My absurd experiences in North America over the years

Li Fu turned off the lights in the hotel room. The lights of Manhattan outside streamed in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting a dark red glow on the carpet.

He silenced his phone, tossed it on the bedside table, lay back on the bed, and stared at the ceiling.

There was nothing on the ceiling, but his mind was filled with too many things: the deadlocked faces of the jury, Kushner's sabotage, and the gangsters who colluded with the Kushner family.

If the FBI follows the trail of the Sin Lord, could they possibly reach Kushner? If so, he should be calling now to demand a thorough FBI investigation, but he knows that's unlikely.

A political broker of Kushner's stature, after suffering a major setback, is unlikely to remain as arrogant and domineering as before, leaving obvious flaws.

The person who hid the drugs only got a bite out of the "fangs." Above the fangs were mid-level leaders, and above those mid-level leaders was the "mayor" of New York.

Breaking through each layer one by one is obviously fraught with difficulties.

He turned over and faced the window.

He thought he should stop there.

Gangs can never be eradicated. Old Kushner had been entrenched in New York and New Jersey for many years, and his influence was much deeper than one might imagine.

If a full-scale war were to break out, he might not be able to win.

More importantly, he didn't have time to dwell on it; he had more important things to do.

He picked up his phone and found Lina's number.

Before he could even dial, Lina called back.

When the call connected, Lina's voice was very low, as if she couldn't speak loudly in the office. "Mr. Li, something has happened. There is definite information that Goldman Sachs, through Morgan Stanley, has contacted Huawei to prepare to intervene in the acquisition of its terminal business."

Several months ago, Huawei hired Morgan Stanley as a financial advisor in preparation for selling its stake in its terminal business.

Goldman Sachs almost succeeded, but due to the financial crisis, it tightened liquidity out of caution.

The fact that he's suddenly appearing again is most likely to be an attempt to snipe him.

"Any news about their pricing proposal?" Li Fu's heart skipped a beat; they had met a formidable opponent.

"I inquired with people in the industry, and Goldman Sachs' offer is probably $2.4 billion, $200 million higher than ours, and the terms are more flexible. They have performance-based earn-out clauses, one-time payments, and other business integration options. I heard that Joshua Kushner is involved..."

Lina gave a brief account of what she had found out.

"Joshua Kushner? Old Kushner's youngest son?" Li Fu frowned upon hearing the name. They really were after him.

"Yes, it's said that he came up with the plan. Goldman Sachs takes it very seriously and has transferred a senior president from their investment banking division from their New York headquarters to oversee it. This time, it's probably not a test, but a real acquisition attempt," Lina said, very worried. This might be the biggest crisis she's faced since starting her career.

"Okay, I understand. Call me again if anything happens," Li Fu said, needing some quiet time.

It is well known in the industry that Goldman Sachs made a lot of money by shorting US stocks during the financial crisis, and having more than two billion dollars in liquidity is not a problem for them.

He put his phone on the table, leaned back on the sofa, and stared blankly at the ceiling for a long while.

Two billion, which is two billion higher than his asking price.

The figure was chosen very subtly, not so high as to make Huawei feel that Goldman Sachs was quoting wildly, yet it happened to be higher, giving Huawei a price advantage.

He already has a $500 million shortfall, and may have to apply for a bridge loan from JPMorgan Chase.

An additional 200 million would be an immense burden for him.

He has invested almost all of his money, and he is still far from getting his money back.

Goldman Sachs isn't aiming to "win" this time; they want to "crush" him. They want to use a price they can't match to kick him out of the game.

Is there any chance for things to turn around?

Comparatively speaking, his offer was indeed not competitive.

However, it's possible that Huawei itself isn't that short of money, and that they value other things more.

He couldn't understand why a tech giant that had no desire to go public and raise money would sell its terminal business equity just to get a good price.

Thinking of this, Li Fu immediately sat up and quickly dialed Lina's number.

"Lina, please investigate two things for me. First, is Huawei's willingness to restart negotiations this time because they genuinely need funds, or is there another reason? Second, why did Huawei's joint acquisition of 3Com with Bain Capital in 2007 fail?"

"Okay, I'll check right away," Lina said, knowing that this might determine whether the acquisition of shares would be successful.

"Remember, what I want isn't a press release, it's the real inside story," Li Fu emphasized again.

