I am a necromancer, and I absolutely love America.

Chapter 233 Deceiving Benjamin

"Regarding Ruitu..." Christina paused for a moment, then said, "I roughly understand Benjamin's goals. He's long wanted to establish a high-end medical aesthetics brand. He's probably eyeing some of the core stores of the Bellow Group, and he's not interested in Bellow's purchasing network, let alone the Bellow brand. Benjamin's purpose in establishing a high-end medical aesthetics brand is to better shape Ruitu's brand image. He has very strong financial backing, and if he enters the bidding, he'll be a formidable competitor. Benjamin's business strategy is very conservative, and Ruitu's cash flow is very abundant; it can readily come up with tens of billions of dollars."

"Can we get rid of him? Make him leave?" Richard asked.

Christina pondered for a moment: "It should be possible. For Benjamin, building a high-end medical aesthetics facility to build a brand image is just an experimental attempt. If it works, he'll do it; if it doesn't, he'll sell it quickly. So for Ruitu, medical aesthetics isn't a necessary strategic goal. Perhaps we can make some deals with him to get him out early. For example, exchanging cancer drugs for..."

Catherine asked in surprise, "You got the cancer drugs?"

Christina laughed: "Of course not, but since Master personally cured Clara's cancer, the outside world will only think it was due to my medication. Anyway, it's drug development, so let's sign an agreement with him that might not be fulfilled for who knows how many years."

Richard ordered, "Call him now."

With one less competitor, you can save a lot of money.

"OK." Christina took out her phone, made a call, and put it on speakerphone.

After ringing a few times, the other end answered.

Benjamin's voice sounded tired, but he was still friendly to Christina: "Christina, calling me at this hour, do you want to invite an old friend for drinks?"

Richard and Catherine listened quietly.

Christina cut to the chase: "Do you want the core assets of the Bello Corporation, or do you want a cure for cancer?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, and Benjamin's voice changed, filled with shock.

Drugs for treating cancer?

Countless people have tried to cure cancer, but no one has ever succeeded.

If others say he doesn't believe it, of course he doesn't, but this is Christina.

"Are you telling the truth?" Benjamin's breathing quickened.

Even though he knew this would only put him at a disadvantage in the negotiations, he couldn't help it; no one could resist the excitement of hearing about cancer drugs.

ACER is very profitable, but cosmetic procedures are not a necessity, unlike cancer drugs!

Cancer can lead to death, and even the wealthiest people have to obediently hand over a large sum of money when faced with it!

Christina said confidently, "You remember that unfortunate Oscar-winning actor Aaron, right? His whole family got cancer, it happened several years ago."

His wife is dead; she died when he participated in my drug trial. His daughter, Clara, was in the late stages of cancer at that time, but has now largely recovered. I can give you the complete experimental data.

Benjamin's breathing became heavy.

Compared to those rubbish cosmetic surgery techniques, cancer drugs are far more tempting!

"Are you telling the truth? If so, I can withdraw from the bidding for Bello, but I want the exclusive sales rights to the cancer drug."

"Exclusive sales rights?" Christina scoffed. "Benjamin, you're too greedy. If you're willing to back out, I can give you priority in purchasing the technology license, just like with ACER. I won't grant any company exclusive sales rights."

Benjamin only tested the waters once before giving up.

Christina, of course, couldn't agree, but what if she made a foolish mistake?

Faced with such a huge temptation, Benjamin didn't care about losing face and just wanted to test the waters.

What does losing face matter in the face of immense wealth?

"This is disappointing, but I need to check on Clara's condition first."

Christina gave Richard an OK sign and continued, "No problem. I can arrange for you to have a video call with Adam and Clara first. Appearances don't lie; you know the physical condition of late-stage cancer patients."

Benjamin was very cautious: "No, I want to see it with my own eyes, and I want her to have a CT scan done in front of me! If the CT scan is normal, I'll back out."

Christina quickly replied, "No problem. But you need to give me a conclusion by noon tomorrow. If you're late, you'll be my enemy."

people."

