Reborn Capital Madman

After leaving Ho Fung Shan's home, Michael Blumenthal's excitement was still high. He even said that his trip was worthwhile, and even used Gao Xian's guidance to Howard Hughes to accept Kirk Kerkorian's Columbia Pictures.

He was very complimentary about the business shares. Sir Gao was so far-sighted. If you think about it carefully, you can really do a lot in the film industry.

Gao Xian was not surprised by this, because he knew that in addition to being an American business executive and former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Michael Blumenthal also had considerable achievements in the field of public service, especially on matters involving Jews.

The public service field is very enthusiastic.

For example, in the "old script", Michael Blumenthal, who lost his position as U.S. Treasury Secretary, returned to the world of corporate executives and served as the director of the Jewish Museum in Berlin, Germany.

Of course, Michael Blumenthal's behavior also showed his intentional show of goodwill towards Gao Xian.

After all, when Michael Blumenthal was the Treasury Secretary in Carter’s cabinet, he failed to enter President Carter’s inner circle and was fired at the request of dismissal. This could not help but have a huge impact on Michael Blumenthal.

Although Gao Xian is not the boss of the Howard Hughes Corporation, he is the financial manager designated by Howard Hughes. He even served Howard Hughes and attempted to get involved in the "Mormon Mafia" that Howard Hughes left behind.

"They were all driven away, and Howard Hughes's relatives who wanted to divide the inheritance also obeyed. This kind of actual authority and control has been undoubtedly established by the boss. Of course, Michael Blumenthal

Show your loyalty to Sir Gao.

"It's better to leave the movie matters to professionals." Gao Xian responded to Michael Blumenthal's enthusiasm in a good mood, "But Michael, you are also an expert on that period of history. If you are willing to take the time to

If I have time, I would like to ask you to serve as a consultant for this film."

"Yes, of course I do." Michael Blumenthal, who was exactly what he wanted, happily agreed, subconsciously getting closer to Sir Gao.

Gao Xian smiled knowingly, and after using the car's Motorola phone to make a few calls through MCI's wireless communication network, he told Michael Blumenthal another thing, "I plan to set up a headquarters.

It is a commercial satellite communications company located in Xiangjiang and serves the Asian region, and the order for communications satellites must naturally be given to Hughes Aircraft Company."

This was no longer a "serious" business. Michael Blumenthal's expression quickly turned serious, "Do you have any special requirements? For example, in terms of time."

"No, you can just deal with it as usual." Gao Xian patted Michael Blumenthal's arm, "In this kind of business, there are inevitably a lot of joints that need to be opened, so it will take a while before it can really work.

"

"Then this is Sir Gao's achievement that he gave to himself in vain." Michael Blumenthal, who quickly figured out the joints, replied with a smile: "It just so happens that the design of satellites also takes some time."

"By the way, Polaris has been lobbying me hard recently, hoping to get resources to support their mainframe computer business so that they can continue to survive under the strong pressure of IBM, the dominant player in this field." Michael Blumenthal also talked about another topic with great interest.

One topic was, "This is a network of contacts I established when I was the Minister of Finance. It's not easy to refuse them outright."

"Sir Gao, according to my observation, due to the pressure of the Department of Justice's antitrust investigation, IBM's aggressive operations have been greatly restrained, which has made other manufacturers in the mainframe computer industry breathe a sigh of relief. Do you think, at this point in time, Howard

Could Hughes enter the mainframe computer industry?"

"The speed of high-tech development can only be described as rapid. For example, 32-bit microprocessors for personal computers have begun to be put on the market. In this case, in less than five years, large computers will

There will be an obvious trend of being eliminated." Gao Xian analyzed with a firm tone: "What's more, once Li Gen, who is shouting neo-liberal economic slogans from the Communist Party, wins in this year's presidential election, what will happen to IBM's antitrust investigation?

, it is very likely to be revoked.”

Upon hearing this, a look of disappointment quickly flashed across Michael Blumenthal's face, because even Gao Xian had made such a conclusion, so there was no need for the Howard Hughes Corporation to take risks and spend a lot of money.

resources, entering the field of large computers where market competition is fierce and the industry prospects are bleak.

In fact, it is normal for Michael Blumenthal to have such mood swings. You must know that he was recruited by Gao Xian to serve as CEO of Howard Hughes Corporation. His main job performance was to "maintain success" and sort out the affairs of this huge group.

In the internal affairs, Gao Xian was satisfied, but there was one thing: his own landmark achievements were not really his own, so leading the Howard Hughes Corporation into a new business field became a way to satisfy his personal aspirations for a higher level.

