Hong Kong variety show: The mastermind behind the scenes is emerging.

In mid-December in New York, the sky was leaden gray, low and oppressive, as if it were about to snow at any moment.

On the bustling streets of Midtown Manhattan, a strong Christmas atmosphere has already spread. Red and green ribbons sway gently in the wind, and tourists wrapped in thick scarves take photos under the streetlights, their breath dissipating in the cold night.

At the intersection of Sixth Avenue and 53rd Street stands the famous Solow Building. Its dark glass curtain wall reflects a cold, piercing light in the afternoon sun. And on the top floor of this building is the headquarters of KKR, now a prominent force on Wall Street.

At six o'clock in the evening, Kravis sat in the leather chair in the president's office, his brow furrowed, staring intently at the stack of documents spread out in front of him.

Those were the bidding documents for the RJR acquisition.

Henry Kravis is widely recognized as the pioneer of leveraged buyouts (LBOs) and a godfather figure in the global private equity investment field. After graduating from university, he first joined the prestigious investment bank Bear Stearns through his cousin's introduction. He quickly mastered advanced knowledge through practical experience, and then decisively resigned to co-found KKR Group with his cousin George Roberts and mentor Kohlberg.

From then on, a monster known worldwide for "leveraged buyouts" appeared in the jungle of Wall Street. Their specialty was using very little of their own capital to acquire equity, and then relying on massive debt—issuing those "junk bonds"—to swallow one behemoth after another whole.

However, at this moment, this Wall Street genius was completely devoid of his usual high spirits. Because he had encountered the toughest nut to crack in KKR's history—the RJR acquisition.

RJR Group is a large multinational conglomerate formed by the merger of tobacco giant Reynolds and food giant Nabisco. The company has ample cash flow, but its stock price is severely undervalued due to the impact of last year's Black Monday and capital market concerns about the risk of litigation in the tobacco industry.

Logically, a company with abundant cash flow and an undervalued stock price should be the ideal target for leveraged buyouts. But the problem is—the counterparty in this acquisition is the management itself.

Ross Jensen, CEO of RJR, is a manager with a flamboyant style and an exceptional talent for political maneuvering.

He was extremely dissatisfied with the company's stock price being undervalued for a long time, and therefore faced accountability pressure from shareholders. Fearing that the board of directors would oust him, he conceived the idea of ​​taking the company private through a management buyout.

Ironically, his initial partner was KKR. He brought his management team to Clavis's office and held round after round of talks, thoroughly understanding the process and intricacies of leveraged acquisitions.

But then, this old fox kicked KKR aside and directly hooked up with the famous investment bank Sherison Lehman, preparing to cut out the middleman and go it alone.

Kravis still remembers how cold his hand was holding the phone when he received the call from Jason's secretary that day, telling him that "management has decided to look for another partner."

Kravis felt deeply offended—the very man who was the pioneer of leveraged buyouts on Wall Street was being used as a stepping stone. Adding to this, KKR had already set its sights on RJR, a lucrative target, so in a fit of rage, he announced his entry into the fray.

However, the bidding war for RJR proved to be far more difficult than he had anticipated.

To catch Johnson off guard and to expedite the process, KKR immediately offered $90 per share, totaling $204 billion. In contrast, Johnson's offer was only $75.

However, Kravis underestimated the greed of the RJR board. Seeing the two sides fighting over the deal, the board went along with it and announced the formation of an independent special committee, directly putting the transaction out to all of Wall Street for bidding.

This has completely stirred up a hornet's nest. First Boston, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Salomon Brothers... almost all the top investment banks and private equity funds in the United States that have a name are involved.

As things have evolved, KKR has found itself in an extremely passive situation.

Admittedly, the company's reputation in leveraged acquisitions is unmatched, but this time he couldn't get the cooperation of the management and was completely clueless about the true internal operations of RJR, which made him afraid to make any offers.

A price that's too conservative will result in a loss; a price that's too high will be too risky.

Thinking of this, Kravis leaned back in his chair, took off his glasses, and rubbed the sides of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. The bluish-gray under his eyes was particularly noticeable under the light.

Just then, the internal phone on the desk rang.

Kravis pressed the answer button: "What is it?"

The secretary's cautious voice came through the microphone: "Sir, Mr. Martin Channing of Channing Capital is here and says he wants to see you."

"?"

A hint of surprise flashed across Kravis's face, but he dared not delay in the slightest and immediately ordered, "Quickly! Please invite Mr. Martin to the reception room. I'll be there right away."

After hanging up the phone, he stood up abruptly, quickly straightened his clothes, and then strode towards the reception room.

Martin Channing, now widely recognized as the greatest trader on Wall Street, is a man who has been compared to Warren Buffett by countless media outlets and is vying for the title of "Oracle of Omaha".

