Return to 1958 and build a century-old giant

Chapter 957 Husky Energy

Dell's future certainly belongs to a top giant, but for now, it's still a tiny company.
Yang Wendong would generally not participate in this level of investment unless he was interested in Dell himself.

After the meeting with Dell, the rest was up to Rosen;

In the following days, Yang Wendong also spent a few days in Texas. The cowboy culture here is quite good, and there are many farms, including the farm he had bought before. Yang Wendong also made a special trip there.
Looking into the distance, there is an endless grassland and a wide river;

“Mr. Yang, there are many farms for sale in Texas right now. Would you like to consider it?” Rosen asked from the side.

Yang Wendong asked, "Why? What caused the large-scale sale of the farm?"

Rosen said, "Because the economy is recovering very quickly now, coupled with the Federal Reserve's interest rate cuts, the stock market has surged, and a lot of funds have begun to flow into the stock market."
So it's not just farms; many other industries are also cashing out their funds, intending to join in and participate in this massive stock market boom.

"I see." Yang Wendong smiled and then said, "No need. I've already been stockpiling land in South America with Goldman Sachs and other financial groups. We won't be involved in the United States."

With global oil prices falling, the economy in a period of rapid recovery, and the stock market itself being driven by a positive outlook, stock prices naturally surged. The prices of many stocks under Yang Wendong's control and investments also rose significantly.
In two years, we will witness the most famous stock market crash in global history in 1987. The essence of the stock market crash is to deflate the bubble, and this bubble is now gradually growing.

The deindustrialization of the United States basically began in the 80s. If it weren't for the explosive growth of the Internet industry that brought new economic growth points, the United States would probably have declined much earlier.
As for farmland, he doesn't plan to invest heavily in the United States. He's not American, so investing too much in the US wouldn't be beneficial.

If Tokyo University rises to prominence in the coming decades, my many fixed assets in the United States will become a burden.

“Okay, I understand.” Rosen continued, “Mr. Yang, the information about the American chain coffee shops that you asked me to look up a few days ago has been completed. Please take a look.”

"Okay, sure." Yang Wendong took the documents and glanced at them. Soon, he spotted Starbucks.

However, he didn't speak, but said, "That's fine, just keep this information with me."

If Luo Sen were to directly handle the Starbucks investment, it would be inconsistent with Yang Wendong's status. Although he certainly wouldn't be able to guess what was going on, Yang Wendong had no need to do so.

Therefore, for some future industry giants, he would have one team find general information and another team negotiate investment.

For example, Dell was found by another team, hidden among a bunch of documents, and then Yang Wendong had Rosen negotiate the investment.

In fact, to avoid making it too obvious, he might invest in other companies as normal investments, thus masking his almost 100% accuracy rate in investing.

"Yes, Mr. Yang." Rosen didn't think much of it; it was just a bunch of information about coffee chain stores.

Yang Wendong continued, "You stay here and talk to Dell. As long as their requests aren't too outrageous, we can consider agreeing to them."

"I will do everything in my power to make Dell successful. I have a relatively positive view of Dell's business model."

Dell was originally a startup company second only to Apple. It was founded in 1984 and went public in 1988, raising $30 million and reaching a market value of over $100 million.
This style is very similar to that of companies in the internet age.

Rosen replied, "Yes, Mr. Yang."

Yang Wendong naturally wouldn't get involved in the details of Dell's subsequent investments; he wouldn't waste his time on such a small company.

The purpose of this trip to the United States is to cash out Chrysler stock and invest in Dell and several other companies; all of this has been arranged by a dedicated person.

After completing his mission, Yang Wendong took a private plane to Toronto, Canada.

"This Canada is really cold." Yang Wendong was also quite intimidated by the cold when he first came to Canada in winter.

Just then, a cold front arrived, much colder than when he had been in Yanjing during the winter.

“Haha, Eric, welcome to Canada. This is what winter is like in Canada.” A 50-year-old white man laughed. “Maybe we can go winter swimming. It sounds cold, but actually, the water temperature in winter is much better than in the air.”

