America: My Time

Chapter 169 Buying the Island
Chapter 169 Buying the Island

"Naoko, I've heard that Japanese people love to travel to Hawaii. What do you think about us buying a small island in Hawaii and building a resort? Would there be a market for it in Japan? What do Japanese people like the most?"

Suddenly, Naoko was taken aback when she heard John's words. Her secretarial team was also stunned by their boss's sudden idea. They had just told them to get some rest, and now he had a new idea. What was going on?
“We Japanese do enjoy traveling to Hawaii. It’s hard to say exactly what we like, but most working professionals need to know how to play golf. Even Ms. Koizumi from our firm often goes to the golf course to practice, and many people also enjoy going out to sea!”

Naoko's reminder immediately reminded John of how crazy Japan was during the bubble economy. He had only focused on luxury goods and cars, forgetting about yachts and the Japanese love playing golf. They would even fly to the United States just to play golf!

“The British have some good yacht brands, which would be a good target. It would also be good to cooperate with those guys in Japan to build a yacht marina in Tokyo. During the bubble era, the whole of Japan was in a frenzy, so building a yacht club would be a good investment!” John quickly fell into his own thoughts again.

“Jenny, ask Morgan if there are any small islands for sale in Hawaii? Contact Ms. Mary Barra and have her make an offer to buy out Princess Yachts.”

Of course, John understood that this approach wasn't enough to reassure those old guys. He needed to take more action to divert their attention! No one believed that a miracle could happen in luxury goods sales during this economic downturn, and it would be even better if those old guys were willing to follow suit.

From now on, I need to focus my energy on entertainment and pleasure, and deceive those damned old guys. It would be best if I could lure them into the trap of luxury goods and swindle them out of their lives. It would be even better if they thought I was planning something big on ships!

"Hurry up, what are you waiting for?" Seeing Jenny standing there dumbfounded!

"Okay, boss, I'm going right now!" Jenny snapped out of her daze and immediately jogged away, afraid of being scolded by her boss!
"What, you're worried about me too? Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. I know what I'm doing!" Seeing a hint of worry on Naoko's face, John gently patted her shoulder and said calmly.

If someone were to say right now that Japan is about to enter a bubble economy and everyone is going on a buying spree, no one would believe it, not even Naoko. After all, it's too incredible; Japan hasn't even entered that bubble economy yet.

Most people would worry about cash flow, but John doesn't have that concern right now, at least not in the short term. While Sikorsky is a good company, Rockefeller won't offer a price that's unacceptable to them. They're not stupid; the financial pressure isn't as great as people think. The other party must have a deeper strategy that they haven't seen.

Although John has huge loans in Japan, repayment ability is not a problem. If he had a good excuse, he would have liked to borrow more money from Japanese banks to invest in Japanese real estate. However, the yacht marina is indeed a good choice and excuse.

After having a new idea, John felt much less pressure. This time, he no longer had to worry about being schemed against by those old guys. If they dared to follow suit, he was prepared to leave the stuff in his hands.

Morgan wasn't as relaxed as John. When he received the new acquisition offer, he couldn't help but sigh. They couldn't figure out what John was up to. The Sikorsky affair wasn't over yet, and now he'd set his sights on Hawaii, wanting to acquire a small island. This was crazy. Was John letting loose now?
Regardless of John's thoughts, Morgan couldn't refuse, nor would he. Soon, the situation regarding the Hawaiian Islands was laid out before them. Although John hadn't specified the size of the islands, Morgan understood that if it were a small island, John wouldn't have approached him. Morgan quickly settled on Lanai, the sixth largest island in Hawaii, currently a pineapple farm, and the easiest island to acquire, at the most favorable price.

In the 1980s, islands weren't worth much, unlike the later craze. Although Morgan didn't know why John wanted to buy an island, many wealthy people had this hobby: buying a farm for themselves when they had money, not to make money, but just for leisure. It's possible that John had the same idea. Although he's young, it might seem unbelievable that he would have such thoughts now, but it's not impossible, especially since he had previously acquired two wineries.

