South Africa.

Morris, the president of Times Shipping, was very annoyed because of the sudden change in the acquisition of South African shipping (Safmarine), which attracted competition from Maersk.

Originally, Times Shipping offered $600 million for the acquisition of Safmarine, which was a very reasonable price, and the shareholders of South African Shipping have agreed.

Unexpectedly, at the last critical moment, Maersk joined the competition, and the shareholders of South African shipping naturally swayed, meaning that you compare with whose price is higher!

"Damn the Muellers!" Morris scolded in an annoyed whisper.

If the $600 million acquisition is completed, he can prove to his boss that his high salary is worth it; But now, Maersk has joined in, and everything has become uncontrollable.

"Let's ask for advice!" In the end, Morris said helplessly.

Hong kong.

Lin Zuhui was not very surprised when he received a call from Morris. Any acquisition is unlikely to be smooth sailing, and even if there are no competitors, it is possible that the seller will drag the price increase.

He remembers an acquisition case in his previous life: Australia's largest wine merchant, Southern Wine, after the millennium, confidently launched an acquisition of Australia's second largest wine merchant, Ruoshi Manor, for 600 million Australian dollars; As a result, it took a year or two for the price to rise to 1.4 billion Australian dollars (8 billion RMB). Because during this period, Australian wine has a huge threat to the old wines of France, Italy, etc., because of the currency exchange rate, and the export is getting better and better, so the price has become expensive.

According to this story as an example, if Lin Zuhui knows the future trend of a certain industry, he must not drag the mud and water, otherwise the price will become more and more expensive.

He thought about it for a moment!

The price of South African sea freight (Safmarine), which has been worth $600 million in the last four and a half years (as of the beginning of 2003); Even this price is slightly high, after all, affected by the financial crisis, although Europe and the United States have little impact, but shipping prices will also be affected to a certain extent, it can only be said that there is a lot of business on the route. (The export routes in Asia are busy, but the import routes are almost heavily lost)

"Do you know the other party's price?"

"It's said to be $630 million! Originally, I wanted to continue to quote $650 million, but I was worried about falling into vicious competition, so I asked my boss. ”

Lin Zuhui did not blame Morris, and making a phone call to him did not mean that others were incapable; On the contrary, Lin Zuhui was very satisfied with this communication, and his sense of presence came out.

Although Morris bid $700 million and the acquisition was completed, he would not blame.

"In this way, South African shipping, although important, is not absolute, and we have better options. You told the people of South African shipping that 688 million US dollars, we have to answer within three days, and it is our last offer, and we will withdraw if we can't trade. ”

Morris immediately said confidently: "Okay, I believe this price will be successful!" ”

Lin Zuhui did not deceive people, he really has a better choice, that is, Tiexing Zhahua, which accounts for more than 5% of the world's shipping share. (PS: Maritime transport generally refers to container ships and bulk carriers, which should open up fixed routes; As for iron ore, oil and gas and other shipping, almost ship leasing is the main)

As long as the price is right, if he is slaughtered, he would rather be slaughtered by this kind of giant.

And, although it seems to be slaughtered, in another four years, when the price of sea freight doubles, triples, quadruples, that's when he laughs.

To be honest, the cycle of shipping is crucial, and the prospect of shipping in the era is much more than that of Maersk.

Of course, Lin Zuhui only knows that 2008.9 (Lehman) is the big top, 2016 (Hanjin went bankrupt) is the big bottom, and the small cycle is not very clear. However, he felt that this was sufficient, and his group's debt situation was not high.

........

In 1904, at the age of 28, A.P. Müller, together with his father, Captain Müller, founded the "Svenberg Shipping Company" and purchased a second-hand steam freighter, the company's first office in the village of Anna in Svenburg, which was the predecessor of Maersk.

Maersk McKinney Müller took over as chairman and CEO in 1965 and stepped down as chairman in 1993, where he continued to be involved in some of the company's major decisions. Once the richest man in Denmark, he worked hard and had superhuman perseverance, and Müller himself became a symbol of the group's achievements and was hailed as "the greatest businessman Denmark has ever seen".

