As for this acquisition, not only the German media are following it, but the media around the world is paying attention to it. Of course, after the Porsche Group successfully repelled the vulture fund, the whole thing seemed to be settled.

But not long after, the whole thing took a shocking turn for the worse, and the Porsche Group was unable to exercise its rights because it was in a business crisis, and even had to apply for a bailout fund from the German government, which surprised everyone. This incident quickly brought the Porsche Group back into the spotlight.

In the meantime, the media has also unearthed several pieces of information, such as Wolfgang. Porsche had gone to Saudi Arabia for help, such as the fact that the Tianyu Fund was ready to intervene, but when the final situation was announced, they still felt a huge shock.

It was none other than the Volkswagen Group.

Most people would not have imagined that in the end, the acquisition of the snake swallowing elephant would have a dramatic reversal, and the original object of acquisition has become the current acquirer, which is a earth-shaking change.

Based on the announcement jointly issued by the two companies, the entire transaction is roughly as follows:

The Volkswagen Group will invest in the acquisition of 100 percent of the shares of the Porsche Group, and a Middle Eastern-based fund will exercise a 24 percent stake in the Volkswagen Group.

The initial deal is structured in such a way that the details need to be negotiated by the three parties, but basically the transfer of the Porsche Group is already a foregone conclusion.

The incident was immediately defined as a "miracle" by the German magazine Der Spiegel and caused a sensation in the entire German business community. After getting the news, the world media also followed up and reported on this typical acquisition case.

Among them, the Wall Street Journal said, "We could have seen a classic hostile takeover case that could be called a small takeover, but just as it was about to succeed, the whole thing took an incredible turn." The dizzying turn of the Volkswagen Group to swallow the Porsche Group makes people realize that nothing is impossible in the world of mergers and acquisitions. ”

The Financial Times said, "Business schools around the world have new material, and Volkswagen Group's financial advisors will be in the spotlight as a result." I have to say. This is probably the greatest M&A case of '09, not one of them. ”

The New York Times declared, "From this incident, we can see how important it is to maintain adequate cash flow in the context of the world economic recession." From the aggressive attempt to annex the Volkswagen Group to its outright takeover (which has not yet been completed), the Porsche Group has taught us not only to maintain sufficient cash flow, but also to be on guard against coveting by others. The 'too big to fail' example has been seen many times in the United States. There have been several cases in Europe, but unlike in the United States, they usually directly nationalize large companies. Although the Volkswagen Group did not receive more favour from the government in the whole deal, it is undeniable that not only the German federal government but also the government of Lower Saxony is responsible for the current situation. They all breathed a sigh of relief. ”

……

In the midst of numerous reports around the world, there are also some media outlets that want to find out beyond the Volkswagen Group and the Porsche Group. The third party involved in the transaction, i.e. the Middle East Fund. But according to public information, this fund has not been established for a long time, the information is really pitiful, and the relevant person in charge is silent, don't even want to ask anything.

In this case. The media can only speculate that the source of the fund's funding is Prince Faisal, that his investment fund is involved.

Zhong Shi and Gao Dongfang hid themselves perfectly, so much so that no matter how much the outside world dug in, they could not be found.

July. Zhong Shi returned to Hong Kong to conclude his trip to Germany, and the rest of the matter will be discussed by Tianyu Fund, China Investment, Porsche Group, and Volkswagen Group.

"You want to buy gold mines?"

The day after returning to Hong Kong, Zhong Shi met an uninvited guest. Paulson.

Today's John. Paulson is one of the most powerful fund managers in the world's capital markets. After earning more than billions of dollars last year, his performance so far this year has not been as impressive as last year's, but his every move is still in the spotlight.

Actually, John. Paulson has been asking to see Jongshi for some time, but Jongshi himself has been in Germany and has no skills. Based on Paulson's knowledge of Jongshi, he can conclude that his benefactor must have been deeply involved in the feud between the Volkswagen Group and the Porsche Group. When the news of the eventual annexation of the Porsche Group by the Volkswagen Group came, Johann Brown was born. Paulson knew immediately that Jongshi's trip to Germany was coming to an end.

At this time, Zhong Shi was leisurely drinking coffee in the office, after hearing Paulson's thoughts, his hand shook, and the whole cup of coffee spilled on the white shirt, and immediately after a while, he shook his head helplessly, and said with a wry smile: "John, don't you understand what I mean?" Speculating on gold and buying gold producers are two different concepts! ”

"No, no, it's a concept."

John. Paulson shook his head, "Believe me, Zhong, this is definitely a concept!" ”

"Oh?"

Hear from John. Paulson said so firmly, Zhong Shi's heart moved, and he couldn't help asking, "I believe you and I are very clear that the current speculation of gold is actually a contract in nature, and it is impossible to exercise the option, which avoids physical delivery." And the gold company you want to buy, the institution that can detect and produce physical gold. Although we talked about gold last time, so far the sentiment in the metals market has been relatively stable, and the inflow of large amounts of money has not been noticeable. In this case, do you buy gold producers to prepare for the future? ”

"I can't hide anything from you!"