Benjamin gave a wry smile: "Christina, do you have to be so heartless? We've been friends for decades."

Christina ignored Benjamin's attempt to ingratiate himself: "Come on, any friendship is garbage compared to cancer drug technology!"

Benjamin laughed: "OK, as long as the cancer drugs really work as you claim, of course there's no problem!"

The phone hangs up.

"It's going too smoothly." Catherine asked, "Christina, is Benjamin really going to quit?"

Christina smiled. "Of course! Clara was treated personally by the master, and she's in excellent condition now. Once Benjamin sees this, he'll only be more eager for that so-called cancer drug. I can tell him that the drug's effects are currently unstable; for example, it didn't cure Aaron. This will buy us time, at least three to five years. Cancer drugs have been researched for so long. If a drug that can cure cancer might appear, Benjamin wouldn't mind waiting five years."

Richard nodded in satisfaction: "Regarding the announcement Benjamin will issue regarding his withdrawal from the bidding, you should have him add some content that indicates he is not optimistic about the asset-heavy medical aesthetics target, and that's why he withdrew from the bidding to suppress Bello's asset prices."

Catherine immediately understood and said, "Okay. I'll have the PR department draft a statement right now. The gist of it is: they've learned that ACR technology is being rapidly implemented, and the assets of traditional medical aesthetic clinics are shrinking. They're only willing to spend $10 billion to buy those clinics, but any more would be a loss. However, the chances are slim, so they've chosen to withdraw."

This can significantly discourage other potential buyers. Nobody wants to gamble on an uncertain future.

Ruitu is one of the four pharmaceutical companies that Xinsheng Company partners with, so it's normal for them to know some of the internal details.

"Alright, business is done." Richard clapped his hands and stood up.

Catherine laughed, "Oh, right, there's something else. We've already won the bid for number 1300 at Baytop Manor. Brian acted very quickly; I only spent 850..."

I bought it for $10,000, and now I'm just waiting for the agent to complete the handover procedures. I've entrusted the procedures to the same agent I had before, named Maine, and I already had the workers start construction this morning.

Richard exclaimed in surprise, "Really? Let's go back and take a look!"

The two drove home, while Debbie strolled on the yacht.

Upon seeing Richard, he immediately ran over with a smile: "When the weather gets warmer, take me out to sea."

"OK, no problem." Richard waved his hand.

A group of workers are dismantling the wall between numbers 1300 and 1200.

The structure is made of light gray cement and bricks, and the exterior is made to look like natural stone.

The iron pillar fence at the top was also removed.

A small excavator is slowly putting power into the machine, loosening the mortar between the bricks.

The entire section of the wall emitted a low cracking sound. At the foreman's command, the excavator went full speed ahead, and the wall collapsed towards position 1200.

boom!

Dust and broken bricks scattered, but very little, because the workers had poured a lot of water beforehand, reducing the amount of dust raised.

The workers immediately stepped forward and moved all the rubble away.

Catherine walked over to Richard.

These past few days, while waiting for the final bidding, she has been able to relax a little.

Everything was done in advance; all that was left was to wait for the final harvest.

Richard looked at the small building and yard at number 1200, feeling very satisfied: "850 million US dollars for this house is such a good deal. Isn't anyone bidding?"

"No," Catherine laughed. "Brian's publicity was spot on. The Adams had cancer, Evan fell into the water, Jessica went crazy, and the rich people thought this place was cursed by the devil. Besides us, only two other people participated in the bidding, and neither of them placed a bid in the end, probably because they had doubts."

Richard nodded.

Americans are more superstitious than Asians, especially the wealthy.

So many heinous incidents have occurred in two nearby houses, leaving even the wealthy feeling terrified.

Now even the property value of number 1100, which is next to number 1200, has been affected.

Even the property prices in the entire Baytop Villa area have started to fall.

I wonder how Quentin's property sales are going. If it hasn't sold yet, he'll probably lose a lot of money.

Soon, the workers removed all the rubble, and the partition between the two houses was completely smoothed out.

From now on, you can walk directly from the backyard of No. 1300 to the front yard of No. 1200.