Before Morgan could reply, Rockefeller's men had already arrived in Shanghai and met with John immediately. Seeing John's relaxed expression, completely unburdened, he couldn't help but sigh. Even if he were foolish, he understood that everything was under John's control, and Rockefeller's plan might not be as successful as he had imagined.

Rockefeller's plan was to raise the acquisition price for Sikorsky because they believed John was determined to acquire Sikorsky and they could offer a high price. However, it now seems they were overthinking things. Trying to tear a piece of John's flesh is impossible, and their plan cannot be realized.

“Let’s get straight to the point. What price are you willing to offer? Sikorsky is indeed good, but it’s not the only option, nor is it indispensable. I hope you can offer a reasonable price, not an inflated one. You still have time to discuss it with the person in charge. I can wait a little while!” The pressure was immense as soon as John finished speaking. This was a warning from John; they only had one chance. If they exceeded John’s psychological price, the deal would fall through.

"Mr. John, we can discuss the price of the Sikorsky deal at our leisure!"

"No, I don't have that much time to waste on such trivial matters as haggling. I just want you to offer a reasonable price. If it's right, I'll acquire it; if not, then it's over. You should know me and my partnership with Morgan. The choice is yours!" Strong, incredibly strong—that was John's attitude!

And just like that, John dismissed Rockefeller's staff, ruining all his plans. He had no choice but to report John's attitude to his boss. At this point, it was no longer up to him, a mere employee, to make the decision.

"Boss, is it really okay for us to treat Rockefeller's representative like this? That's Rockefeller!"

“I know he’s Rockefeller, but so what? Do you think I’m free? Do you think we have time to keep negotiating prices with them? No, we don’t have that much time. If we had that much time, we could be focusing on our own integration. You should be clear about the current situation of the major groups. I don’t want to hear such stupid things again.”

"Yes, boss, I understand!"

"It's good that you understand. I was afraid you didn't understand anything. Do you know why I always chose to cooperate with Morgan and Japan Bank? It's because of their sincerity. I can feel their sincerity. But I didn't feel any sincerity from Rockefeller. They were always trying to get more benefits from us."

"Boss, Morgan has always been like this; they're also eager to get more benefits from you!"

"That's right, capital is profit-driven, and Morgan is also here for profit. But Morgan is different; they know their limits, which is why our cooperation has always been smooth. Rockefeller, on the other hand, is not like that. If they were sincere, they should have told us their offer immediately, instead of slowly negotiating with us. Have you seen anything like that in all of Morgan's acquisitions? But this is good; it will make those old guys reflect on their actions!"

The fact that John could glean so much from just one meeting astonished his secretaries. Their boss was simply phenomenal, almost superhuman. Anyone who thought their young boss was easily manipulated was making the most foolish decision and would pay a heavy price!

On Wall Street in the United States, after learning of John's attitude, those old guys gathered once again to discuss how to respond!

"I told you not to use any tricks, just state our bottom price, but you wouldn't listen. Now look what you've done, you've embarrassed yourselves, letting that brat slap you in the face for nothing!"

"We just want to earn more money, you know this is Sikorsky!"

"So what if it's Sikorsky? Do you really think that John is indispensable? Don't forget Morgan's existence, and don't underestimate John's abilities. If he were really that easy to manipulate, do you think he would have achieved what he has today? Be realistic, stop looking at things with old eyes. I don't want this deal to fail!"

"Perhaps we're all wrong. Sikorsky isn't John's target. Although he's also trying to get into the aviation industry, he's playing it on a very small scale. What is Gulfstream? It's just a private jet manufacturer with a small amount of assets. Even if there are big fluctuations in the industry, it won't have a significant impact on him. Executive Jet Aviation is just a private jet leasing company, and its combined market value is only so-so. Aviation isn't like automobiles. Don't assume that just because that kid is expanding heavily in automobiles, he'll do the same in aircraft manufacturing. There's a fundamental difference between the two."

(End of this chapter)