Return to 1958 and build a century-old giant

Chapter 883 The Power of Big Capital
"Did you leak this information?" Yang Wendong asked Barney.

Barney shook his head and said, "No, we can't just reveal this kind of thing without the client's permission. I guess it was when the Chicago Harvester Company was negotiating with them that they mentioned that other people wanted to buy these shares."
"If DAF finds out and investigates, they might discover it was us. After all, we visited the Chicago Harvester Company the day before yesterday; many people within that company know about it. It's quite possible that DAF bribed someone there."

“That’s possible, but it doesn’t really matter. We have indeed acquired DAF’s stock, and we’ll still need to negotiate with them later.” Yang Wendong nodded, then said to his assistant, “Have them come over this afternoon.”

The assistant replied, "Yes, Mr. Yang."

In the afternoon, a man and a woman, both extremely tall Scandinavians, arrived at the hotel where Yang Wendong was staying.

"I'm Joseph, and this is my assistant, Linda," Joseph introduced himself. "It's a great honor to meet Mr. Yang."

"Hello, please have a seat," Yang Wendong said.

The group sat down and, without much small talk, quickly got down to business. Joseph asked, "Mr. Yang, we know you are planning to acquire shares of my company, Duff, from Chicago Harvester Company. What is your purpose in this acquisition?"

Yang Wendong replied directly, "Mr. Joseph, after I successfully complete the procurement, I will go to your company's headquarters in Europe to discuss this matter with your board of directors."

Joseph said, "I'm afraid that won't work. We will not give up the share buyback. If you insist on doing so, it will turn into a price war between us, which will only benefit Chicago Harvester Company in the end."

Yang Wendong laughed and said, "Perhaps, but I am determined to win. Although I know your company is of some size, it is probably not enough to compete with me in terms of capital. If you are unaware of my situation, you can send someone to investigate."

Faced with a strategic acquisition, he couldn't back down because of a little extra cost; besides, it was only tens of millions of dollars, and a few dozen percentage points more wouldn't make much difference. His intention was also to scare the other party away.

Joseph said, "We know something about Mr. Yang's situation. In terms of financial resources, we certainly can't compare to you. That's why we've come to negotiate. The European board of directors also wants to know what your purpose is."

"Can you represent your company's board of directors?" Yang Wendong asked after a moment's thought.

Joseph nodded and said, "Yes, I have obtained authorization from the board of directors to come and discuss this matter with you."

“Alright, I’ll get straight to the point,” Yang Wendong said. “I want to acquire your company. This 30% stake is just the first step. I will go to Europe to discuss this matter with you later.”
Regarding price, everything is negotiable; I will definitely offer your shareholders a satisfactory price.

In fact, he had already sent people to Europe to check on the situation of DAF, and the results were quite good. Although it could not compare with top truck manufacturers such as Volvo, MAN, and Mercedes in terms of scale, it was still considered to be in the second or third tier. It also had some reputation in the European market, and its technology was not bad either.

For Yang Wendong, that's enough. He needs companies like this. Only if they aren't top-tier companies will he avoid being harassed by many countries when investing in mainland China. Besides, DAF is based in the Netherlands, so the company is relatively neutral.

The most convenient thing is that this company was established very early on, and it was originally a family business. Now, the Doyle family no longer owns much of the shares in it.

“Acquire our company? Absolutely not,” Joseph quickly refused.

Yang Wendong said, “Every commodity has a price. As long as the price is right, I think your company’s directors and shareholders will be willing. Although you are now representing the board of directors, you are not qualified to make decisions for them.”

“Alright, I will inform the European board about this.” Joseph knew he couldn't overstep his bounds.
He had also investigated the identity of the person in front of him; he was a super-rich man with enormous influence in Europe and America. If the acquisition was successful, he would become his boss.

Yang Wendong said, "Alright, you can inform the European side first. If they agree, I will go to Europe immediately to negotiate with them. If they don't agree, then please ask Goldman Sachs to go to Europe."