John. Paulson slapped his thigh with a fluttering eyebrow and gave a thumbs up to Bell Stone, "That's exactly what I thought. Over the past few years, I have learned a lot from Mr. Zhong's operating techniques, which is really eye-opening. If nothing else, the mere fact that you're in Germany is amazing enough. ”

"What did I do in Germany?"

The muscles at the corners of Zhong Shi's mouth twitched slightly, with an innocent and incomprehensible expression. He decided to pretend to be stupid, "Are you talking about the Porsche Group and the Volkswagen Group in Germany?" It has nothing to do with me! God, you don't think I was behind the scenes, right? ”

"Of course I don't think so!"

John. Paulson was stunned for a moment, then laughed. "Mr. Zhong, you said this personally, and I didn't say anything.

But now, it does confirm one thing, that is, the whole thing is indeed manipulated by you behind the scenes. Big deals, big deals. First of all, it supported the Porsche Group and swallowed the Volkswagen Group. Later, seeing that the timing was not right, he decisively chose the Volkswagen Group. Such a method of turning the clouds and rain is really admirable. ”

"I am your faithful disciple, and I must stress that!"

After praising the other party, Paulson suddenly noticed that Zhong Shi's face was uncertain, and hurriedly expressed his loyalty, "Mr. Zhong, not to mention that we cooperated to play Soros, let's just say that it was in my most difficult time. You didn't withdraw your funds, which has made me grateful for Dade for the rest of my life. I have nothing but admiration for you, and I don't mean anything else at all. ”

After speaking, he lowered his head in panic and put on a posture of seriously admitting his mistake.

"Lift up your head and look me in the eye!"

Zhong Shi stared at the other party with a serious face for a long time, and after making sure that everything the other party said was from the heart, he said lightly, "Not bad." I was involved in the German incident, but the whole thing wasn't what you think. But I don't need to explain anything to you. I don't want anyone else to know about this, you know? ”

"Understood!"

Paulson quickly nodded in agreement, but the next moment he reacted, "But Mr. Zhong, even if this matter is not reported by me, many people know that you did the whole thing." So ......"

"Alright. Don't care so much, who says who loves it, Lao Tzu doesn't care! ”

Zhong Shi was suddenly angry, and only after a while waved his hand and said impatiently. "Now let's get down to business, why do you want to buy gold and report it to me? You don't have to do that! ”

"Actually, the whole thing is like this!"

Paulson hastened to explain, "The company I'm buying now is called Anglogold Ashanti, which is currently one of the largest gold producers in the world. Because their business has been hit hard since last year, they have been looking for new money to inject around the world. But so far, they haven't found any new investors, and you know that in the current situation, no one would want to invest in a company in an emerging market, and it is also a direct producer of gold. ”

"That's what I'm going to do, even if it's for hedging, I'm interested in taking a stake in this gold maker." Paulson continued, "By breaking into this company and controlling the board, I was able to influence the price of gold at least to some extent, albeit minimally. But who knows it won't come in handy when it matters most? ”

"That's what you think?"

After listening to Paulson's analysis, Zhong Shi touched his chin and nodded, it seems that Paulson has indeed learned a lot from him, and has begun to realize that the top of the industrial chain affects the price of the futures market. While many people know this, the vast majority of people, including nine out of ten hedge funds, simply don't have enough money to buy top companies in a certain industry.

Speaking of gold, we have to say South Africa, which is located in the southernmost part of Africa. As the "gold country", South Africa has long been the world's highest gold producer, and in the 70s, they accounted for 70% of the world's gold production. But in the gold market, neither South African gold producers nor the South African Reserve Bank have bargaining power.

Before the Second World War, the London gold market was the world's leading gold market, but after the war, the UK was forced to impose exchange controls due to economic decline. At this time, Switzerland suddenly became a leader in friendship with the South African government at the time, making the Zurich gold market the most important gold market at that time. Large quantities of gold from South Africa were shipped to Zurich, which later became the world's gold spot trading center.

The New York Gold Market, established in 1974, was the youngest of the three gold centers, and its bargaining power was heavily influenced by the London gold market at the beginning. But as speculation increased and gold futures trading volumes reached staggering levels, the New York gold market gradually became a pivotal player. It is currently the world's largest gold futures trading market.

In addition, there is the Hong Kong gold trading market, which was originally deeply influenced by London, but because the Chinese mainland has become the world's largest gold producer over the years, and it is also the first few gold consumers, the Hong Kong gold trading market has attracted more and more attention. But in any case, compared with the previous markets, the Hong Kong gold trading market is still a small character.

"Yes, from the upstream industrial chain, I hope that it won't be long before last year's glory will be repeated!"

Paulson had fallen into a deep illusion, and with an expression of intoxication and indulgence, he looked sideways at Bell Stone.

"But what does all this have to do with me?"

Zhong Shi stretched out his hands, indicating that he had not yet figured out the meaning of Paulson's visit. (To be continued......)

PS: Thank you for the book friend hhr111 for the monthly pass! I hope you will continue to support, there will be many wonderful things in the future, and the author is looking forward to the improvement of results this month~