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

Chapter 281 Manchester United Factory and Lone Star Security

General Electric CEO Coffin announced a major marketing plan to reporters: "10000 cash registers in 100 cities," and he could feel the reporters' frenzy.

Even New Yorkers, the most important commercial city in the United States, had never heard of such a large-scale delivery event.

Astute journalists could certainly deduce that this was a marketing campaign by General Electric to salvage its declining stock price. But there was no doubt that even if it was a rescue effort… this unprecedented $100 million giveaway genuinely shocked these well-informed media elites.

If this is coupled with news that Morgan Trust Bank intends to inject capital into General Electric to help them out of their predicament, people will naturally speculate that General Electric's stock price will surge the following Monday morning!
What's even more exciting is that last Saturday, after learning about Mr. Morgan's interview, the vast majority of traders went short in the market naked.

This means that if stock prices surge, these naked short sellers can easily lose everything. This is because they are almost impossible to find people in the market willing to give up their shares to close their positions.

Therefore, next Monday is destined to be a stormy day.

On the other hand, GE executives will discuss with Larry the investment and control plan for the new joint venture plant.

The meeting was held in the salon.

Before the negotiations even began, Larry smiled and made a request to Coffin, "Mr. President, if I may be so bold, my people have been attending exhibitions and business negotiations since this morning, and they haven't had lunch yet. Please arrange some lunch for them!"

Coffin quickly instructed the waiters to arrange lunch for Larry's team.

Meanwhile, at the negotiating table, he also prepared for Larry a dish that the Fifth Avenue Hotel was most famous for – foie gras cold pie – as an impromptu lunch.

The foie gras was prepared into a round, chilled pie, with an exquisitely delicate shape and texture. It was paired with sweet, soft figs and toasted walnuts, and drizzled with honey for flavor. A layer of crispy, creamy bread served alongside the pie was also included.

Larry was starving, and the sight of the foie gras pie made his mouth water. He casually picked up a fork, stuck a piece of foie gras in his mouth, and exclaimed: the texture was delicate and smooth, with a creamy quality! Absolutely delicious.

High-quality foie gras does not have an unpleasant fishy smell. Instead, the fruity aroma of fig, the nutty aroma of walnut, and the natural sweetness of honey work together to present a rich and layered flavor.

After chewing thoroughly, Larry picked up a crispy toasted bread with cream, took a bite, and his mouth was filled with a wonderfully sweet and complex flavor.

Of course, the most authentic way to eat this dish is to spread the foie gras on toasted cream bread.

Larry was indeed very hungry, and eating like this had a certain charm. Many executives, including Coffin, sat at the negotiating table, sipping champagne and watching Larry eat. Mr. Coster, too, watched Larry with a smile.

Larry chewed while glancing up at everyone and casually made an apologetic gesture.

But the GE executives didn't seem bothered by Larry's eating. Perhaps it was because Larry's handsome appearance evoked no aversion, or perhaps it was his youthful talent that impressed them. In any case, the older ones watched with smiles as Larry devoured the foie gras, bite by bite.

After finishing his meal, Larry downed half a glass of champagne in one gulp before pushing away his plate and apologetically saying, "Thank you all for your understanding!"

“Youth is wonderful!” Coffin smiled at Larry. “Watching you wolf down your food, I’m genuinely envious. I wish I could go back to your age.”

A relaxed smile filled the meeting room.

Koster added, "Livingston, just eat whatever you like. If you want to throw a celebration banquet, wait until the factory is officially established. Remember to invite me!"

“No problem, Mr. Coster!” Larry smiled at him.

Subsequently, negotiations to prepare for the new factory officially began. However, these negotiations were essentially a process of reaching a consensus, as the two sides did not have much disagreement on key issues.

As Larry had previously outlined, Browning Brothers Firearms would hold a 20% stake in the new factory, while contributing its patents for electric cash registers and electric fans as equity.

For this portion of the investment, there will be no further commission based on the patent license for each unit; instead, the investment will be directly distributed as company dividends.

The production of electric motors also required paying a royalty fee for each one to Mr. Nikola Tesla's foundation.

In addition, Larry proposed that he and General Electric each own 50% of the remaining 80% of the shares, and that he pay the corresponding consideration.