He wouldn't personally participate in negotiations if it wasn't an industry he was good at; he'd just leave it to Goldman Sachs. Since Goldman Sachs had introduced the deal, he was obligated to pay commission according to investment banking rules, so naturally he needed to entrust them with full authority.

Joseph replied, "Okay."

"Also, I hope you can give me more information about the situation in Europe, such as which shareholders are willing to sell and the attitude of the Doyle family. This will benefit you," Yang Wendong hinted.

Joseph understood what he meant, and said, "Mr. Yang, I need to think about it."

"Okay, then let's do it this way." Yang Wendong nodded and said.

After a while, Joseph left. Barney said, "The Doyle family of Duff Company doesn't have much control over the company. Even if they don't agree, I will contact the other shareholders. If nothing unexpected happens, there shouldn't be any problems at the company level."
But if a company of this size is acquired by a foreign company, it will definitely involve the Dutch government. You need to consider DAF's employment and its cooperation with the military.

Yang Wendong said, "That's not a problem. As for employment, according to the rules, I will guarantee the same number of jobs for the next two years. As for the cooperation with the military, DAF is only providing trucks, so I can do without that business."

Maintaining the same number of employees does not mean no layoffs; this is also to ensure that some employees do not slack off after the acquisition.

As for DAF's cooperation with the military, it's not very deep; it only involves providing some military vehicles. He can give up this order.

There are gains and losses. As a foreign investor, he doesn't want to get involved with the military of any country. Besides, the Netherlands is a small country, and its military is not something to be trifled with. The whole of Europe is under the protection of the United States, and the Dutch military doesn't have many contracts.

If they acquire DAF and expand into the mainland market, the resulting market size would be large enough to allow DAF to grow more than tenfold.

“Okay, that makes things much simpler,” Barney nodded and said.

Yang Wendong added, "However, I still hope that it can be a normal, friendly acquisition; otherwise, there will be a lot of disputes."

Let alone overseas, even in Hong Kong, he still prefers friendly acquisitions. Hostile acquisitions may seem powerful, but they are costly and cause management problems after the acquisition.

Barney added, "Yes, let's see what the European side says. What about the Chicago harvester company?"

"Let's wait and see. If the European side agrees, we won't need to bid anymore. If they don't, we'll bid higher and get it." Yang Wendong replied.

Different outcomes require different approaches. Barney said, "Okay."

Two days later, Yang Wendong met with Joseph again and was told that the Doyle family disagreed, but some people on the board of directors felt that they should negotiate, and the dispute between the two sides was quite significant.

Yang Wendong asked, "What percentage of the total shares do those who agreed to the negotiations hold?"

Joseph shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, I don't know either. I don't know the percentage of shares held by the company's shareholders, but it should be at least 20 or 30 percent."

“That’s enough. Go back to the Doyle family again. If they don’t agree, I will force them to acquire enough shares. But if they can cooperate, I can promise that their family will continue to manage the company after the acquisition,” Yang Wendong said, half-threateningly.

Joseph quickly replied, "Okay, I'll be right back."

After he left, Barney said, "Why go through all this trouble? Just buy 50% of the shares and let them leave."

“My goal is not to drive out the founder’s family, but to ensure the company runs smoothly, so there’s no need to do that unless absolutely necessary,” Yang Wendong said, shaking his head.

Barney asked curiously, "Then what is your purpose in acquiring the trucking company? If there is a further step, Goldman Sachs would be very willing to continue our cooperation."

"Let's talk about the next step after this step is completed," Yang Wendong said, deliberately baiting the issue by not revealing his true intentions directly.

His goal is naturally the mainland market; as for Europe, he can just maintain the old model and doesn't need to make huge profits.
Outsiders are naturally unaware of this. It should be noted that Yang Wendong has already invested heavily in the automotive industry, including sales channels covering several continents. Investment banks such as Goldman Sachs are unclear about his strategic objectives.
While he has indeed allowed Mini to invest in mainland China, in this era, no one can predict the future of the mainland economy, nor would anyone believe that Yang Wendong is paying such a high price just for the mainland market.