During last year's 87 stock market crash, countless people jumped off the rooftops of stock exchanges, while Qianning Capital made billions of dollars amidst the carnage.

Looking back over the past three years, Martin's Qianning Capital has achieved remarkable results—whatever Qianning Capital invests in will rise; whatever Qianning Capital shorts will plummet.

Wall Street even invented a term specifically for Martin: "Cillingization"—meaning that once a company is targeted by Channing Capital, it will undergo a dramatic transformation.

Although his KKR is very popular on Wall Street, it is a junior compared to Channing Capital.

When Clavis pushed open the door to the reception room, the legendary man was standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, his back to the door, looking out at Central Park.

Hearing the door open, Martin turned around, a warm smile spreading across his face: "Henry, long time no see!"

"Mr. Martin!" Clavis strode forward, extended his hand, and shook hands with him. "What brings you here?"

"I've been seeing you working on that big case in the newspapers every day, so I thought I'd come and check it out," Martin said with a smile as he sat down and crossed his legs. "You're riding high right now; half of Wall Street is involved in the RJR acquisition."

"Stop teasing me," Kravis said helplessly, shrugging as he sat down opposite him. "Looks like Channing Capital is interested too?"

"It's not just about being interested," Martin said, placing his coffee cup on the coffee table and leaning forward slightly. "I'm here to help you."

"..."

"I know what you're worried about. Management isn't cooperating, we can't get accurate internal data, and we can only rely on estimates for pricing, right?"

Kravis neither admitted nor denied it, but simply watched him quietly.

"I can help you get RJR's real operating data," Martin said calmly. "In addition, I can also help you provide bridge loans and mezzanine debt, and I can also help you put pressure on Jason's side—after all, you know, Channing Capital has many friends on Wall Street."

Upon hearing this, Clavis's heart skipped a beat. However, he didn't respond immediately, but instead looked cautiously at Martin Channing: "Then—what are the conditions?"

There are no philanthropists on Wall Street, and there's no such thing as a free lunch.

"It's very simple," Martin smiled and held up one finger: "First, the bridge loan rate is 16%."

Kravis's eyelid twitched. This interest rate was significantly higher than the market average, but considering the amount and stability of the financing Martin had promised, it was still within a reasonable range.

"...Anything else?"

"Second," Martin held up his second finger, "I want to sell the exclusive right of first refusal for the assets."

Kravis's fingers, which were tapping his knee, stiffened slightly.

That's right. KKR's real intention in being optimistic about RJR was never to "run the company well," but rather to "buy it, dismantle it, and sell it for a good price."

Within RJR's vast empire, there are a whole bunch of cash cows that don't need to work and can be fed just by accruing interest—Del Monte canned goods, Milk-Bone dog food, Oreo cookies, Camel cigarettes… These assets are the truly valuable things in this deal.

Martin's move to intervene with an "exclusive right of first refusal" means that once KKR's acquisition is successful, it must sell its most lucrative assets to Qianning Capital at a fixed, discounted price, as agreed.

Kravis slowly leaned back in his chair, silently calculating.

This condition isn't exactly harsh. While the interest rate on the bridge loan isn't low, it ensures a continuous flow of funds; and although the exclusive right of first refusal will mean earning a significant amount less, it at least keeps KKR at the table for the time being.

"...No problem," Kravis finally nodded slowly, "I accept all of Channing Capital's conditions."

Upon hearing this, Martin smiled with satisfaction, waved his hand, and his assistant immediately stepped forward and placed a prepared agreement on the coffee table.

Kravis had his legal team quickly review the contract, and after confirming that there were no hidden traps in the contract terms, he picked up a pen and signed his name neatly in the signature column.

Martin carefully put away one of the documents, then turned his gaze back to Clavis's face: "Very good. Now that the agreement is signed, let's talk about how to help you win this battle."

As he spoke, Martin pulled a business card from his suit pocket and pushed it in front of Kravis. It read: "Johnny McKinsey, President of Nabisco."

"That idiot Yoros Jensen was too greedy," Martin explained leisurely. "He planned to sell the entire Nabisco business as a package after the acquisition, leaving Johnny with not a single share. Johnny naturally wouldn't agree, so he decided to turn against him..."

As he listened to Martin's words, the light in Clavis's eyes grew brighter and brighter.

He picked up the business card with a slight tremor, looking at the composed Martin Channing across from him: "As for funding..."

"Three billion US dollars, will arrive within a week."

Kravis looked at him and finally couldn't help but burst into laughter, as the knot in his heart was finally untied.

Now he has everything he needs.

Martin set down his teacup, rose gracefully, straightened his cuffs, and extended his hand to Clavis: "Well then, it'll be a pleasure working with you, Henry."

Kravis stood up, grasped his hand, and shook it vigorously: "It's a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Martin!"