Return to 1958 and build a century-old giant

Chapter 884 Investing in Nokia

Over the next few days, Yang Wendong visited several tourist attractions in the Netherlands, while Goldman Sachs held several more communications with the Doyle family.
Ultimately, three days later, the Doyle family agreed to Yang Wendong's acquisition plan;

In reality, they had no choice. On one side were top Asian conglomerates and top American investment banks, and on the other side was a small, ordinary European family with only modest wealth.

Even if they disagree, once Goldman Sachs acquires shares in Chicago Harvester Company plus shares from several other European shareholders, giving them a stake of over 50%, the Doyle family's failure to cooperate will result in them being ousted. Furthermore, since the company is not publicly listed, they may not even be able to cash out their funds.
Now, Yang Wendong has directly offered $160 million to acquire the entire DAF Trucks company, a truck company that produces about 10,000 heavy trucks a year. This has become Changxing Group's second major acquisition in Europe.

However, this acquisition still needs the approval of the Dutch government, and Goldman Sachs has promised that they will get the Dutch government's approval.
So Yang Wendong stopped caring. He invited the investment bank for their network of contacts, and he wouldn't mind paying a commission as long as it helped him achieve his goal.

A few days later, Yang Wendong came to DAF Company again. This time, he arrived as the boss. The DAF family not only received a huge sum of money for cooperating with this acquisition, but will also continue to control the DAF Truck Group.

Looking at the large number of heavy trucks in the finished product area of ​​the workshop, Yang Wendong asked, "Do you produce small trucks?"

“A small truck, you mean one that can only carry three to five tons?” Sandel asked.

Yang Wendong said, "Yes, that's it."

Sandel said, "We used to produce them a long time ago, but we later switched to producing heavy trucks. You may not know this, but small trucks are not very popular in Europe. Heavy trucks are the most profitable and in the highest demand, especially after the advent of containers."

Many large truck companies in Europe primarily produce heavy-duty trucks; only a few small businesses manufacture these trucks because the market demand is too small.

Yang Wendong then asked, "Have the blueprints and technology for that small truck been preserved?"

Sandel replied, "The blueprints are still there, but the original technicians haven't been in contact with these materials for a long time and are unfamiliar with this area. Also, we don't know if the various suppliers are still around."

Mr. Yang, are you planning to build a mini-truck?

“We have this plan, but not in Europe, but in Asia,” Yang Wendong said. “In many parts of Asia, the economy is still relatively underdeveloped. Their transportation doesn’t need heavy trucks, and the roads can’t support them. Small trucks are more suitable.”

Now that they've acquired DAF, there's no need to keep this a secret anymore.

“Investing in Asia?” Sandel thought for a moment and said, “Okay, I understand. I’ll start arranging for people to reorganize the data. But it will probably be difficult to implement in our factory. The cost is too high. Making a single model, even the previous ones, is extremely expensive. It’s hard to find suppliers, and even if we do, they may not be able to make the molds for us.”

Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Okay, let's get the blueprints organized first, and we'll see what happens next."

The automotive industry involves huge investments, especially in research and development. Typically, there are massive upfront investments, which are then offset by huge sales volumes.

DAF may have blueprints from over a decade ago, but turning blueprints into actual products is very costly, and even money may not be enough. It requires the cooperation of many suppliers, and many suppliers are unlikely to engage in supporting R&D and expensive molds for just a few products.

The best approach is to send the blueprints to the joint venture factory in China, where there is a similar industrial chain and high market demand. If successful, this will create a virtuous economic cycle.

However, we need to finalize the cooperation terms with the domestic side first. It just so happens that the European side wants to reorganize a set of data, which will also take some time.

“Yes, Mr. Yang,” Sandel replied.

Yang Wendong added, "In addition, I will use my network of relationships in Asia to sell the heavy trucks that are currently being produced. However, if the quantity is sufficient, you will have to offer a lower price."

