A week later, in the presidential suite at the Hilton Hotel in New York City, Jim Hughes arrived with the trophy of victory.

"Mr. Chen, several senior employees of the Disney family have agreed to leave the company, but the severance pay they ask for is a bit high." After Jim Hughes finished speaking, he handed over a blank piece of paper with numbers on it.

"16 people, a total of 12 million US dollars!" After Chen Zhiwen read the figures, he frowned and said, "These people are all high-level executives in Disney? ”

"Almost half, the other are the heads of some non-core departments or department heads, such as administration, personnel, logistics, there are only 5 people, which are the core leaders of the company, respectively managing 2 parks, film business and cartoon business, and the other person is CEO Ron Miller." Jim Hughes introduced.

"These 5 people, you can talk to them, you can give severance pay, just negotiate the price appropriately, and the rest, according to American law, just do the dismissal compensation, if you don't agree, then stay, and when I get the controlling stake in Disney, then there will be no money." Chen Zhiwen thought for a while and said.

Otherwise, if the other party leaves directly, the business is not handed over, and important things are not explained, which may cause greater losses in the future, plus the time for the acquisition may be delayed, therefore, paying a fee is already a business consensus.

As in the original history, Niu Bijian, who operated Jardine Land to a debt of nearly 20 billion Hong Kong dollars, received a severance pay of $1 million when he was driven out by the Keswick family, and Bao Fuda also had almost $600,000.

But this money will only be given to the high-level, those small fish and shrimp who rely on relationships to enter the company, it is not worth it, these people, it is estimated that they have also sucked a lot of blood from the company over the years, and they are not investigated, but also because of the need for acquisition, which is also a kind of acquiescence, otherwise it is too desperate, and if you acquire other companies in the future, you may be fully boycotted.

"Okay, that's no problem, I'll talk to them again, but this itself is also a majority of 5 high-level executives, and there are too many of them." Jim Hughes reminded.

"I know this, what should I do next?" Chen Zhiwen asked.

"All that's left is to negotiate the purchase price with Disney's shareholder representatives, but with Disney's current operating situation plus debt, the price we offer is already very good, and with a little more time, we should be able to get it." Jim Hughes said: "If the price is negotiated, then you need to submit a formal application to the U.S. Department of Commerce, which may take a while, but we can get the requirements of the Department of Commerce first, and if you don't agree, we at Morgan Stanley need to negotiate with the Department of Commerce, and if we agree, or after negotiation, we need to go through the normal process."

According to the law, foreign acquisitions of U.S. companies of more than $500 million or involving some sensitive technologies need to be heard, and we will be responsible for this part, and this is a long time later, even if it is fast, it will take several months. ”

"Okay, negotiate the price, and then get the conditions of the Ministry of Commerce." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.

This kind of large-scale multinational acquisition, no matter how smooth it is, it will take a few months, and he naturally can't stay in the United States for that long, but the important thing, at least know first, and then make the corresponding decision, that is, to guide the team that negotiates with the other party or the government here, and then even if he is in Hong Kong, then follow up according to the remote phone, and if it doesn't work, he can come again, anyway, it is very convenient to have a private jet.

"Okay, I'll let you know when there's further news." Jim Hughes said.

……

The negotiation of the price involves funds, and one point is as high as 10 million US dollars, and the two sides are naturally unwilling to make too many concessions, especially when Chen Zhiwen knows that these shareholders especially want to sell, and these shareholders also know that Chen Zhiwen is not really indifferent, so they naturally fall into the process of the game.

However, when it will end, in fact, it depends entirely on the opinions of the bosses behind the two parties, and if one party agrees, then the matter will be over.

Although Chen Zhiwen wants to collect Disney as soon as possible, but the work has reached this point, and the final outcome will inevitably be successful, so if you can save a little money, you naturally need to save a little more, otherwise, the price of inviting Morgan Stanley is not low, even if it is discounted, this money is spent, it is naturally worth the money, the best thing for investment banks is to find loopholes in the other party to reduce prices, and at this moment, Morgan Investment Bank can be said to use all its strength to find possible mistakes in Disney's finance and operation.