Richard instructed, "Have the bodyguards work in room 1200 normally, and the servants' rooms are also located there. That way, the three of us can live in room 1300, and unless something happens, outsiders won't be coming and going in the house."

He disliked having outsiders coming and going in his house all the time, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Now that the conditions were right, Richard immediately made adjustments.

"OK, no problem." Catherine wrote it down.

Cage Cancer Institute.

As soon as Mitchell arrived at the office, a man in a suit walked in; he didn't seem to be a patient.

"Who are you?" Mitchell asked, puzzled.

The man handed over a business card: "My name is Flint, and I'm a pharmaceutical representative for the Ruitu Group."

"A pharmaceutical representative!" Mitchell immediately became enthusiastic towards him.

After exchanging pleasantries, Flint went straight to the point: "I'd like to know about the health of Aaron Hope and his daughter Clara Hope."

Clara Hope.

Mitchell recalled the unfortunate girl: "She left me a while ago, I think she was transferred to Oak Ridge Laboratory. She was in the terminal stage of cancer then, and now... she's probably dead."

"That little girl wanted to watch Debbie's Super Bowl, I wonder if she ever got to see it."

Mitchell spoke with regret, but in reality, he was gloating.

How can you believe in some kind of cancer cure?

ridiculous.

If there were a cure, wouldn't I know about it at the Kaiqi Cancer Research Institute?

It really is true! She's really cured! A glint flashed in Flint's eyes as he recalled the healthy Clara he'd seen that morning—she showed no signs of being in the final stages of cancer!

Unable to contain his excitement, he asked, "May I see their medical records?"

"This...isn't that inappropriate?" Mitchell said apologetically. "Leaking patient information is illegal."

"Sorry, that was a misunderstanding. Of course, we can't disclose that..." Flint immediately corrected his mistake: "Ritu wants to obtain some anonymous patient data to study the end-stage condition of cancer patients. To avoid exposing personal privacy, sensitive information in the patient data should be removed. In addition, Ritu intends to hire you as a researcher for this short-term project. We can transfer $10 in research funding to any foundation you designate."

Mitchell immediately laughed: "No problem, removing the sensitive data will solve the problem!"

Half an hour later, Flint obtained some so-called "anonymous patient condition data".

However, there are only two copies in total.

Whose information is this?

Even a fool could figure that out.

However, the procedure itself is not illegal; all information that could reveal personal details has been erased.

Flint, also a medical doctor, knew at a glance that Clara was terminally ill when she left.

Now, she has truly made a full recovery!

Mitchell is a promising doctor; he won't deceive himself for a little money.

Flint was incredibly excited. After saying goodbye, he immediately drove to the Oak Ridge Experimental Center.

Benjamin had finished watching Clara and was waiting in a café outside the experimental center.

"Boss! It's true!" Flint said as soon as he came in, placing a thick stack of documents in front of Benjamin. "Boss, these are all the medical records."

Benjamin put on his reading glasses and opened the file.

The names and other information above have been deleted, but that's not important.

You can tell who Aaron is and who Clara is just by looking at the gender.

"Unbelievable!" Benjamin exclaimed, his eyes gleaming as he quickly scanned the document.

He had just seen the girl; she was very healthy and looked no different from any other girl, except that she was a little short.

Unfortunately, he got cancer during his growth period, and it's almost impossible for him to grow taller.

It's already a miracle that they can survive in good health!

Without any further hesitation, Benjamin picked up his phone and called Christina.

"Christina, congratulations! With ACER technology and cancer drugs, you're very likely to win two Nobel Prizes. I accept your offer!"

At noon, Ruitu Pharmaceutical Group issued a public statement: "Based on a reassessment of the prospects of the medical aesthetics industry, Ruitu Pharmaceutical Group has decided not to participate in the bidding for the core assets of the Bello Group. Our company believes that there is a significant gap between the current asset valuation of the Bello Group and its actual market value. Continuing to participate in the bidding is not in the best interests of our shareholders."

