high income is also high expenses, and the profit has not become more with the increase in income, which has laid the bane for Peregrine to resist risks.

In the stock market crash in mid-October, not only Peregrine, but also the vast majority of his long list of celebrity shareholders had a significant net worth shrunk, and it was naturally impossible to seek their help in this situation, so Peregrine decided to bring in new strategic investors, this time they chose Zurich Center Group, a subsidiary of Zurich Insurance Group, and First Chicago Group.

The two sides began negotiations in mid-November, and the final disclosure was that Zurich Center Group will subscribe for $200 million in Peregrine preferred shares, which will hold a total of 24.1% of Peregrine after the completion of the transaction, while First Chicago Group will subscribe for $25 million in preferred shares, bringing the stake to 3%.

Originally, the deal would have been approved at Peregrine's shareholder meeting on January 9, but now a few days before the shareholders' meeting, the two consortia have invariably reversed themselves.

Originally, in Julian Robertson's plan to attack Hong Kong, Peregrine will be an important part, even if they can successfully inject funds, but the Tiger Fund will still spare no effort to create their rumors in the market, but now the latest situation is that rumors do not need to be deliberate, and ...... Seem...... Maybe...... Most likely, it's no longer a rumor!

Julian Robertson was naturally pleasantly surprised by this news, and he just sat down in the study and thought quietly for a while, first dialing Soros, who was far away in South Korea, to tell the other party the good news.

To his surprise, Soros was not as excited as he imagined, but he was perfunctory for a long time, and then he changed the conversation and asked, "Hey, man, calm down." Let's start with our arrangement in Hong Kong, which is about shorting the Hong Kong dollar. ”

"Oh yes. God, I almost forgot, damn it. The "tiger" here slapped his head and replied in annoyance, "George, don't worry, everything is arranged." You know, for this time, I have been preparing carefully for a long time. But, George, what exactly do you want to do in Korea? ”

"What for?" Naturally, Soros will no longer hide it. After chuckling, he said calmly, "Of course, I was invited by Mr. President to inspect the economy of South Korea. God, you wouldn't be so naïve as to think I'm here to play, my friend. ”

Julian Robertson on this side shook his head slightly, and continued to ask: "George, I naturally know that you can't go to Korea for no reason. However, I want to know what is the truth. What kind of message do you want to give to the market? For God's sake. Please don't perfunctory me with those official words. ”

"Can't you imagine it?" Soros pursed his lips, a little disapproving, "Julian, I think you should have known what I was going to say. In fact. At the moment when I set foot on Korean soil. I don't have a choice. Isn't it? ”

A few lip smacks soon came from the microphone, and Soros knew that the other party had understood what he meant. "Frankly, I am also reluctant to choose to support the South Korean government at this time. But I didn't have a choice, and I had to do it in order to get that little bastard in. But if they climb higher, I believe the worse they will fall down, and the more fun it will be. ”

"Perhaps." Julian Robertson thought about it in his mind for a while, and then sighed, "George, when are we going to do it?" ”

"Wait a minute." Soros here thought about it and decided to observe the development of the situation first, "I have also heard about what you just said. However, things are far from the last moment, and it is not certain who will win and who will lose, and there are still many variables in this way. Now, let me ask you again, are your guys really ready? ”

"Yes, I'm sure." Julian Robertson's face was a little unbearable, and his tone was a little stiff, "They have already implemented our plan through the local gang, or in two days, I think the relevant news will come out." ”

"It's not going to kill anyone, is it?" Soros could hear the unhappiness in the other party's tone, but the stakes were high, and he still had to ask more.

"Absolutely not!" Julian Robertson patted his chest and reassured, "I don't know the specifics. But we're businessmen, not professional killers. Although my people didn't do anything about it, I still invited a few virology experts to participate in the whole process to ensure that these things would not cause harm to people. ”

"That's good!" After hearing the assurance, Soros nodded repeatedly, "I'm going to the next place, these damn Koreans really don't know what Lu Dao thinks, it's almost exhausting to let me run around like an old guy." So be it, stay connected. ”

After hanging up the phone, Soros smiled and walked towards his translator, but he kept thinking in his heart: God, Julian is too vicious, I must keep my distance from him, I can't involve too much.

What he didn't know was that the other party had already used his means on his people, and he had cheated him once without making a sound. If he wanted to know the way, he would definitely not choose to join forces with the other party.

And Julian Robertson, who was in a good mood here, hung up the phone and hummed Bob Dylan's song in the study, "How many roads does a man have to walk to be called a man......"

But before he could finish speaking, the door of the study was pushed open from the outside, and a woman with fluffy hair appeared in Julian Robertson's sight, still holding a mobile phone that kept ringing, "God, can't you keep your work away from this family?" Damn, are you really trying to drive me crazy? ”

Before Julian Robertson could react, his wife slammed the phone on top of him, then slammed the door on the door with a loud "clang" sound.

Anyone who is woken up by a barrage of phone calls in the middle of the night can be very upset, and his wife is no exception. Julian Robertson shook his head helplessly, picked up the phone in his arms, "I'm Julian Robertson, may I ask ......"

"Sir, sir, there is a mistake in the news just now. This is the rumor that they have negotiated, in order to drive down the price, and they are not really giving up. I just got the latest news that the negotiating teams on both sides are sitting together again. ”

"Huh?" Julian Robertson was stunned and couldn't say a word for a long time. This feeling of joy and sorrow made his heart tingle faintly.

……

"It's unlikely, isn't it?" Song Ling, who was holding a wine glass and was about to clink glasses with Zhong Shi, was stunned for a moment, and after looking at Zhong Shi suspiciously, he said slowly.

Zhong Shi, who was forced to look at him, was completely calm and relaxed, raised his wine glass and took a sip, and then looked at the other party with a smile, without meaning to explain at all. But the more this happened, the more Song Ling thought that the other party was not untargeted, put down the wine glass in a daze, took out the phone from his arms, and said while dialing: "That's it, I'll make a call first." ”

As a senior manager of a Chinese-funded enterprise in Hong Kong, Song Ling's connections are still very extensive, and after making a few phone calls in succession, he said to Zhong Shi with a smile: "Zhong Sheng, it seems that your news is wrong, just now the people in Zurich sat down with Peregrine people again to discuss." ”

Looking around, Song Ling leaned over and said in a low voice: "And as far as I know, Peregrine's people are still in contact with Huayin International's people, and if the Swiss side does not agree, they will immediately start negotiations with Huayin." Rest assured, such a company will not fall for granted. (To be continued......)

PS: Thank you for the monthly ticket support! Thank you Jiangnan Liu Feiyan for your reward for this book!