Although the demand for heavy trucks in Asia or the mainland is not large, this is at the national level, and the number needed each year is still considerable.

Historically, even after 2000, China still imported a lot of foreign trucks, and even more so in the 80s. If we could secure a portion of this business opportunity, it would be a huge order for a medium-sized European company like DAF.

Of course, to secure a large number of orders from the mainland market, price discounts are necessary.

Sandel laughed and said, "No problem, we'll definitely have a very good discount."

They also knew that their new boss was the head of a super conglomerate in Asia, whose assets spanned the globe and whose strength was in no way inferior to that of top European conglomerates.

“Alright, that’s settled then. As for the specific cooperation plan, I’ll send a team from Asia here later. They’ll have people in finance and some with technical backgrounds,” Yang Wendong continued. “Besides Asia, you can continue with the existing business in Europe and America.”

Sandel asked, "Mr. Yang, I know you have some connections in the United States. I wonder if you could help us expand into the American market?"

“I can’t do that. American trucks are completely different from European trucks. Very few European trucks can enter the American market.” Yang Wendong shook his head and said, “The American truck technology is also very strong. It’s not worth it for you to compete with them. You should prioritize Asia. It’s a blank market there.”

Those born in the 80s and 90s should remember that early trucks had an engine compartment in the front, but later they gradually became cab-over trucks.
This is actually a dispute between European and American standards. Americans prefer the engine compartment to be in the front, which makes the driver safer, while Europe prefers the latter, with the engine under the driver's buttocks.

The reason there are two development directions is because the United States has better road traffic and it is easier to make turns, while Europe is the opposite.
The reason why the mainland will choose the European model in the future is also due to transportation factors. European trucks are easier to operate, turn, and are more fuel-efficient.
Therefore, for Yang Wendong, choosing a European truck would actually be more suitable.

Sandel nodded and said, "Okay, I know what to do." "Alright," Yang Wendong nodded and said.
Over the next few days, Yang Wendong also looked into some companies in the Netherlands. After a long search and trying to recall, he still couldn't find any companies in the Netherlands that were worth investing in.

Historically, the Netherlands didn't seem to have many large companies; the few well-known ones were Royal Dutch Shell, ASML, and so on.
The former is a company controlled by the Dutch government, and it is now very large. Its future growth potential is limited, and the oil crisis is almost over. Investing in it is meaningless, and it has virtually no economic value.
The latter has not yet been established, but there is a company called ASM, which should be one of the predecessors of ASML. However, investing in ASML is meaningless. This company will essentially be an assembly plant in the future. Its core technology integrates the world's top industries, and this company is highly sensitive. If you get involved, the returns will be low if the scale is small, and if the scale is large, you may be suppressed in the future. It is not worth it.
As for other things, there's almost nothing. The Netherlands itself is not an industrial powerhouse; its main economy is still the service sector and agriculture.

Therefore, in early March, Yang Wendong left the Netherlands, where there were no more good investment opportunities. However, he did not return to Hong Kong but instead went to another Nordic country: Finland.

In March, it's still a bit chilly in Northern Europe. In terms of latitude, Northern Europe is comparable to Siberia. However, the presence of the Atlantic Ocean makes the winter temperatures in Europe much better. Otherwise, Europe would definitely become an unsuitable place to live.

In the past, Europe was the most radical in environmental protection. Besides the dominance of a group of liberals, another factor was that global warming would seriously affect the Atlantic warm current, which was a fatal threat to Europe.

In Finland, it was snowing lightly. Yang Wendong, wearing a thick down jacket, walked on the streets of Helsinki, the Finnish capital, which was a beautiful sight that you would never see in Hong Kong.

"Old Chen, how have things been in Northern Europe these past few years?" Yang Wendong asked with a smile, looking at a middle-aged man beside him.