Maersk McKinney Müller has only three daughters, so after three generations of 'Maersk' run by the Müller family, the current president is Charlie of the 'non-Müller family'.

Of course, Maersk McKinney Müller is still behind the scenes, and he is still involved in some of the company's major decisions.

Charlie walked into the office of the old chairman (81 years old), and he had great respect for Maersk McKinney Müller, a well-respected shipping man in the company and throughout Denmark.

And the old chairman is very healthy, and now he can still inspect the ship and personally steer the helm in the stormy seas; In the words of the old chairman, he would take part in inspecting the ship until his death and personally take the helm.

"Chairman, South African shipping sent a message, let us re-quote within three days, otherwise they will complete the contract with Xiangjiang Times Shipping."

The old Muller raised his head and said with some surprise: "So, it was the shipping in that era that gave a three-day deadline to make a quick decision?" ”

Charlie nodded and said, "It should be like this!" However, the shareholders of South African Shipping did not tell us about the other party's offer, but it is certain that the other party's offer must be higher than the $630 million. ”

Müller got up, then paced in front of his desk, old but still athletic, but now in a 'racking of his brains'.

"Shipping is a cyclical business, and if the purchase price is high, it is difficult to make a profit. Times Shipping is a shipping company in Asia, and Asia is in the financial crisis, they just want to buy the bottom, and they should not quote too high. ”

Charlie immediately said, "I think so too!" Moreover, South African sea freight is not a 'necessity' for Maersk, and it is not in our interest to bid too high. Therefore, after discussion, we will give up to 660 million US dollars! ”

Mueller frowned and said, "This price is also high!" Have you lobbied those shareholders, after all, South African shipping has a greater prospect of joining Maersk. At that time, shipping was a big company, but it was just a small shipping company in Xiangjiang, and now it has some money in the group. They don't have a lot of experience in shipping, and the company's business philosophy ......"

Charlie smiled bitterly: "We sent a team to the South African shipping company for a long time, and the shareholders were very happy to buy us, and they promised to give us priority if the price was about the same." However, this time the time was suddenly so short, and it was obvious that the other party also knew that it would be detrimental to them if it dragged on, so they took the initiative. ”

Mueller finally said, "That's $660 million, that's a lot of money!" Hey, if it weren't for this small shipping company to disrupt the situation, we would have won it even for 600 million US dollars. ”

Charlie echoed: "No, we have long taken a fancy to South African shipping, but we just want to wait for the continued impact of the Asian financial crisis." ”

Both of them were a little annoyed by the Times shipping turmoil, after all, in their opinion, you are a small Asian shipping company, why should you buy an old shipping company.

.......

Three days later.

South African shipping announced the sale of its body to the 'Times Shipping' from Xiangjiang, which attracted the attention of the shipping industry for a while.

Maersk was unwilling to say some 'cool words' in the media, which made people feel painless, for example, South African shipping sold out the era of shipping, which is not a good choice......

In the conference room of South African Shipping.

Morris is leading the team and is in the process of signing a contract with the top management of South African shipping.

"Mr. Koch, we will become colleagues from now on!" Morris said with a smile to Koch, the president of South African Shipping.

Times Shipping, which is still expanding, integrating and governing, will bring great losses to the hasty merger of South African shipping.

Therefore, after Times Shipping acquired South Africa Shipping, South African Shipping still operated independently, and Times Shipping only sent a small number of personnel.

The plan of Lin Zuhui and Morris and others is to let the acquired company 'run independently' first, and when the time is ripe, the entire Times shipping business will be merged and integrated.

This 'ripe time' means that Times Shipping will carry out a 'digitalization' and 'informatization' of global shipping, and at the same time, Times Shipping has a large number of talents and a perfect system.

Koch was originally a minority shareholder and president of South African Shipping, and he was naturally very happy to see the retention of Times Shipping, after all, the salary was high.

"It is a pleasure to be a colleague of President Morris and our management team will continue to uphold the tradition of South African maritime service."

Everyone exchanged ideas and quickly became one.

Morris and others used to be elite talents of large shipping companies and celebrities in the maritime industry, and there will be no generation gap between everyone.