Mr. Coffin just said that it would cost about $240 million to set up this company, so let's allocate the shares at $120 million per person.

But this was opposed by GE executives…

Of course, they did not explicitly refuse, but instead, with Mr. Coster as a witness, they had a proper "discussion" with Larry.

“Mr. Livingston, we hope you can understand our feelings. As a manufacturing company, and potentially in the future producing other electrical appliances, GE still wants to maintain its position as a major shareholder…”

President Coffin spoke cautiously while observing Coster's reaction.

Fortunately, Koster didn't react at all.

Mr. Coffin then continued to explain to Larry, “Our company has no precedent for this. Even if you can afford the $120 million for the shares, we want to have real control. You have to understand that GE also has to put in its own hard work in manufacturing and managing the company.”

Larry listened without nodding or speaking, but simply pondered silently.

Larry didn't necessarily want to be the largest shareholder, but seeing that he could gain more equity and make more money, he naturally wanted to split the shares equally with General Electric.

After thinking for a moment, he turned to look at Mr. Koster. The latter nodded slowly and spoke to him in a comforting tone,
“If I were you, I wouldn’t try to manage this company. It’s too much trouble! It’s incredibly mentally taxing. Manufacturing companies often have worker protests and such. If you were the major shareholder, you’d have to handle all of these things…”

Larry immediately thought of Carnegie, then nodded. Mr. Koster's words made sense. He didn't have time to deal with these trivial matters; being a financial investor was fine too.

Koster had nothing to do with this matter, and his coming forward to advise himself at this time was probably out of sincerity.

On the other side, seeing that Larry's expression had softened somewhat, Coster added another piece of advice, "If I were you, I wouldn't even consider investing in physical assets... Really, making money in stocks is so much faster."

As he spoke, Koster's eyes involuntarily drifted to the General Electric logo. Clearly, Koster could also imagine the stock price soaring tomorrow. Larry nodded secretly, thinking that Mr. Koster's words weren't entirely unreasonable. Instead of fighting for 5% or 10% of the shares here, it would be better to take this opportunity to propose other terms to General Electric…

Larry looked up at Coffin and said solemnly, “Mr. Coffin, I would like to propose an exchange. I can agree not to have an equal shareholding in the establishment of this manufacturing plant, but please consult me ​​first when you decide to establish any similar plants in the future. I also personally want to continue investing in similar companies, even if it's just 5% or 10% of the shares.”

Coffin nodded. "Mr. Livingston, there's no question about your proposal. Since we've both invested in the same factory, we'll consult you again if we have similar production plans in the future. Besides... we'd love to have a long-term strategic investor willing to invest!"

"Alright! Then I have no further questions." Larry smiled as well.

President Coffin was very pleased; he hadn't expected the two sides to reach an agreement on the equity dispute so quickly. He then presented his specific plan.

"To be fair, GE will invest $130 million for a 45% stake, excluding the 20% stake in Browning Brothers Firearms, while you can invest $100 million for the remaining 35% stake."

Larry blinked, thinking that the other party probably didn't realize he still owned 49% of Brownie Brothers' shares, or that he could easily become the largest shareholder by teaming up with Matthew.

But since that's what they said, I don't really care.

Larry pretended to think for a moment before nodding and saying, "Okay."

“That’s settled then. We can go back and continue preparations for the factory’s construction. This includes buying land, hiring workers, and finding production lathes… but you don’t need to worry about that. We’ll arrange the board of directors, and you, Mr. Livingston, as the largest individual shareholder outside of General Electric, can also nominate two directors,” Coffin said politely.
“I’ll consider it.” Larry nodded. He knew this wasn’t something that could be done in a day or two, so he wasn’t in a hurry to reveal his board member list. Right now, Larry was concerned about something else.

"Where is this company located? What's its name?" Larry asked.

Coffin took out a small notebook, which contained a memo he had made after discussing the matter with his executives.

Coffin took out a pair of glasses, put them on his nose, and said calmly, "The new company will be built in Brooklyn... Of course, the name will also be related to Manhattan. We plan to call it Manhattan Consolidated Industries, or MCI for short."

MCI? MSI?
Larry blinked again, thinking to himself that the Chinese abbreviation should be Manchester United, so the company could invest in a football team in the future.