A breakthrough in development.

Gao Xian, who had a clear view of Michael Blumenthal's reaction, added leisurely, "However, although mainframe computers will soon be eliminated, the objective needs of those customers who currently use mainframe computers

It still exists, so the large-scale computer customer resources controlled by Bora Company are still valuable. After all, it is far inferior to occupying the market in the form of inheriting large-scale computer customer resources for a new type of computer that replaces large-scale computers and entering the market from scratch.

Save effort."

Upon hearing this turn of events, Michael Blumenthal's originally depressed mood suddenly rose again. "What Sir Gao means is that you can agree to Bora Company's request for help?"

"You can agree, but you have to meet the conditions we put forward." Gao Xian replied playfully: "They don't necessarily have a very good understanding of the development of the computer industry."

"That's it, that's it." Michael Blumenthal, who was delighted because the plan was adopted, sincerely complimented: "After IBM accepted Sir Gao's matchmaking and acquired Universal Personal Computer, it was worth the nickname "Wall Street" for its excellent value for money.

The troubles of happiness may add another reason for prosecution to the Department of Justice’s antitrust investigation.”

This time Gao Xian was complimented quite well, because this is indeed the case. IBM, which ranks among the top ten in the Fortune 500, has entered the emerging personal computer industry through the acquisition of Universal Personal Computer, and its sluggish stock price has begun to perk up.

Up, the current market value is close to 550

Billion US dollars, ranking first in the list of S&P 500 index stocks, while the market value of the second-ranked American Telephone and Telegraph Company is only more than 35 billion US dollars, almost 20 billion US dollars less than Big Blue.

The gap between the second-largest company by market capitalization and the first company by market capitalization is not small.

The rise in IBM's stock price has naturally benefited all parties including Gao Xian, IBM, and Wall Street. It has also become the most powerful proof of Gao Xian's success in investing in the computer industry. If Bora Company can take advantage of Sir Gao's success, it will be a great success.

Michael Blumenthal's compliments scratched the itch for the blessings it has brought.

The current structure of the large computer industry can be simply described as the strong get stronger, and the winner takes all.

In the history of computer development, the era of mainframe computers was a stage for large companies to perform. In addition to IBM, in the United States, there were also Bora Corporation, Control Data Corporation, General Electric Company, American Radio Company, Honeywell Company, National

Cash Receipt Recording Company, Univac Corporation.

In the 1960s, when large-scale computers competed with each other, this situation was called "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" by the media to describe the dominance of IBM.

Specifically, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when IBM began to attract antitrust investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice, IBM's share of the mainframe computer market reached its peak, with an 80% share.

, the remaining 20% ​​share is shared by the "Seven Dwarfs".

It needs to be pointed out that IBM did not win its dominance in the mainframe computer market simply by relying on technical advantages. In fact, system/360 is not the most technologically advanced product. For example, the time-sharing processing function is not perfect, etc. In comparison, the United States

Radio Company's large-scale computer product Spectar/70 series was the first to be completely manufactured using semiconductor integrated circuits. Such technical deficiencies were not greatly improved until IBM launched System/370, making it appear worthy of its name.

IBM's real trump card for winning the dominant position in the mainframe computer market should be its excellent public relations and sales, as well as its sophisticated suppression of competitors.

Take Control Data Company as an example. When it ambitiously announces a better product development plan, IBM will be very targeted in drawing a bigger pie for customers. Even if it cannot fulfill its promise by then, it will still grab it.

Taking control of the data company's limelight.

It is probably because of these intrigues that the antitrust investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice came so quickly.

But the reality is that the mainframe computer market is not an easy job. IBM, the overlord, has reason to have the resources to deal with the antitrust investigation of the U.S. Department of Justice. The "seven dwarfs" may not be able to afford it. Among them, the American Radio Company, in one

In September 1971, it announced that it would withdraw from the mainframe computer market and sell its computer division to Univac for US$120 million. Anyway, I have a wide business scope, so why do I have to be in the mainframe computer market?

In this field, we are locked in a fight with IBM.

The situation of General Electric Company and American Radio Company is similar. For example, in the three highly high-tech businesses of atomic energy, jet aircraft, and electronic computers, the profit of the former two is much higher than that of the latter, and thus in the large computer market

, there is no motivation to fight to the end with IBM.

However, General Electric Company is too proud to be like the American wireless company, which directly announced that it ended in failure. Instead, it played a golden cicada and approached Honeywell to discuss. We pooled the large-scale computer resources on hand.