........

Here, Maersk lost a South African sea, which still looks very unhappy. Mainly, Times Shipping is not even the world's top 20 shipping companies, and it actually swallowed an elephant and won South African shipping from Maersk.

Mueller said to Charlie: "It's not a big problem to lose South African shipping!" South Africa's shipping route, we Maersk is also sailing, and we will be competitors in the future. We at Maersk have advantages in all aspects, so we are bound to suppress the new South African shipping. ”

He is the richest man in Denmark, the pride of the Danes, he has his own pride in his heart, and he is very annoyed that an Asian company has snatched the shipping company he fancies.

Charlie nodded and said, "Don't worry, Chairman, we will definitely be able to give them some color!" ”

In fact, the two believe that Times Shipping will directly merge with South African shipping, then it will definitely fall into turmoil, and then Maersk can snatch its business.

But in fact, some of the routes of South African shipping are doing better than Maersk, which is better than the global business.

........

Morris's team didn't have time to celebrate, and after handing over the South African shipping, they immediately flew to the United States.

Because the boss called, for the acquisition of 'sea and land services (sea and land container business)', it is necessary to solve it quickly, and this time, the boss especially emphasized that money is not a problem, what is needed is a quick solution and completely defeat Maersk.

Why did Lin Zuhui say this?

It turns out that since 1995, the two shipping companies "Maersk" and "Sea and Land Services" have carried out an operational alliance.

It's like the land and sea services are the food in Maersk's mouth, and the land and sea services are 'very important' to Maersk, because as soon as they are acquired, they can be merged seamlessly.

Moreover, sea and land services are the originator and founder of the world's 'container', and its position in the entire container shipping is transcendent.

Therefore, this time Lin Zuhui was serious and decided to teach Maersk a lesson!

Let Maersk understand - with money, you can really do whatever you want!

.......

"What? Times Shipping is negotiating acquisitions with sea and land services? The old Muller suddenly became energetic at this time and said in disbelief.

Charlie nodded and said, "Not bad! And the people from the land and sea service didn't inform us, it seems that they are happy with the price! If it weren't for the fact that the two of us had been working together for so long, and I knew one of their executives, I'm afraid we would still be in the dark. ”

Muller immediately said: "What is the origin of shipping in this era, why is it so generous and aggressive? ”

Charlie said: "The parent company is the No. 1 consortium in Hong Kong, and the boss was the richest man in the world last year. Importantly, it is said that their parent company has $10 billion on its books, and there are also $10 billion worth of European and American securities, and they also built 2.1 million tons of various ships in South Korea at one time in March this year. ”

Muller was stunned for a moment, he is old and faint, and he has also heard of the world's richest man Lin Zuhui, whose wealth even the Americans' 'pride' and 'tech giant' Bill Gates has only recently surpassed others ($45 billion), and the result is that Americans are overjoyed, as if the collective is very glorious.

"You immediately fly to the United States in person, negotiate with the sea and land services, the price, keep in touch with me, we must annex the sea and land services!" Mueller finally said firmly.

Charlie nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go to the sea and land service right away!" ”

Mueller couldn't help but say: "The price must be cautious, keep communicating with me, it can't be too expensive!" ”

Charlie's morale suddenly lost by half, but he still nodded!

.......

Times Shipping, Maersk, the two companies once again had malicious bidding, which made the sea and land services grasp it for a while.

Major media outlets have also begun to report on it, especially in the United States, in the hope of selling high prices for land and sea services.

"A new shipping giant is about to be born, and it is already challenging for the world's first!" (In fact, even if the acquisition is completed, the merger of the three companies will only have a market share of more than 6%, while Maersk will have a market share of about 10%)

"Maersk, lose South African shipping, and then lose sea and land services?"

Such slogans are constantly popping up to provoke war!

United States.

Morris felt that he was very unlucky, and wanted to buy two shipping companies to make the boss more trusted; Unexpectedly, Maersk was haunted and chased from South Africa to the United States.

"Call the boss!" Morris was still a decisive decision.

After all, the acquisition of more than 800 million US dollars is not a small number, and if it is more than 100 million US dollars or 200 million, he is more or less too responsible.

