Return to 1958 and build a century-old giant

Chapter 955 The Huge Returns from Investing in Chrysler

"Okay, I'll contact you again once I've finalized the project plan." Jobs agreed without much thought.
On the one hand, although his net worth is not low now, it is no longer the time when it was easy to start a business like in the mid-70s, especially in the computer field, where there are hundreds or thousands of companies, as well as giants like Apple and IBM. His capital may not be enough, and he needs external funding to develop.
On the other hand, Best Buy, controlled by Yang Wendong, is the largest computer sales and after-sales service center in the United States and even the world. Any computer or home appliance company that can be deliberately favored by Best Buy will receive tremendous help.

Yang Wendong smiled and said, "Okay, I'm also looking forward to your second venture, but as a friend, I have a suggestion: you might need to change your personality a bit."

No company can rely on just one person, not even the founder. You need to cooperate appropriately with others, rather than going it alone.

Steve Jobs was too arrogant when he was young. In his twenties, he became an entrepreneurial hero in the United States, leading the trend of personal computer entrepreneurship. He was even received by the President of the United States and was featured in Time magazine. All of this made him too arrogant.

But that's normal. Young people are often impetuous, and not many young people can maintain a calm and composed mindset after achieving such success.

It was only because Yang Wendong was a time traveler with enough experience from his previous life that he became arrogant. Otherwise, if a normal person had achieved such success in early Hong Kong, they would probably have become even more arrogant, just like the historical Liu.

After listening, Jobs was silent for a moment, then said, "Okay, I'll be careful."

He has already begun to learn from his previous failures.

"Okay, let's leave it at that then. I'll treat you to a casual meal later. Don't overthink it, let's chat a bit more," Yang Wendong said with a smile.

After being ousted from Apple, Jobs' second venture in history was a great success.
Of course, due to the times, it was impossible for him to be comparable to another Apple, but that did not prevent him from eventually becoming one of the richest people in the United States and influencing the entire animation industry.

Not to mention the groundbreaking products he created after returning to Apple, such as the iMac, iPod, iPhone, and iPad;

Although he may have taken over this area now, even if he had, with Jobs' abilities, he would very likely have come up with other new things.

The only pity is that he neglected his health in his later years, which caused his previously treatable illness to deteriorate rapidly, ultimately leading to his death.
However, for the mainland, this matter has both advantages and disadvantages. If geniuses like Jobs continue to exist, the US is very likely to completely control the electronics industry.
Yang Wendong is unsure what the future holds; he'll just have to wait and see.

After chatting with Steve Jobs, Yang Wendong felt that he had learned a lot. People who can succeed multiple times in one era are all extremely skilled, and there is absolutely no doubt about that.
Subsequently, Yang Wendong inspected several industries in Los Angeles. These industries, which he had nurtured in the early stages, are now able to operate on their own, and in most cases, Yang Wendong, as the boss, doesn't need to worry about them too much.

When an industry develops to the point of becoming an industry giant, unless there is a revolutionary change like that of smartphones, he, as a time traveler, doesn't need to worry about it anymore.
After spending a few days in Los Angeles, Yang Wendong took a private jet to Detroit, the Motor City of America.

Chrysler had already arranged for a vice president to pick him up at the airport: "Mr. Yang, hello, I am Fuller, the vice president of Chrysler. I have come here to welcome you on behalf of Mr. Eckka."

"Hello." Yang Wendong shook hands politely as well;
As Chrysler's largest private shareholder, Chrysler naturally had to make preparations to welcome Yang Wendong to Detroit.

“Mr. Ikeka is already waiting for you at headquarters,” Fuller continued.

Yang Wendong said, "Okay, let's go."

He didn't talk much with the vice president. His purpose in coming to Chrysler was naturally to find Lee Iacocca.

On the way, Yang Wendong looked at the thick smoke from the surrounding factories and the workers on the road, and asked with a smile, "Mr. Fuller, judging from Detroit's appearance, it seems that it has fully recovered from the economic crisis."

