Reborn in America, I am a legendary short seller on Wall Street.

Chapter 128 Ford Motor Company (4k views, please vote)
At 5 p.m. on Friday, Larry arrived at Senator Kennedy's seaside estate at the invitation of Senator Kennedy.

After the carriage passed through the guards' inspection at the manor gate, it traveled uphill along the stone-paved road and soon arrived at the main building entrance.

Larry deliberately stepped off the carriage from the left, and the first thing he saw was the vast blue North Atlantic.

The weather was beautiful today. Under the setting sun, the waves shimmered with gold amidst their broken, sparkling light. The salty sea breeze, carrying the chill of early spring, occasionally surged up the hillside, bringing with it the sound of the waves and the distant whistles of ships departing from the harbor.

Facing the sea is truly a wonderful feeling!
Every time Larry visits Kennedy's estate, he first gazes at the ocean and expresses his feelings directly.

After enjoying the scenery, Larry leisurely walked into the main building, where six servants on both sides bowed and greeted him.

Larry walked into the living room and found that Henry Ford had already arrived. He was sitting on the sofa, with several rolls of design drawings on the large coffee table in front of him.

Upon seeing Larry enter, Henry Ford instinctively stood up to greet him.

Larry responded with a smile.

“His butler just said that the senator is on the phone discussing something and that we should wait a moment,” Henry Ford whispered to Larry.

Larry nodded, casually picked up Henry Ford's design drawings, and smiled.
"Another revised version? This time you added a braking system, right... Hey, what's this drawing?" Larry unfolded the drawing, a look of curiosity on his face.

"What are you surprised about? Let me explain..."

Henry Ford looked down at his drawings, which were just revisions to his cars. There was nothing that should have surprised Larry.

Larry simply picked up the blueprints and smiled at Henry Ford, saying, "I mean, this grid paper with pre-printed vertical stripes is the first time I've ever seen it. Where did you buy it? This stuff will be great for drawing candlestick charts later."

Henry Ford was even more puzzled, and asked with a frown, "What is a candlestick chart?"

Larry thought for a moment, realizing he didn't know who invented candlestick charts, and that they certainly didn't exist in the US at the moment. So he waved his hand and said, "I have a new way of recording stock prices, and I'm preparing to apply for a patent. That kind of chart requires this kind of pre-set grid drawing."

Henry Ford's eyes lit up, and he quickly said, "That's great! If you need some, I can send you some. How many do you need? Would a hundred be enough?"

He had barely finished speaking when a flurry of footsteps echoed down the stairs to the inner room. A voice drifted down from the second floor, smiling as it asked,

"Oh, Mr. Livingston has a new invention too?"

As he spoke, Kennedy came downstairs and sat on the sofa next to Larry and Ford.

Larry smiled and said, "Just kidding. The patent office only protects invention patents and design patents. This kind of chart that presents data can only be considered a thinking tool and will not be recognized by patent examiners."

Mr. Kennedy nodded; he had only asked casually, and then focused his attention on Ford's latest improved car blueprints.

Henry Ford walked past Larry and stood to Kennedy's left, beginning to earnestly introduce his improved, mass-producible car to the two men.

"Based on Mr. Livingston's suggestion, the car model is called 'Ford Model A,' or the A-type car. It is designed to be equipped with a horizontally opposed two-cylinder gasoline engine that can output about 8 horsepower, matched with a two-speed manual transmission, and the rear wheels are driven by a chain. The top speed is 28 miles per hour!"

At this point, Henry Ford gave Larry a meaningful smile and explained, "This car is designed with brakes!"

Kennedy nodded after reading it. He didn't actually understand or care about the technical details; he was just focusing his attention on Larry's face.

Larry looked at the blueprints and nodded, then slowly said, "The initial version is feasible; this Type A car is already at mass production level... However, the two-cylinder gasoline engine and transmission in your blueprints seem to be just a concept right now, right?"

Henry Ford nodded, squatted down, and pointed to the blueprints, explaining, "Yes, I plan to use a commercially available, off-the-shelf two-cylinder gasoline engine. This thing has to be purchased from Detroit Electric, but their product only has 4 horsepower. I have to go to Detroit, find their boss, talk to him about our needs, and ask them to improve the design. As for the transmission, I plan to purchase a 2-speed manual transmission from Peugeot in France."

Larry turned to Kennedy and said, "These also need to be accounted for in terms of cost. We need to get the company's framework up and running as quickly as possible."

Kennedy nodded, looked up at his butler, snapped his fingers, and ordered, "Call the lawyer and accountant, and tell them to come over in fifteen minutes."