...........

Lin Zuhui heard the news in Xiangjiang, and he also felt a little helpless, this Maersk was haunted, and he spent a lot of money.

Of course, then again, maybe others have long regarded these two companies as acquisition targets, but they were just preempted by Times Shipping.

But Lin Zuhui didn't worry about it for too long!

On the phone, Lin Zuhui asked: "How much do you think Maersk will give up?" Will the land and sea services have to be sold? ”

On the other end of the phone, Morris said: "The sea and land service is different from the South African sea service, and Maersk's determination will be a little bigger. I think the price of $1 billion should make Maersk regress. ”

"Well, this time we directly opened the offer, and we bought it for $1 billion, and it was completed in a week!"

"Good!"

After hanging up the phone, Lin Zuhui was not displeased, and his expression did not fluctuate!

If this acquisition is completed, he will indeed be cheated of 300 million US dollars, but he doesn't care, and naturally it won't affect his mood.

If this acquisition is not reached, we will acquire the giant of Tiexing Zahua next year to see if Maersk's cash flow can compare with him!

The value of Tiexing Zhahua is at least $1.5 billion, and Maersk's cash flow is absolutely insufficient.

.......

"What, bid a billion dollars, are they crazy?" Mueller received the call and couldn't help but raise his voice and said.

How can he buy a company worth up to $800 million at a higher price?

Charlie said on the phone: "However, they are already crazy, maybe the Chinese are too rich!" And this time they made the price clear, and also said that if there is no clear answer within a week, they will withdraw from the acquisition. ”

Muller's first reaction was that this was Times Shipping's 'game' in retaliation for 'South African shipping'. After all, in that acquisition, Times Shipping was about to complete the acquisition, and Maersk joined the bidding, allowing Times Shipping to win for $88 million.

"Land and sea service, what do you say over there?"

"They said they wanted us to make an offer in a week, even if it was $1.01 billion, and they would agree to our acquisition!"

Mueller immediately said: "We are not fooled, the sea and land services are not worth this money, up to 800 million dollars!" Let them buy it and let them regret going later! ”

Charlie said tentatively: "Maybe the shipping cycle is coming? ”

Muller immediately said: "It's just a guess, but it's not worth the risk!" Shipping not only depends on the cycle, but more importantly, cherishes every penny, so as to survive the cold season of shipping. ”

Charlie immediately admired and said, "Okay! ”

........

A week later, many world media reported that Times Shipping, a shipping company that did not enter the top 20, successively annexed two of the world's top 10 shipping giants and became the world's third largest shipping giant (with a market share of more than 6%).

"Crazy, Asians crazy! Asia is experiencing an unprecedented financial crisis, shipping has also suffered a big blow, the former world's richest man seems to be operating against the market, I wonder if he still has that kind of luck? ”

"Times Shipping is crazy about spending money on shipping, 1.7 billion US dollars to acquire two shipping companies, 1.7 billion US dollars to build 2.1 million tons of various ships, plus this year to take two European ports, they have spent more than 3.6 billion US dollars on shipping. Suffice it to say, they are so rich! ”

One news after another, published in the world's major business newspapers, for a while there was a lot of discussion.

At the same time, the news also spread back to Xiangjiang.

Of course, in Xiangjiang, Lin Zuhui is a god-like existence, and in the eyes of investors, his strategy will not be wrong.

As a result, the stock of New Era Group is still strong, although the Heung Kong stock market continued to fall in early June, and as of Wednesday, June 10, it has fallen to 9,500 points, reaching the investment line of Lin Zuhui.

The stock of New Era Group is still in the early 400 billion Hong Kong dollars, and it firmly maintains the 'legendary' signboard.

Lin Zuhui is not very heartbroken about spending $288 million more than expected this time, but he does not plan to do so.

Maersk's Liang Zi has already taken over, and he will see Times Shipping surpass Maersk's market share before Muller's death, as well as see Times Shipping make a lot of money.

At the same time, the New Era Group lost more than 2 billion Hong Kong dollars, so naturally it had to find a way to make up for it.