America: My Time

Chapter 270 The Allure of Aviation

Chapter 270 The Allure of Aviation

"Jimmy, use our connections to investigate Hughes Aircraft Company and see how likely it is to be acquired. Since that little fox John has made this request, we'll do everything we can to satisfy him. I'm very curious to know if this little fox is really interested in taking over Hughes and if he's really eyeing Hughes' helicopter manufacturing!"

Morgan is never short of determination, and since John made such a request, Morgan was willing to give it a try. Although John claimed it was for the Hughes helicopter, his instincts told him that this shrewd man must have other motives. However, there was no time to deal with this cunning man now; Morgan needed to focus his energy on fundraising.

Now, with the arrival of those guys from Japan and the cooperation agreement they signed with Dreamworld, these people on Wall Street are gradually losing patience and have to start discussing financing. At least in their view, they can no longer give Dreamworld and Nvidia the opportunity to expand, otherwise their market value will become increasingly astonishing.

Before Morgan had even finished understanding Hughes, the fundraising began. This time, the fundraising venue was Morgan, who was very familiar with both Dreamworld and Nvidia. Choosing Morgan was not only to give Morgan face, but more importantly, to let these Wall Street professionals see the changes Morgan had undergone and how powerful Dreamworld's network system was.

After the group toured Morgan Stanley, everyone was full of praise for Dreamworld's network system. However, when they sat down to discuss financing, the choice John had given to the old guys like Rockefeller displeased some Wall Street tycoons. This was because Rockefeller and his group had directly chosen 5% of Dreamworld's shares, which meant they would lose a third of the shares available for financing. Naturally, this made some people unhappy, but they couldn't do anything about it, as John had already promised them everything.

Because of the 5% reduction in shares, Dream World's share price increased rapidly, causing fierce competition among the crowd. Especially with the involvement of people like Neon, the competition was brutal. Every share was fiercely contested, and the market value of Dream World and Nvidia grew exponentially, quickly surpassing that of Game World. Even so, they did not stop.

After a fierce battle, the Japanese team seized one-third of the shares, while the Wall Street crocodiles took two-thirds. Overall, Wall Street had the upper hand because of the benchmark in the gaming world. This time, the Wall Street crocodiles were unwilling to let go, and each of them gained something. So overall, they had the upper hand in this financing battle, while the Japanese team was at a disadvantage.

With the successful financing of the two companies, John's funds increased significantly in an instant, which amazed the Wall Street tycoons. It had only been a short time, yet the market value of Dream World and Nvidia had reached such a level that it could be compared with Game World, and they had even gained their approval.

“John, you’ve had a great success with this funding round. I wonder when Game World’s IPO funding will begin? That’s something we old folks have been concerned about all along!” Rockefeller took the initiative to talk to John and brought up the matter of Game World’s IPO funding directly, which made Morgan, the big boss next to him, frown.

What is Rockefeller trying to do? Is he trying to steal the IPO funding from Morgan? That's too arrogant, showing no regard for Morgan at all! However, Morgan can't speak up right now, as everyone has to consider their own reputation and can't afford to break off relations under these circumstances.

John smiled calmly and said, "This will take time, at least until next year. Game World needs a complete annual report, otherwise Game World will not have the confidence to go public and raise funds!"

“That’s right. We can’t rush the IPO. I wonder if you’d be interested in taking over Pan Am and Western Airlines. I saw that you acquired Cathay Pacific from the UK and I think you have ideas about the aviation industry, so I’d like to sell these two airlines that we have. Of course, you don’t need to worry, we will give you the most reasonable price.”

Upon hearing this, John smiled calmly and said, "If I said I wasn't interested in the aviation industry, I'm afraid you wouldn't believe me. After all, I'm currently asking Morgan to help me find a suitable aircraft dismantling plant, and I've had a very pleasant working relationship with Morgan. I don't want to have any misunderstandings with Morgan over such a small matter, so I appreciate your kindness." Rockefeller wasn't surprised by John's reaction. Although they had successfully sold Sikorsky to John before, it didn't mean that John would continue to accept their 'kindness' now. Especially since they were on Morgan's turf, it would be strange if John readily agreed.