"Currently, ACER technology is being rapidly implemented, and the asset value of traditional medical aesthetic clinics will be reassessed within a year."

"The exit is effective immediately."

Within half an hour of the statement's release, several pharmaceutical companies that participated in the first round of bidding contacted Ruitu, attempting to find out the real reason behind it.

However, Benjamin remained silent, and his cryptic remarks made other pharmaceutical companies even more convinced that ACER technology was about to be implemented, and that the depreciation of traditional pharmacy assets would accelerate.

Two hours later, two more pharmaceutical companies announced their withdrawal, stating that they were not optimistic about the overall profitability of the bidding.

The directors of Bellow Group were furious. If you're going to leave, then leave. Why did you have to say that ACER technology was about to be implemented?

However, they had no choice; it was almost a business practice to first undermine the other party's stock price when acquiring assets.

Ruitu's withdrawal caused fluctuations in the entire medical aesthetics market, which fell by 1.3% in just one afternoon.

The lower the stock price, the less favorable it is for Bello to negotiate with buyers.

Meanwhile, Catherine met Greg in a penthouse suite at a private club.

Without exchanging pleasantries, the two sat down on opposite sides of a long table.

There were no lawyers or assistants in the room, only the heads of the two companies.

Greg cut to the chase: "Catherine, if I let you take over the core assets of the Bellow Group, the Dicano Group will be finished. I can't back out."

Catherine leaned forward slightly: "This is what I want to discuss with you. I can promise that the Dicano Group will have the right to purchase ACER products, at a price no higher than the market price, without any discriminatory clauses. But the condition is that you withdraw from the bidding."

Greg's eyebrows twitched slightly, but his expression remained unchanged.

This is indeed a decent bargaining chip, but it's not enough...

He looked closely at Catherine's face and began to ponder.

He couldn't tell if Catherine was seducing him or if she really intended to do it.

"In fact, with ACER technology about to be implemented, the assets of the Bellow Group are practically worthless," Catherine said, spouting complete nonsense.

Greg wasn't stupid: "If that's the case, then why are you acquiring the core assets of the Bellow Group?"

"This is the new company's corporate strategy, and it has nothing to do with you," Catherine said calmly, her tone both calm and ruthless. "If you don't withdraw, regardless of whether you win the bid or not, I guarantee that the Dicano Group will not be able to obtain any ACER-based products in the future."

"At the same time, I guarantee that I will use every possible means to strike at the DiCano Group."

"You know I'm a woman, and I'm petty."

"A month ago, the Bellow Group sent their acquisition director with several million dollars to acquire my Katrina Clinic."

"Now, that acquisition manager is already working for the new company."

"I must acquire Bellow Group's core assets and completely kick him out of the industry."

FXXK! Greg's face turned ugly. He gave Catherine a deep look and gained a deeper understanding of this woman's vengeful nature.

He had never discussed such a messed-up business negotiation before.

The opponent wielded the ACER technology like a precious sword, wielding it recklessly in all directions.

He couldn't find any shield to counter him.

Seeing him in silent contemplation, Catherine didn't wait but continued aggressively, "If you need to discuss this with your people or shareholders, you can make a call now. I'll be waiting here."

"If you leave through this door without giving me a clear answer, I will take it as a rejection of my goodwill and will consider you an enemy."

Greg couldn't take it anymore: "Damn it! Catherine, is this how you treat a business partner?"

Catherine looked at him coldly: "This is how I behave."

Greg suppressed his anger and pondered for a moment: "I need to sign an agreement that guarantees us access to ACER's technology products; words alone are not enough."

"No problem," Catherine smiled.

"In addition, I need to confirm with headquarters that I can't make such a big decision on my own," Greg continued.

Catherine made a "please" gesture.

Greg walked to the window, turned his back to Catherine, and dialed a number.

I don't know if this call was to the chairman or some senior executives.

Greg's voice was low, but the argument was clearly heated.

Catherine simply sat quietly and waited for a full 20 minutes.

If Greg doesn't withdraw from the bidding, she will inevitably have to spend a lot more money.