The butler responded and left.

Larry turned to Henry Ford and said, "These things will have to be developed in-house or produced by purchasing patents; otherwise, we'll be vulnerable to being held hostage by others."

The two men discussed the various parts of the car, and Patrick Kennedy watched them calmly as they discussed specific technical issues without interrupting.

About ten minutes later, the butler came in and said to Kennedy, "They're here!"

After he finished speaking, five professionals dressed in double-breasted tailcoats and top hats filed in.

Larry and Mr. Henry Ford also stopped their discussion and looked at the newcomer.

Larry had met these people twice already; they were all professionals hired by Kennedy, including lawyers, senior bank managers, real estate agents, accountants, and other professionals needed to start a company.

Setting up a legitimate company these days is quite complicated, especially when it involves equity investment and related matters such as land purchase.

This team of professionals has also prepared its own plan.

Ultimately, Ford Motor Company's investment plan is as follows:
The new company will be established in the coastal industrial area of ​​South Boston Harbor. Because it is newly reclaimed land, it cannot be cultivated or used for commercial purposes and can only be used to build factories. Therefore, the land price here is very cheap, only $6 per acre.

Moreover, it is located close to the port and railway, which will make it convenient to transport raw materials and automobiles in the future.

To stimulate industrial expansion, the Boston city government will provide subsidies under the Industrial Stimulus Act once factories are established.

The land, totaling 100 acres, was purchased by Kennedy and Larry's fund at an estimated cost of $600,000, with provisions for future expansion needs. It will be injected into the company's assets later.

The factory will need to build its own drainage system, which will be costly, but the excellent location and transportation will make up for all the initial investment.

The factory is being built in three phases. The first phase requires an initial investment of US$1.3 to build a steel frame assembly plant of about 2000 square meters, which also serves as an office.

Henry Ford calculated that, in terms of land and factory buildings alone, setting up a factory in the South Port of Boston was 75% cheaper than a factory of the same size in Detroit, not even taking into account the more convenient transportation conditions.

In addition, the second phase of the plan will also establish a 500-square-meter R&D laboratory and a 0.5-mile dedicated railway branch line.

The third phase of the plan is to build an assembly line factory, but this investment will need to be expanded based on production conditions.

The company's official name will be Ford Motor Company, and it will issue 20000 shares with a par value of $10 each. Henry Ford will contribute his technology and commit to investing $5000 in cash for 10000 shares, representing a 50% stake.

Larry Livingston and Patrick Kennedy will establish a Southport Industrial Capital Fund, with each contributing $10 in the first phase, totaling $20.

The fund will contribute $100,000 and own 10000 shares of Ford Motor Company, meaning Larry and Kennedy will each indirectly hold 25% of the shares. The remaining portion of the first fund will be invested in other upstream and downstream factories or supporting industries related to Ford, after consultation between the two.

The company's articles of association stipulate that shareholders may not withdraw their investment within five years. If a shareholder wishes to withdraw their investment, it must be approved by a vote of the board of directors, and the withdrawal price will be calculated at 80% of the par value.

In routine production and management, Henry Ford held a dominant position due to his 50% shareholding, but the fund had veto power over major matters such as increases or decreases in shareholding and withdrawals from the company.

The company will have three seats on the board of directors, two of which Ford can nominate as the chief technology officer and the chief production officer.

The foundation nominated one person to serve as its chief financial officer.

Any changes to the technology roadmap require unanimous approval from the board of directors, and investments exceeding $5000 require approval by two-thirds of the board members.

In the first phase of investment, land and infrastructure will require approximately $1.3, while equipment and technology purchases will require approximately $1.75.
In the first year, 15 technicians and 50 workers will be hired. The technicians will be paid $80 a month and the workers will be paid $35 a month. The total human resources expenditure in the first year will be approximately $3.54.
$3800 is reserved for research and development and patent royalties, and $1.2 is allocated for working capital and reserves.

The estimated cost for the first year is $5, which includes various legal fees, registration fees, and other expenses incurred in setting up the company.

The foundation will allocate $10 in full within one month of the company's establishment.

As for the South Harbour Industrial Fund, fund shares can be transferred internally. If the company does not produce cars within three years, the fund has the right to require Ford to repurchase the shares at an annual interest rate of 6%.

The equity arrangement for Ford Motor Company was actually discussed many times.

Initially, Henry Ford insisted on holding 60% of the shares, but Mr. Kennedy disagreed, arguing that none of the technologies Henry Ford currently possessed had become patents, making it impossible to calculate a clear share. According to Kennedy's initial plan, Ford could only hold 30% of the shares.