Changxing Group's investments cannot be said to be all over the world, but its business is definitely all over the world. In the early days, it sold sticky notes and suitcases, and later various small home appliances. They have distributors in various places.
When any market reaches a certain size, Changxing Group will send a team to it.
Europe is also one of Changxing Group's huge markets, but there are too many countries involved, so the team is also larger.
In Northern Europe, although the area is not small, the population is not large, so a general team was set up to handle the business there, and the person in charge was Chen Jinhao, who was right next to him.

He was also one of the earliest employees of Changxing Group, and Yang Wendong had known him for a long time.

Chen Jinhao laughed and said, "It's not bad. The environment here in Northern Europe is very good, but it gets dark too early in winter and there is not much sun. I have been here for several years and I still can't get used to it."

"Yes, the lack of sunshine is indeed a problem. Perhaps we can take a winter vacation and go back to Hong Kong to avoid this time of year," Yang Wendong said, expressing his understanding.
The Nordic region is known for having the highest welfare system in the world, but it also has the highest rates of depression, one of the main factors being the lack of sunshine.

Chen Jinhao smiled and said, "Thank you very much, Mr. Yang."

"Yes, you're welcome. This is a perk you already enjoy." Yang Wendong looked around, then pointed to an illy coffee shop and said, "Let's go get a coffee. There are also some things I need to tell you."

Chen Jinhao said, "Okay."

He naturally knew that someone of his boss's status wouldn't casually ask him to go shopping; there must be something important going on.

After arriving at the coffee shop, the two each ordered a coffee and some snacks;
"It feels really nice to watch the snow falling outside in such a warm environment," Yang Wendong said with a smile.
This seems to be a common phenomenon; people can feel a sense of pleasure when they see rain outside from inside their rooms, though I don't know why.

Chen Jinhao laughed and said, "Yes, I feel the same way."

Yang Wendong took another sip of coffee and said, "It tastes good, a bit better than the ones in Hong Kong."

“People in Europe are quite good at drinking coffee, especially in Northern Europe,” Chen Jinhao said. “If you like, I can prepare some for you to take back to Hong Kong.”

“Okay, let’s go with the illy brand.” Yang Wendong nodded, then got down to business: “Old Chen, you know Nokia, right?”

“Nokia? I’ve heard of it. It’s a century-old company that used to be in forestry and papermaking. For the last ten years or so, it has been in the telecommunications industry. It’s a large company and one of the more well-known companies in Finland,” Chen Jinhao replied.

“Yes, it’s this company. I’m planning to buy its stock.” Yang Wendong said, “I will arrange for a financial team from the UK to come and help you. You will be in charge of the whole thing, and you can report to me as soon as there is progress.”

In Europe, there are many future top giants, but they are mostly giants from before World War II, such as those in traditional industries like heavy industry, chemicals, steel, and automobiles.
Nokia is a special case. It was indeed founded quite early and had a good reputation in this era, but it successfully seized the mobile phone market and became a top giant in the future, so it was natural for them to invest.

Although Honor Electronics will also make mobile phones in the future, it is hard to say how well it will succeed. Moreover, the market is huge, and even if it succeeds, Nokia should not be greatly affected.

"Mr. Yang, are you planning to acquire this company?" Chen Jinhao asked uncertainly.

Yang Wendong shook his head and said, "No, it's just an investment. You just need to take your finance team and negotiate with Nokia's existing shareholders to acquire their shares at a high price."

Like other European companies, Nokia was not publicly listed.
This is really giving Yang Wendong a headache. The top European giants all use this model, which is far less convenient than investing in some American companies himself.
But there's nothing we can do; that's just how reality is.

“Okay, I understand. If it’s just acquiring a portion of the shares, that shouldn’t be difficult,” Chen Jinhao replied.

Yang Wendong said, "Alright, I'll leave this matter to you. Don't worry about the funding; once you've negotiated everything, the funds will be in your account very soon."

Chen Jinhao said, "Okay, Mr. Yang."

Yang Wendong said, "Then that's settled. You go and collect information on Nokia and their shareholders. I won't get involved in this matter."

PS: Please give me a monthly ticket
(End of this chapter)