Through his extensive investments in this round, coupled with Forrest Capital's reputation, Lina has a wide network of connections in the industry, and he never has to worry about her efficiency.

The next day at noon, a multi-page research report was found in his encrypted email account.

Li Fu sat at the hotel desk, next to a glass of still steaming hot water, and clicked the mouse to turn the pages one by one.

Huawei's financial report is very impressive, and it doesn't look like it's short of money at all. Lina believes that the reason for selling the equity of the terminal business is definitely not for financing, but perhaps there are other reasons.

In fact, Huawei is certainly not short of money. In 2008, Huawei's global sales revenue was US$183.3 billion, an increase of 42.7% year-on-year, and its net profit exceeded US$11 billion. The financial crisis had almost no impact on it.

A technology company with an annual net profit of over $11 billion is unlikely to sell equity in its core business simply because it is "short of money".

So why would they sell it?

Li Fu fell into deep thought. He looked at the case of Huawei and Bain Capital's joint acquisition of 3Com in 2007, which was priced at $22 billion. If successful, Huawei would hold about 16.5% of 3Com's shares.

However, the deal was quickly rejected by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) on the grounds of "national security," and Huawei's access to the U.S. market was blocked by an invisible wall.

3Com's cybersecurity subsidiary Tipping Point's clients include the U.S. Department of Defense, and Huawei's status as a Chinese company made the deal doomed from day one.

After six months of effort, the deal ultimately fell through in February 2008.

Li Fu suddenly realized what was going on when he saw this.

Huawei may have been trying to enter the North American market. It first attempted to jointly acquire 3Com, but after that failed, it changed its strategy and sold its stake in the terminal business to bring in American capital, thus giving itself a "glorious" image.

Now that Wall Street private equity funds are investing, CFIUS can no longer block them on the grounds of "national security," can it?

Thus began the bidding process that started in May 2008, with five private equity firms shortlisted: Bain Capital, Goldman Sachs Private Equity, KKR, and Silver Lake Partners.

Huawei plans to sell its terminal business, valued at over $40 billion, with a 49% stake worth approximately $20 billion.

But the financial crisis disrupted the deal.

In October, the credit market froze, and the major bidders' own financing channels were cut off, resulting in a significant reduction in the cash they could come up with.

There are also disagreements within Huawei. The Blue Team submitted a one-page report with startling conclusions: the future of the telecommunications industry will be a three-in-one system of terminal, network, and cloud, with terminals determining demand. Selling the terminal business may affect Huawei's future.

Due to a combination of factors, Huawei announced in October 2008 that it was postponing the sale plan.

Li Fuhe was giving a report, leaning back in his chair, closing his eyes to rest, but his mind was racing.

He understood Huawei better than those Wall Street investment banks and quickly figured out the fundamental logic behind Huawei's sale of its terminal business: the reason for selling equity was simply because it lacked the ticket to enter the American market.

This ticket requires the support of these top conglomerates and investment banks.

Huawei wants to use the huge profits from its terminal business to lure investment banks onto its platform, just as it had to lure the Forrest family into its fold.

This is necessary for establishing a foothold in North America.

Goldman Sachs can offer higher quotes, design more flexible financing structures, and promise to help Huawei access overseas listing channels.

However, they may not be willing to provide the political channel for CFIUS approval when necessary, nor may they be able to allow Huawei to take root in the American market. Wall Street capitalists have a natural profit-seeking nature and like to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages.

Selling for short-term profits is the norm.

However, Li Fu was quite the opposite; he was very willing to work hard for it.

Once the Forrest family and JPMorgan Chase are on board, anything is possible driven by profit.

Because Huawei's terminal business has unlimited potential, it will far exceed the current acquisition price in just a few years, and more than ten times in ten years.

The amount of money and profits involved is beyond imagination, so large that it can make even the most powerful people wield it, let alone ordinary people.

……

Goldman Sachs headquarters building, 43rd floor.

The atmosphere in the meeting room didn't feel like a discussion about a multi-billion dollar equity investment; it felt more like a debriefing of a war that had already been won.

Joshua Kushner stood in front of the projection screen, his page turner drawing streaks of red light on the screen.

Today he wore a dark blue custom-made suit, a dark red tie, and his hair was combed meticulously. He looked five years older than his actual age, which was exactly the effect he wanted.