Later, the two compromised, with Henry Ford promising to invest an additional $5000 to acquire a 50% stake.

In addition, the company's self-developed inventions and process patents will belong to the company, but the fund will be responsible for purchasing the technology patents and design patents that need to be purchased from outside, and then provide them to the company for a fee. This will prevent Henry Ford's technology monopoly.

At the same time, the fund will also be responsible for handling Ford's overseas patent registrations, and will also be responsible for handling any overseas infringements.

In addition, Ford is currently positioned as just a manufacturer. If it wants to invest in upstream raw material plants, these will be purchased by the fund.

In short, the purpose of the equity structure was to allow Henry Ford to focus on building cars, giving him sufficient power in specific management and technology; however, the fund would also use patents, upstream and downstream supply chains, and even land to constrain Henry Ford's status as a major shareholder.

Today, after confirming everything is correct, the three will formally sign the contract.

Henry Ford held the company's articles of incorporation and looked at them over and over again. Twenty minutes later, with his lawyer in the presence of his lawyer, he finally signed his name.

As fund holders, Larry Livingston and Patrick Kennedy also signed their names.

After the signing is completed, the company will officially begin actual operations.

After Ford Motor Company signed the agreement, the next step was the formal signing of the Nangang Investment Fund agreement, which was relatively simpler.

As an independent legal entity, the foundation will employ professional management personnel.

Larry Livingston and Patrick Kennedy were essentially the investors; they only needed to pay their share in full and on time.

The first installment payment is scheduled for March 10th.

Larry glanced at the fund's internal cooperation agreement, which he had reviewed multiple times and found to be without problems, so he signed his name.

Larry then handed the pen to Kennedy.

Mr. Kennedy raised an eyebrow and remarked to Larry, "Mr. Livingston, the first payment is $10! I really can't believe you're only 14 years old and can pull out $5."

Larry smiled faintly and complimented, "Although I can afford to invest $5 now, when I reach your age, I won't be able to become a senator like you. It's just a matter of timing."

Kennedy smiled and waved his hand, then said to Larry with a sigh, "Don't be modest. Whether you become a senator or not will probably be up to you at that point..."
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Following the signing ceremony, Ford's three shareholders, along with their legal team and other professionals, enjoyed a friendly and warm dinner.

During dinner, everyone drank heartily, raising a toast to the future of Ford Motor Company.

Larry smiled and looked at everyone, thinking that every company is the same in its early stages. The shareholders are full of hope for the future and see each other as reliable partners.

But when the company makes or loses money in the future, things may not be so harmonious anymore...

After dinner, Henry Ford and his associates left the estate by carriage.

Only Larry and Senator Kennedy remained in the living room. The two went to the study to enjoy cigars and whiskey together.

Under the bright orange glow of the gas lamp, both men lit cigars, and as the wisps of smoke rose, a faint aroma of cocoa filled the air. Seemingly captivated by this brief moment, neither of them spoke.

Larry waited a full five minutes before Kennedy finally said slowly, "Three days from now, Sunday night, I'll be taking the train to Washington..."

“Then you’ll have to bring your wife and son with you. They can come back with you after everything here is over!” Larry said earnestly, looking into Kennedy’s eyes.

Kennedy nodded. "Of course, it all depends on your plan. How big of a deal can it actually be?"

Larry didn't answer, but looked deeply at Mr. Kennedy and said, "My plan can uproot the Rothschild gang and even make some money for you and me, but you'll have to provide the personnel to execute the plan. Do you have enough manpower?"

Mr. Kennedy smiled and said calmly, "I have enough people in both the gangs and the police to ensure the operation goes smoothly!"

Larry nodded and smiled, took out four $1000 bills from his wallet, then three $100 bills, totaling $4300, and pushed them onto the table in front of Kennedy. He said with a smile, "Okay, this counts as a business deal between us. This time, I'll contribute $4300!"

Kennedy raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why $4300?"

Larry took a puff of his cigar and said casually, "Because according to my plan, $4300 is enough to wipe out the Rostan Gang. Of course, if you're worried they're not completely dead, you can pay more."

For the first time, Larry saw surprise and shock in Senator Kennedy's eyes. He looked down at the stack of dollars, then looked up at Larry, and said sincerely,

"Then you really have to tell me what to do..."

　There's one more chapter coming. I'm writing it now. I'll post the one I finish first, so please be patient. I estimate it will be posted before midnight.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)