Fuller replied with a smile, "Yes, Mr. Yang, as you know, interest rates in the United States have dropped and the overall economy has recovered somewhat. In addition, international oil prices have fallen below ten dollars. Now, not only Chrysler, but other major American automakers have returned to normal, or even better."

"Congratulations, Chrysler, you've finally pulled yourself out of the predicament," Yang Wendong said with a nod.
Six years have passed since the second oil crisis, and the high oil prices and the economic damage they caused have gradually recovered. Meanwhile, industrial development in Southeast Asia has led to a large influx of cheap industrial goods into Europe and the United States, reducing inflation in those regions.

More importantly, oil prices are not only returning to normal, but remaining at a lower level than during the second oil crisis, because the Middle East is frantically expanding production capacity.
On the one hand, the cost of oil extraction in the Middle East is extremely low; oil will come out as soon as you drill a well. In order to gain a larger market share, what they do at this time is somewhat like a price war.
On the other hand, relations between the Middle East and the United States have improved, and the United States has also deliberately asked the Middle East to lower oil prices. This would benefit its own economic recovery while also hitting Russia's oil exports, because Russia's oil extraction costs are much higher than Saudi Arabia's.

This is why polar bears have not been profitable in oil exports for many years, coupled with a huge food shortage, which ultimately led to that point.
Meanwhile, the American auto industry experienced a resurgence. Having forgotten its past mistakes, it amassed huge profits with large-displacement, spacious vehicles, even abandoning research and development into fuel-efficient cars.
It can be said that the future failure of the American auto industry is half due to labor unions and half due to its own shortsightedness.

Fuller smiled and said, "I still want to thank Mr. Yang for his investment back then, and Mr. Icoka is also very grateful to you."

"I was just making a normal investment, and now I've seen a return," Yang Wendong said with a faint smile.

Chrysler returned to normal and even repaid the $15 billion loan from the US government five years earlier last year. Its profits for the entire year of 1984 reached $24 billion, a truly staggering figure.

Of course, there's something fishy about this figure, as it includes the sale of some assets, but the profits from it are also substantial.

His initial investment of $300 million has naturally increased in value, now reaching approximately $14 billion as Chrysler's stock price has more than doubled.
More than half an hour later, Yang Wendong arrived at Chrysler's headquarters and met with Eckhart.

“Hello, Eric,” Lee Iacocca said with a smile, shaking hands.

"Iacocca, it's been a long time," Yang Wendong said, shaking hands with him in return. It had been several years since he invested in Chrysler, and he hadn't visited the company. He had entrusted all voting rights to Iacocca, a verbal agreement reached with her when he invested.
After exchanging pleasantries, the secretary brought out several cups of coffee, and the conversation gradually got down to business.

Lee Iacocca asked, "Eric, you haven't been to Chrysler in the last few years. Is there something you need this time?"

Yang Wendong said, "Yes, I'm going to cash out my Chrysler stock."

He holds 19.9% ​​of Chrysler stock. With so many shares, whether he gradually sells them on the stock market or sells them to other large capital firms, it is impossible to keep it a secret from Chrysler itself.

Furthermore, if one is cashing out in the stock market, one must comply with many regulations of the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the process of gradually cashing out is very slow.

"Don't you have a positive outlook on Chrysler's future?" Lee Iacocca asked. "Chrysler is developing very rapidly right now, especially its MPV models. Last year, it sold 20 units in the United States, and this year it is preparing to enter the European market. Selling 30 units would be easy."

“I know all that, but now that Chrysler is back to normal, it's not really appropriate for me, a foreigner and a major shareholder,” Yang Wendong said. “Besides, my investments have never been about pursuing perfection; I'm prepared to exit when things are about right.”

These are excuses, but also part of the reason. Chrysler is in the automotive industry, which is a core industry that any country values. Foreign control not only restricts it, but also risks causing trouble at any time.
Previously, when Chrysler was barely surviving, the U.S. Department of Commerce didn't have much of an opinion on the investment. Now that Chrysler has been fully revived, things are naturally different.