The first is to reduce the cost of acquisition for their own customers, and the second is to avoid problems that customers do not find after the acquisition, which is not only for the interests of customers but also for themselves. Because if this kind of acquisition can save money for customers and ensure that there are no major loopholes, it will naturally be able to increase the resume of successful acquisitions of their investment banks, so as to attract other customers who need large-scale acquisitions, otherwise this is another direction, especially if it brings a big hole to customers in the future, although Morgan Stanley has a way to avoid legal liability, but the reputation of investment banks will definitely be lost.

And during this time, Chen Zhiwen also has other things, now in the United States, he also has a lot of industries, such as AMC automobile business, with the collapse of national oil prices and the gradual recovery of the American economy, the automobile business has also begun to recover, and the traditional large and high fuel consumption cars have begun to rise again.

People in the American market are always not healed and forget the pain, a few years ago they were worried about not being able to refuel, and now they are keen on cars with high fuel consumption and high power.

However, this is a good thing for Chen Zhiwen, the sales of his own cars are also increasing, and the internal capital chain of the automobile company has also begun to flow, and Chen Zhiwen does not need to pay extra money to subsidize.

However, in the long run, AMC used to be more fuel-efficient than the three major auto giants, and now it is directly facing Japanese cars, that is to say, Japanese cars are the biggest threat to AMC.

Even if Chen Zhiwen is trying to increase his marketing capabilities, such as acquiring Chrysler's 330 car sales stores, investing in building sales channels in Southeast Asia, and exporting to the mainland with small profits to ensure more orders, etc., these are palliatives but not root causes, and can only alleviate the short-term dilemma.

While Morgan Stanley and Disney's shareholder representatives were fighting fiercely to get the right price for themselves, Chen Zhiwen came to Detroit, the headquarters of AMC: the city of automobiles.

The one who came to pick up the airport was naturally the Chinese with the highest status within AMC - Gu Dehua.

Although considering cultural issues, the entire AMC is still the original team responsible for all the business operations, but Chen Zhiwen's communication with this side is still mainly through Gu Dehua, so that it is convenient for him, not only in terms of language, but as an experienced Chinese in the workplace, he can understand what Chen Zhiwen means many times, and the second is to give Gu Dehua a high enough status in AMC, no matter how he says that he is the boss, and the bigger things within the company still need to be approved or authorized by himself.

However, there is a balance in everything, Gu Dehua and the American management are a balance, and many Chinese arranged by Chen Zhiwen in AMC will also check and balance Gu Dehua, not to mention power, it is what major events happen within AMC, Chen Zhiwen can also know clearly, and in terms of eyeliner, Chen Zhiwen has a lot.

The pick-up convoy was a row of Lincolns, and Chen Zhiwen asked curiously: "When did you change this car?" ”

Gu Dehua said with a smile: "When the general environment was not very good before, Lincoln's factory had too much production capacity, so it shipped a batch of goods to the surrounding enterprises at cost price, and a few reception cars before AMC were a little old, so I bought a few new ones, because the price was not very high, so I didn't notify you there." ”

"Oh, it doesn't matter." Chen Zhiwen said indifferently: "Recently, the U.S. market has picked up, how is AMC's production capacity recovering?" ”

"It's much better than before, but it still hasn't returned to the state before 78 years, if the price of oil doesn't rise, it will get better and better, but our small car, the main thing is to save fuel, and the conflict with the Japanese is very serious, we have also tested a lot of different models of Toyota Honda before, in terms of fuel efficiency, we are really not comparable, especially their car is very light, although there is a suspicion of saving materials, but on the whole, it is still a very good car." Gu Dehua said.

"We don't have to think about catching up with them in what they are good at, we have our direction, how is the development of turbocharging technology?" Chen Zhiwen asked calmly, compared with the fuel consumption of Japanese cars, especially A-class cars, it is estimated that it can only wait until the emergence of electric vehicles in the future, in the fuel vehicle market, even if it can be realized, it is very difficult, the first mover generally has a lot of technical experience and patent barriers, and the later people want to catch up basically unrealistic.

"The prototype has been made, and our test results have shown that it can be more powerful, but there are still problems to overcome, such as noise, life, vibration, etc." Gu Dehua said.

"Okay, let's go check it out first." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.

Soon, several people came to AMC Company, and the American executives were also at the door to greet them, and the follow-up reception was ready, but Chen Zhiwen was not interested and went directly to the laboratory.