"Forget it, this kind of sport isn't for me," Yang Wendong quickly shook his head.

These foreigners are really something else. They leave their kids outside to freeze in the winter, love to sunbathe excessively in the summer, and even enjoy winter swimming.
No wonder every Westerner's prime is so short. Many Hollywood stars are stunningly beautiful before the age of 25, but after 25 they age rapidly.

"Haha, how about we go soak in a hot spring? A natural hot spring is quite nice," the white foreigner continued.

“That’s acceptable, but let’s get down to business.” Yang Wendong nodded and asked, “Matthew, what do you think of my suggestion?”

The person before me is Matthew Barrett, CEO of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Canada.
Over the years, Changxing Group has also done some business in Canada, with its main financial partner being the Canadian Imperial Bank.

Meanwhile, the Canadian Imperial Bank has been trying to expand into new markets in the Commonwealth and the United States, and Changxing Group has also cooperated with it.

Matthew's expression turned serious as he asked, "Eric, are you sure you want to acquire Husky Energy? Why?"

"Because oil prices are too low right now, this is clearly a deliberate move by the US and the Middle East. The Middle East isn't stupid; they're just using this to lower oil prices as a buffer for the future," Yang Wendong analyzed. "Husky Energy's main business is oil sands, and the cost of refining oil is relatively high, so they are currently suffering heavy losses."

But I remain optimistic about the future of the oil industry, so I'm thinking of acquiring it. That way, when oil prices rise in the future, there will naturally be profits to be made. Husky Energy, this company, was virtually unknown in mainland China in my previous life, and even in Hong Kong;
However, it was Li Ka-shing's first step into overseas markets in the original history. Around this time, Li Ka-shing attempted to acquire half of Husky's shares, and then acquired the rest in the 90s.

Husky Energy was originally a mid-sized energy company in Canada that extracted oil from oil sands, a non-traditional method that was more expensive.
Before the first oil crisis, this model was difficult to profit from; Husky's main profit did not even come from oil, but from refined oil sands.
However, after the oil crisis, global oil prices soared, making oil sands profitable and even extremely profitable. Husky Energy took advantage of the two oil crises and became a well-known energy giant in Canada within about ten years.
However, with the end of the oil crisis and the start of a large-scale production increase in the Middle East, which triggered an oil price war, Husky Energy suffered huge losses.

Historically, Li Ka-shing took the opportunity to acquire it. Now, Yang Wendong is also looking to enter the oil industry at this time, and naturally he has his eye on this target.

The third oil crisis in the 90s and the continued rise in oil prices after 00 will bring huge profits to industries based on oil sands.

“Mr. Yang, if you put it that way, then Husky Energy’s shareholders might not be willing to sell, right?” Matthew asked with a smile.

Yang Wendong shook his head and said, "Everyone has their own opinion. I'm betting on the future, maybe ten or twenty years from now. I can afford to gamble, but can those shareholders afford to gamble?"

In fact, many people have some knowledge of finance and have a general idea of ​​whether a particular stock is promising in the medium to long term.

However, too many people want to make quick money instead of waiting for the stock to rise more than ten years later.
This is why, with global hot money amounting to trillions of dollars, a single call from Soros can attract a massive influx of funds – it's because there are simply too many people eager to participate in such high-stakes gambles.

Matthew nodded and said, "So, you're inviting us to act as intermediaries to help you acquire Husky Energy?"

“Yes, you’re a Canadian investment bank, so it’s naturally the most suitable for us,” Yang Wendong said. “I’ve already done my research on Canadian law and Husky Energy. As a local investment bank, what do you think of the success rate?”

In fact, if Li Ka-shing was able to succeed in history, then he should have been able to do the same.
However, it is still necessary to confirm that the current situation is different from the past, and this kind of large-scale acquisition may involve politics. Li Ka-shing may have agreed to some conditions, and he has to take these factors into account.