In the world of private equity, youth is a cardinal sin, while maturity is the passport.

"JPMorgan Chase's offer is $2.2 billion for a 49% stake, with a funding structure of $800 million from JPMorgan Chase, $200 million from a French investment bank, and $1.2 billion from Forrest Capital."

Joshua turned to the next page, where the comparison charts on the screen starkly revealed the disparity between the two proposals.

"Our offer is 2.4 billion, also accounting for 49%, which is 200 million higher than theirs."

In the context of the 2008 financial crisis, $200 million is at least ten times more scarce than it would be in 2026.

In this era, the assets of the wealthy and famous have not yet increased dramatically, and the world's richest man's net worth is less than 600 billion.

The difference is enormous compared to the hundreds of billions, or even close to trillions or two hundred million US dollars, that are expected in 2026.

The meeting room fell silent for a moment.

The senior partner leaned back in his chair, his hands clasped in front of his lower abdomen, his gaze fixed on the numbers on the screen. "A difference of two hundred million, I don't think Huawei will turn down money."

His voice was flat, as if he were stating a fact that didn't need to be discussed.

"Our advantage isn't just in our pricing," Joshua turned to the next page, "we're also much more flexible than JPMorgan Chase in terms of financing structures. We can design a variety of options, including performance-based clauses, performance commitments, and so on. Whatever Huawei wants, we'll give it to them."

The CEO raised an eyebrow. "You're that confident?"

"It's not that I'm confident, it's that we have a price advantage," Joshua's voice wasn't loud, but every word was firm. "During the worst of the financial crisis, we made money by shorting the market. What about JPMorgan Chase? They acquired Bear Stearns and took over a mess. In terms of cash reserves, trading capabilities, and influence in the global capital market, JPMorgan Chase can't compare to us right now."

He didn't mention the Kushner family, but everyone present knew that Joshua was sitting in this conference room not because of his Harvard diploma, but because of his surname.

However, no one would point that out.

On Wall Street, family connections are part of one's network, and no one would refuse the youngest son of the Kushner family.

The senior partner closed the file and looked at Joshua. "I need to confirm one thing: is this deal something we want to take, or are we just helping someone else make money?"

Joshua must demonstrate his professionalism.

"Huawei's consumer business is not an ordinary manufacturing business; it is one of the largest players in the global mobile phone market in the future, and its sales may surpass Apple's. This is a judgment based on current market trends."

He provided detailed data.

It was also emphasized that Li Fu accurately predicted the entire process of the economic crisis so far, selling off his foreign exchange positions at the highest point and then precisely shorting at another high point. If we don't take advantage of projects that such people are interested in, it would be a huge loss.

Few people paid attention to the earlier market predictions, but what came later was quite damaging.

To date, everyone in the investment banking industry knows the name Li Fu.

The senior executive nodded, clearly indicating that he had decided to put Joshua in charge of the equity acquisition.

Li Fu was busy communicating with Cole at the time.

"What do you want to do?" Cole didn't ask too many questions.

Li Fu's operational miracles exceeded the profits of the family hospital, and his series of strategies were even highly praised by Thomas.

"I'm going to fly to Shenzhen to talk to Huawei's team in person. We won't talk about price, we'll only talk about strategy," Li Fu said firmly. "I'll tell them that Forrest Capital is different from Goldman Sachs. Wall Street investment banks may cash out at a high price in three to five years, but we can hold for ten or twenty years."

Of course, there's one thing he didn't mention: Goldman Sachs might not be willing to travel all over the place to help Huawei expand its business in North America, but he is.

The Forrest family and JPMorgan Chase, who are deeply intertwined with him, might also be willing at that time.

Who knows, they might even be linked to other families later.

For example, the Trump family.

However, what they lack right now is time; they must get many things done in a short period of time.

By the time certain departments in the United States realized what was happening, it was too late. In a capitalist country, capital comes before the nation.

Otherwise, Jewish capital could not have grown so large.

"I also hope Lucy will come with me," Li Fu made a rather impolite request.

He had his reasons for doing so.

Lucy is the daughter of the Forrest family, which to some extent represents the Forrest family's political and business background.

The political background far outweighs the commercial background.

This is at least true for Huawei's current needs.

This background is far more valuable than two hundred million dollars.