At this moment, Rockefeller turned his attention to Morgan, and many of the Wall Street tycoons who sided with Rockefeller were also watching Morgan. They had communicated with Morgan before, and now that John was bringing up Morgan, Morgan needed to step in to mediate, since they had reached an agreement.

Yes, Morgan and Rockefeller quickly reached an agreement. Morgan agreed to help these old men market their two airlines to John D. Rockefeller, but in return, they needed Morgan's help to acquire Hughes Aircraft Company. It seemed Morgan was getting a great deal, given the significant difference in market capitalization. However, things can't be measured by market value alone. Even without Rockefeller's help, Morgan wouldn't have found it too difficult to acquire Hughes; it would just have taken more time. Therefore, for both sides, the deal was a win-win situation; they both got what they wanted.

“John, you don’t need to worry about Morgan. In the airline industry, Morgan really can’t find a suitable company like us in a short time. If you are interested in developing in the aviation industry, you don’t need to care about Morgan’s feelings. We are not the kind of unreasonable company. We will not prevent our clients from cooperating with other companies because we cannot do it ourselves.”

John was utterly skeptical of Morgan's words. The idea that Morgan would be so kind and understanding was a joke. The only explanation for Morgan's 'understanding' was that he had reached some kind of agreement with Rockefeller and his ilk.

"I see. Actually, in my plans, I didn't intend to invest in the aviation industry in the United States in the short term, or even to participate in many investments in the United States. After all, the current environment is too bad. Bentley Motors just acquired Jeep Motors and has already encountered so much resistance and suppression. Moreover, the methods are so arrogant. They even set the factory on fire. This makes me have some concerns about the investment environment in the United States."

When John brought up the investment environment in the United States, the old guys like Rockefeller frowned. They had significant influence behind this, and John's words at this time were a rejection of them. However, they couldn't persuade him, since their relationship with John hadn't reached that point yet.

“John, you can’t say that. Although the Jeep incident shocked us all, it was an isolated case. Legendary Entertainment and Phoenix Group’s expansion was not affected at all, nor was Southern Company’s expansion. It’s just an isolated case. It’s just that those guys in Detroit are too crazy. Overall, the investment environment in the United States is still good. And since Rockefeller has already spoken up, he naturally won’t have any ideas about this acquisition.” At this point, Morgan had to step in again to persuade John to accept Rockefeller’s ’goodwill’.

“I would like to accept it, but my strength doesn’t allow it. Such a large airline is not something someone like me with no experience can acquire. Most importantly, neither of these airlines is in a good position. Even if I acquire them, it will take a lot of time and energy to integrate them, and I don’t have that much time and energy right now. With that kind of energy and time, it would be better to invest overseas. That would be simpler and easier, and there wouldn’t be any problems!”

Although John seemed unyielding, Morgan knew him well enough to realize that this was just pre-acquisition wrangling. The more this happened, the greater John's chances of acquiring the company became, since such opportunities were rare. Moreover, while both airlines had large debts and assets, they also possessed a number of high-quality assets.

“John, I think you should think this over carefully. While overseas investment expansion is easy, it's not always smooth sailing. Didn't your investment in Hong Kong run into problems? Those guys in Britain were deliberately trying to obstruct you. So overseas investment isn't as rosy as you imagine, and domestic investment isn't as difficult as you think. Most importantly, we all need to give the White House face. If you move all your production out of the US, it will make people think you're unwilling to create jobs for the US, which is bad for your image. As a friend, I think you should think it over carefully and not rush into a decision.”

The sudden turn of events surprised even the Japanese. They hadn't expected Rockefeller and his team to make such a decision after the financing, and even intended to sell Pan Am and West Airways to John. This was something they couldn't understand; they couldn't comprehend why these guys had suddenly changed their minds. If there wasn't some other reason behind it, the Japanese wouldn't believe it, let alone John!

(End of this chapter)