In acquisitions worth tens of billions of dollars, even the slightest fluctuation can result in expenditures of up to hundreds of millions of dollars!

Catherine must minimize her strong competitors before bidding.

Greg quickly put down his phone and walked over to Catherine: "Headquarters thinks it's generally acceptable, but we need to discuss the specific details of the agreement."

"No problem!" Catherine stood up, and the two shook hands.

"I will immediately send lawyers and relevant personnel to your company to negotiate an agreement."

Catherine smiled broadly: "This is a wonderful start, isn't it?"

"Wonderful?" Greg said, clearly annoyed. "You held a knife to my throat and forced me to sign this agreement, and you call that wonderful?"

Catherine shrugged and politely turned to leave.

On that day, a fierce conflict broke out among the top executives of the Decano Group.

Finally, at 9 a.m. the following day, the De Cano Group issued a statement: "Following an internal assessment, the De Cano Group has decided to withdraw from the bidding for the core assets of the Bellow Group."

"The Group believes that the medical aesthetics chain industry is facing increasing uncertainty in the future. Under the current environment, continuing to expand through heavy asset investment is not in the best interests of shareholders. At the same time, the Decano Group will also be scaling back its operations in the medical aesthetics field."

"Thank you to the Bellows board for their communication, and thank you to New Life for disclosing the necessary information about ACER technology. We wish you a successful transaction."

Following the release of this statement, Bellow Group's stock price fell another 4%.

The competitors' public bearish views directly undermined investors' confidence in Bellows, which inevitably made their assets even less valuable.

Meanwhile, affected by this news, De Cano Group's own stock price also fell by 2.5%.

The market interprets this as the Decano Group abandoning its expansion plans, showing a lack of confidence in the medical aesthetics chain industry, and an uncertain overall outlook for the industry, which naturally leads to a decline.

No one doubts the self-judgment of the medical aesthetics industry giants.

What they didn't know was that this was exactly what Greg wanted.

Previously, he had quickly obtained a large loan from the bank in order to win the bid, but now he has been forced to withdraw.

If the loan is repaid immediately, the bank's interest still needs to be paid, and the loss could reach tens of millions of yuan!

Instead of doing that, we might as well take this opportunity to do something to recover the losses.

Before the market closed that day, the Decano Group used the loan to repurchase 1.2% of its own outstanding shares.

The publicly stated reason is that the acquisition was made to protect the interests of shareholders and maintain stock price stability.

In fact, Greg's goal was quite simple.

Once the news of New Life's formal acquisition of Bellow is confirmed, Greg can publicly announce that the Decano Group has reached a long-term cooperation agreement with New Life for ACER products.

At that time, the market will naturally reassess the valuation of the Decano Group, and the stock price will definitely rebound, at least returning to the level before the decline, or even higher.

Because De Cano Group's competitor, Bello, disappeared, it became the only medical aesthetic chain giant in the market, and its profit prospects improved.

The 1.2% of circulating shares that the company is now repurchasing will surge in value, bringing in a considerable profit.

Not only can it make up for the losses from the loan, but it might also make a profit.

The withdrawal of two strong buyers has made the market increasingly pessimistic about Bellow Group's core assets.

The atmosphere in the Bellow Group's conference room was very somber.

After the staff distributed the price summary to the directors, the meeting room was quiet for nearly 10 seconds.

"The situation has stabilized now," Bauer reported. "The new company's offer is a complete acquisition of L0T A+B+C, totaling $120 billion. However, the problem is that it clearly states in its acquisition offer that it will only accept a complete acquisition."

"Another major buyer was real estate tycoon Harker. Unfortunately, he was only willing to buy L0TA, and his offer was $34 billion."

No sooner had Bauer finished speaking than Director Raymond angrily exclaimed, "Our valuation was $155 billion, and Catherine cut it by $35 billion! This is profiteering!"

With assets reaching this scale, the buyer will definitely hire a professional asset appraisal agency to conduct an appraisal.

The assessments from two different companies may differ slightly, but it will be very small and could never amount to billions of dollars.

Such a huge difference, this is Catherine robbing people!