Matthew thought for a moment and said, "Canada protects the energy industry. Even if foreign capital comes to acquire it, it can only hold a maximum of 49.9% of the shares, and it is very difficult to obtain full management control. You should know this."

“I know, that’s why I came to you. If there weren’t any restrictions, I would have just gone to Husky myself, right?” Yang Wendong asked with a smile.

Matthew nodded and said, "That's true. If you're just investing, it's simple. But acquisitions involve legal issues, and it's not easy to circumvent them."

Unless you're willing to become a Canadian citizen, in which case I think the Canadian government would certainly welcome you.

“That’s impossible, my nationality won’t change.” Yang Wendong paused, then said, “However, perhaps one of my children will hold a Canadian green card, which would mean dual citizenship. What do you think of that?”

He himself will not change his nationality, but he will not interfere too much with his children and descendants. At the same time, Hong Kong law also allows citizens to hold other nationalities, such as Pao Yu-kong, who is a British citizen.

Generally speaking, for Hong Kong people, the UK, Canada, and Australia are the most suitable countries to hold multiple citizenships.
At the same time, as a businessman, he also needs to consider not putting all his eggs in one basket.

“In that case, it’s something we can work out.” After thinking for a moment, Matthew said, “If one of your children holds Canadian citizenship, then that would indeed circumvent the legal restrictions.”
However, Husky is also a long-established company, and their management team is unlikely to relinquish control easily.

“That’s fine. I can promise that they will continue to manage the company in the short term,” Yang Wendong said calmly. “My previous acquisitions have proven this point. The original management team remains in management positions. I usually only oversee finance and personnel.”

Unless they are rental-collecting companies like Hongkong Land and Wharf Holdings, the other companies he acquired are all highly specialized.

Even if he were to seize power, he might not be able to find someone to manage such an oil company, which specializes in oil sands. The level of expertise required is too high.

Therefore, even if they acquire 100% of the shares themselves, they will let the original management team manage them.

For him, it doesn't matter who manages it; he's just taking advantage of the current global oil price slump to enter the industry.

“If that’s the case, then all we need to do is win over Husky’s shareholders.” Matthew smiled and said, “Eric, you’re always so decisive in business.”

“Of course, I’ve always been pursuing a win-win situation,” Yang Wendong said with a faint smile. “Then I need your bank to communicate with Husky’s management and their shareholders to gauge their willingness.”

Matthew asked, "How much are you willing to offer in terms of price?"

Yang Wendong said, "Based on the current stock market price, let's say it rises by 20 percentage points. I can pay in cash."

"Only 20 points, that's a bit low." Matthew shook his head and said, "Everyone here is smart, they can see that you're trying to buy oil at rock-bottom prices."

“There are indeed many smart people, but there are also many who only look to tomorrow. With these people around, the stock price will naturally not go up. I am just following the stock price.” Yang Wendong continued, “Let’s test the waters first. If they can be more straightforward, I can appropriately increase the acquisition price.”

Besides, stock prices in other industries are soaring, while the oil sands industry is suffering heavy losses. At this point, even selling at a low price and reinvesting in other stocks would be much better than waiting for oil prices to rise, wouldn't it?

Smart people are often useless; no matter how good their judgment, they can't keep out too many fools.
For example, if a bank experiences a run on deposits, and a smart person is too smart and thinks the bank is fine, then they will only wait until the bank goes bankrupt due to the run on deposits, and eventually lose everything.

“Alright, leave this to us. The Canadian Imperial Bank has some influence in the country, so you can rest assured,” Matthew said with a smile.

Yang Wendong said, "Okay, I won't wait in Canada for long. We can talk on the phone later, or you can send someone to Hong Kong to discuss this with me."

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This book will conclude next month, and a new book will be released this week. It's another Hong Kong-style novel, set in the 80s, with an entrepreneurial journey—a plot no one has written on Qidian before. A separate chapter will be posted here after the new book's release. Please continue to support it, thank you!

(End of this chapter)