However, on another note, his new investment company is also called Manhattan United Holdings—that's another Manchester United.

Alright, then let Manchester United invest in Manchester United!
That evening, Larry, Matthew, Dunbar, and the rest of the group returned to the Astor Hotel. After a tense yet exciting day, smiles were on everyone's faces.

Especially for Matthew, nothing in his world could excite him more than an order for 2000 handguns and an order for 1 rifles.

While the group gathered in the outer room of Larry's hotel suite, smoking cigars, sipping tea, and chatting, Matthew was unable to sit still and kept pacing around the hall.

"My God! I never imagined that just registering a patent in New York would miraculously sell the guns! 2000 handguns! 1 rifles! And these are just the initial batch..."

Matthew's face was all smiles as he turned to look at Larry, his eyes filled with excitement.

"Are you that happy?" Larry smiled.

“Happy? Oh, of course!!” Matthew plopped down on the sofa next to Larry and continued, “Our company hasn’t been around for very long, right?! To be honest, in my brother’s and my opinion, these two guns still have a lot of room for improvement! In fact, in my brother’s opinion, these guns are practically unfinished products that still need a lot of testing. But they actually… secured the order. It’s unbelievable.”

Larry chuckled. "Well, what can you do when someone's got a mine? By the way, about that person we promised to take you to see your brother, that guy from the Belgian FN company... Are you planning to go back first and talk to John? Or should you just have him come back to Walden Pond with you?"

“Let’s go back together… I don’t think it’s a big problem. It’s just about discussing the European authorization, right?” Matthew said with a relaxed smile.

However, Matthew's reaction alarmed Larry, who thought that Matthew was easily influenced and honest; his brother was a tech geek, and if Larry didn't keep an eye on things, the two of them would definitely sell him out and then pay the other party for the money...

No, I have to go back to Boston with them!
Larry thought for a moment, then turned to Matthew and said,

"I also remembered something. The testing of the M1982 Pioneer rifle hasn't been done yet. Last time, I met Henry Goldman from Goldman Sachs, and he said that the three companies are all ready, and the bullets have been shipped from the port of Hamburg, Germany. You should hurry up and go to Texas to do some necessary tests on the firearms."

At this point, Larry looked at Matthew seriously and said, "During the testing, we must spend the money that is necessary! At the same time, we must also take into account many extreme situations or harsh testing environments, especially our automatic bolt action... For the first time exporting firearms, we must ensure that everything is foolproof and not ruin Browning's reputation."

Matthew nodded solemnly after listening and quickly said, "Yes, yes, you're right, that's how it should be done!"

"Then you should visit Henry Goldman tomorrow and see what Goldman Sachs has to say. You should also organize the company's mechanics as soon as possible to go to Texas with your brother for firearms testing."

"Okay! Okay! I'll... I'll go send a telegram to my brother right now and report what's going on here." Matthew said, his bottom already unable to sit still. He jumped up from the sofa and hurriedly walked out the door.

Larry suddenly thought of something else and turned to look at Dunbar.

"Uncle Dunbar, these events in New York have truly made me realize the importance of that matter..."

Dunbar raised an eyebrow and asked, "What is it?"

“Armed Forces! Remember that project the Goldman Sachs people mentioned—Lone Star Security?” Larry’s face was serious.

Dunbar thought for a moment and understood Larry's meaning. "You mean...we really need to organize a security team in the future..."

“Yes, we owe a great deal to you and Matthew for handling the situation at the Waldorf Hotel; but the Italian lads Mr. K brought are utterly useless! So, we still need to find some professionals…”

Dunbar nodded, but his expression remained grave. "I need to remind you, Larry, a professional team is certainly good, but it's extremely expensive. A real armed security company is a bottomless pit; setting it up will require a huge sum of money. And right now, it seems like that money is really going down the drain; we don't see any returns in the short term..."

Dunbar's words made sense, and Larry had also thought about it.

At this moment, reminded by Dunbar, he fell into thought again, and after a long while, he finally spoke.

"We still need to get the framework up and running first! This time, I'll need you to go to Texas with Matthew to recruit some people, preferably veterans, or at least some educated rednecks. The important task of setting up Lone Star Security is in your hands. As for the money, I'll figure it out!"

(End of this chapter)