The technical expert is a 60-year-old Yankee, speaking English with an accent, and told Chen Zhiwen for a long time, although Chen Zhiwen does not understand technology, but he is also very polite to listen to, but he didn't understand anything, and it is difficult to speak professional English, and then with an accent.

"Mr. Mark, how many kilometers will our turbines have to last if they are driven normally?" Chen Zhiwen asked.

"It's about 50,000 kilometers, and in terms of materials, we still need to continue testing to find a more suitable one, and we also need to build a new cooling system to dissipate heat from the turbine." Mark said.

"I know that Saab in Europe launched a turbocharged car a few years ago, have you studied their car?" Chen Zhiwen asked, at the end of the 70s, Sweden's Saab was the world's first car to use turbocharging technology, and Chen Zhiwen also knew about it, but the technology was not very clear.

Mark said: "Saab's turbocharging technology is indeed much stronger than ours, and it has been tested by the market, and we have sent people to Saab to visit before to seek cooperation or buy related technology, but it was refused, and I heard that GM is the same." ”

"This kind of technology is unlikely to be sold, so we can only rely on our own research." Chen Zhiwen said that although he does not understand technology, he understands business, this revolutionary technology in the automobile industry, whoever masters it can get the first opportunity, how can it be sold at will.

"Yes, we can only rely on ourselves, in fact, we have obtained some good materials, the life is long enough, this material is mainly used in the aviation field, but the cost is too high, we need to find a balance between cost and technology." Mark said again.

"The research and development of materials really depends on luck." Chen Zhiwen nodded, and asked again, "Is there any quick solution?" ”

One of the problems that trapped turbine technology in later generations is the material, because this thing needs to work in a high-temperature environment for a long time, and it is difficult to cool it quickly in a small space as small as a car, no matter how much it is optimized.

Of course, some schemes, in fact, have been solved by a few now, but other people's things already have patents, and similar to Saab and Porsche are high-end cars, and the cost of direct use of aviation for turbos is not a problem, but AMC is obviously not good.

The most complex automotive technology, in fact, is not a high-end sports car or a manual Rolls-Royce, but the most basic A-class car, B-class car or small and medium-sized SUV, and the most cost-effective car is produced at the lowest cost, which is the most difficult technology in the automotive industry. This has almost perverted requirements for technology research and development, materials, and quality.

"Boss, the method is, that is, the cost is relatively high, our AMC R&D team is not weak in the whole United States, but it is far worse than the three giants, and the material part, the most powerful research and development is still various university laboratories, steel mill laboratories and other institutions, if we can entrust them to research and development, it will be much faster." Mark suggested.

"You mean to find a lot of companies to develop at the same time?" Chen Zhiwen understood the meaning, because it didn't cost much to find a company to develop at all.

"Yes, for example, if we look for a R&D team with a long high temperature durability and life, and find a few more, the probability of success will inevitably be higher, which is a cost problem." Mark said with a smile.

"Okay, I agree, you can prepare the list and the approximate cost, if it's okay." Chen Zhiwen nodded, although the turbo technology has been developed by others, it is used in high-end cars, if AMC can use turbo on medium-priced models, it is definitely an advantage, although it is difficult to make its level rise significantly, but it can also get more markets.

In comparison, spending a little more on R&D is nothing, and the R&D of automobiles itself is hundreds of millions of dollars, or because this is the 80s, the currency value is high, and in more than ten years, you can't get it without a billion dollars.

The foundation of AMC is not very good, and it is indeed difficult for it to engage in this kind of too professional material research and development, and small companies, some things should be outsourced, just concentrate on what they are good at.

Moreover, in the automotive industry, ten years is short for a technology from the laboratory to the application, and if money can buy time, Chen Zhiwen is still willing.

PS: Let me ask you a question, is it uncomfortable for me to write this way, jumping from one thing to another?

The main thing is that this kind of large-scale acquisition, in practice, it takes a year or two is the norm, I have reduced this time in the middle, but it will take a few months anyway, you have to consider a little reasonableness, in this process, the demand for the protagonist is not very high, so I am used to writing something else, otherwise the time will be wasted.

If that's really not good, you like to end one thing at a time, then I'll write like this from now on.

(End of chapter)