Of course, for Yang Wendong, even without the mainland market, these industries are not actually losing money; they are all normal industries and can still be profitable.

Barney said, "Alright, then let's hope the Doyle family will be sensible."

Three days later, Joseph sent another message from the Doyle family, expressing their willingness to negotiate with Yang Wendong and inviting him to the Netherlands.

Yang Wendong did not hesitate and immediately boarded a plane to Amsterdam, Netherlands.
He had been to Europe many times, but this was his first time visiting the Netherlands. The Doyle family sent a core member to pick him up at the airport, and then took him to the DAF factory, where they showed him around the factory.

"Your company doesn't have that many production lines." That was Yang Wendong's first impression.

Sandeldor replied, "Mr. Yang, you should be comparing yourself to car companies. Our truck industry has far fewer trucks than cars, and we have a wider variety of models, including heavy trucks, medium trucks, and light trucks."
Furthermore, even for the same type of truck, the requirements for carrying different loads vary, making standardized production difficult.

Unless it's a large truck manufacturer like Volvo or Mercedes, the cabs for some models might be produced using an assembly line model.

"I see." Yang Wendong nodded.

He wasn't very familiar with this. In his previous life, he did have access to information through the internet, but under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have been interested in trucks.

Since it wasn't an assembly line, there wasn't much to see for Yang Wendong and the others. On-site, the work mainly relied on manual operation by employees, but there were also many mechanical devices used in conjunction, such as forklifts and cranes for handling heavy objects.

An hour later, Yang Wendong and others also appeared in an office in front of the workshop:
After exchanging pleasantries, they got down to business. Sandeldoll asked, "Mr. Yang, we would like to inquire why you want to acquire our company?"

"To be precise, I want to acquire a truck company, but there isn't an opportunity in many other countries. Your company is a more suitable target," Yang Wendong said.

In Europe, businesses are traditionally operated under a family model, while in the United States, the focus is on national defense and security, which left him somewhat at a loss.
However, Duff Company is a bit peculiar. It was established early enough that its shares were distributed very early on, and a small portion of them were in the United States, where Goldman Sachs discovered them.

Sandel said, “Mr. Yang, our family has also conducted some research on your businesses. Although we have Mini cars, we have no experience in trucks. If you acquire our company, it will not be a good choice for either you or our company.”

“That’s not a problem. As long as your family cooperates with my acquisition, your family will continue to manage the company. As long as there are no major problems, I will absolutely not interfere,” Yang Wendong promised. “You can look at Mini in the UK; they are all run by the original management team.”

He didn't have the talent to manage this kind of company, so it was natural for him to let the original team continue to manage it.

This additional benefit is that it will be easier to persuade the management of other companies during future acquisitions.

Sandel said, "If you only want to invest, then we can give up competing with you for 30% of the shares of Chicago Harvester Company, and you can become a director of my company and obtain a board seat. How about that?"

“I’m afraid it’s too late. My people have already contacted Duff’s shareholders, and they’re willing to sell their shares at a high price,” Barney said with a smile.

Sandel's expression changed, and he asked, "Mr. Yang, are you really going to do this?"

Yang Wendong nodded and said, "I know it's not a good idea to do this, so I can give your family sufficient compensation and future management rights. This is my goodwill. Since things have come to this, there is no room for further discussion. I also hope to have a long-term cooperation with your family."

For such small companies, even if they are not publicly listed, once their shares are held by outsiders, they don't care about costs, and with the help of Goldman Sachs, their fate is almost sealed.

Yang Wendong was also trying to stabilize the management team; otherwise, he wouldn't have needed to appear in public.

This is the power of big capital.

Sandel frowned and said, "I need a few days to discuss this with the family."

"No problem," Yang Wendong agreed.
PS: Please give me a monthly ticket
(End of this chapter)