That's how the American government is, and even the whole West is like that. They claim to be civilized, but they're actually the biggest robbers.

Of course, sometimes, in order to uphold the slogan of free trade, most people still maintain the rules that are in their own favor; but if free trade becomes unfavorable to them, they will turn their backs on them, but that's something that will happen a long time later.

Another reason is that Chrysler was at its peak in 85, and then began to decline slowly. It was even about to have a huge international public opinion conflict with the mainland because of the Jeep incident. He didn't want to be caught in the middle, otherwise it would be a real pain.
“Hmm,” Lee Iacocca nodded and said, “Eric, you are also a top global investor. Since you’ve already made your decision, I won’t say anything more. How do you plan to make your move?”

Yang Wendong asked, "I'd also like to discuss this with you. After all, we're friends, and you're the company's CEO, so I respect your opinion."

Li Aicoka thought for a moment and said, "Selling through the stock market is not good for either of us, I don't need to say more about that, so you can only sell to some large investment institutions."
I won't interfere with who you sell to, as long as it's legal; that's your prerogative. However, I hope you don't sell it to a single organization. Ideally, you should divide it into five or six parts and sell them to different organizations or individuals.

"Are you worried that someone will seize control of Chrysler?" Yang Wendong asked with a smile;

In the United States, many publicly traded companies have been listed for decades or even a century, and their equity has long been diluted. A 20% shareholder, if they also have some other background, can indeed compete for control of a company.

Li Aicoka nodded and said, "Yes, in my position, of course I would be worried about this. Not everyone is like you, who invests and then doesn't ask any questions."
Besides, you're not American, so I'm not worried about your ulterior motives. But if you sell it to another American institution, that's a different story.

Yang Wendong's investments, both in the United States and other parts of the world, are generally characterized by a hands-off approach after the investment is made, including investments in General Electric, Coca-Cola, Nike, Walmart, Intel, and others.

Furthermore, as a foreigner, even if he controls a large number of Chrysler shares, he cannot gain management control.

The automotive industry is not like other beverage or supermarket industries. If it were those industries, Yang Wendong could try to compete for them and the US government might not necessarily interfere. But the automotive and heavy industry industries will definitely be strictly restricted.

“I understand.” Yang Wendong thought for a moment, then suddenly said, “But even if I sell to multiple people after I make my move, there’s no guarantee that these investors won’t cooperate, or that they won’t sell to each other again, so the risk still exists.”

After listening, Li Ai Keka also thought it made sense, so he asked, "So what are your thoughts?"

Yang Wendong said, "Chrysler currently has a considerable amount of cash reserves, plus quarterly profits of $3 million. With Chrysler's own financial strength, it is entirely possible to repurchase the shares I hold."

“I understand what you mean.” Li Aicoka glanced at Yang Wendong and immediately understood what he meant;
Yang Wendong continued, "In this way, the problem you are worried about will not exist. After the repurchase of my shares, apart from me, Chrysler's shareholding will remain the same, and this will absolutely not affect your team's management rights."

“That’s true.” After a moment of contemplation, Li Aikeka said, “However, even as CEO, I can’t make such a big decision on my own. I need to consult with the board of directors and shareholders.”

“Sure, I’m not in a hurry,” Yang Wendong said nonchalantly.

This year has been Chrysler's peak, so whether he sells his shares sooner or later doesn't really make much difference to him.

Even if Chrysler's management and board of directors ultimately disagree, they can simply sell their shares to other institutions.

He owns Chrysler stock worth $14 billion, and selling it would essentially make that much of a profit.

When they invested in Chrysler years ago, they were already planning to sell this year. On paper, they could make around $11 billion.
However, the US still has to pay taxes, but with some tax avoidance measures, it's still possible to make a net profit of one billion US dollars.

Li Aikeka smiled and said, "Alright, I'll hold a management meeting this afternoon, followed by a board meeting in a few days. I'll let you know when we have the results."

"Okay," Yang Wendong nodded in agreement.
PS: Please give me a monthly ticket
(End of this chapter)