Come together, form a joint company, and fight against IBM together.

Honeywell, which was also deeply troubled, readily agreed, and the two parties hit it off to form Honeywell Information Systems, with assets of US$3.1 billion and a total mainframe computer market share of 9.9%.

Second place.

At that time, the industry was very excited about this and felt that GE and Honeywell would join forces to start a new round of competition for the mainframe computer market against IBM.

But the name Honeywell Information Systems is a hint that General Electric's mind has wandered away, and it has continuously reduced its holdings of United Company shares until the final 11.7% was sold to it in one go.

Honeywell quietly withdrew from the field of mainframe computers completely.

Only then did the outside world suddenly realize that General Electric had backed down a long time ago.

The American Radio Company and General Electric Company successively withdrew from the large-scale computer market. In addition to causing a huge shock, it also made other large-scale computer manufacturers realize that they must stick together for warmth in order to continue to survive. For example, the control data in "Seven Dwarfs"

The company and the National Cash Revenue Record Company came together.

This trend of teaming up for warmth has also spread to other parts of the world. Six large computer companies in Ippon have joined forces in pairs, Hitachi and Fujitsu, Ippon Electric and Toshiba, Mitsubishi Electric and OKI, to form three new large computer companies.

Company; in Europe, Siemens of West Germany, International Information Corporation of France, and Philips of the Netherlands concluded a joint treaty and jointly established the largest computer company in Europe-Unitedta.

To put it simply, in the large computer industry, companies that don’t want to find ways to become giants have no way of continuing to thrive. Companies like Bora are only looking for help now, which is already an afterthought.

Of course, Bora Company is definitely not stupid. It seems to be slow to respond, and it must have the confidence to survive.

Speaking of which, the Bora Company is quite old. Its history can be traced back to 1886. Its business is to manufacture and sell the "adding machine" invented by the company's founder William Seward Burroughs for four arithmetic operations.

, this kind of gadget can barely be regarded as one of the distant ancestors of modern computers.

As for the acceptance of the product in the market, it is not difficult to imagine that the use of abacus was not as popular in the United States at that time as in China. However, the banking industry was developing rapidly, and objective financial calculations required more efficient auxiliary tools. Therefore, Bora Company's "adding machine"

"The products are becoming more and more widely known and popular in the banking industry.

Bora Corporation entered the mainframe computer industry in 1953, focusing on R&D and sales of large-scale computer products serving the banking industry. It naturally became a member of the "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" pattern of the large-scale computer industry.

It is necessary to point out that Bora Company has indeed a profound foundation in the banking industry.

To give the most representative example, in the 1950s, Bora Corporation cooperated with the Federal Reserve Bank of the United States to develop a magnetic ink character recognition system that could perform computer information processing to help the banking industry simplify the processing of checks and other instruments.

The banking industry in the United States is so developed that Bora Corporation can rest on its laurels for many years just based on this achievement.

However, everything has two sides. Just like IBM, the overlord of the large computer industry, it is inevitable that the traditional large computer business will be eliminated. Bora Company, which has a deep-rooted position in the large computer product market for the banking industry,

It does appear to be a bit slow in adapting to market changes.

Of course, these backgrounds of Bora Company are indeed quite attractive in Gao Xian's eyes, otherwise he would not have given Michael Blumenthal an emotional turn in the end.

Michael Blumenthal, who once served as the U.S. Treasury Secretary, is really familiar with Bora Corporation, which is closely related to the U.S. banking industry. He made a set of figures for Gao Xian to compare and said: "Under Sir Gao's wise guidance,

, the reorganized Howard Hughes Corporation

The company is better than ever, and its business performance is booming. In terms of operating income, in the past 1979, it was nearly 3 billion US dollars, enough to rank in the top 100 of the Fortune 500, and its profits are higher than those generally recognized by the industry.

level, exceeding US$400 million is not a problem.”

"The operating income of Bora Company last year should have exceeded 2 billion US dollars. Although it is not comparable to IBM's annual operating income of more than 20 billion US dollars, the profit performance is quite satisfactory. There is no doubt that it will reach 200 million US dollars. Except because

It is completely dependent on the mainframe computer market, which seems to have insufficient stamina in the face of too fierce industry competition, but there are no major problems in other aspects."

Gao Xian, who knew what he was doing, nodded and said: "Bolai Company seems to be very promising and we can make further contact, but before making substantive investment actions, I need to find out to what extent Bora Company is willing to accept our offer."

What is the attitude of leadership, especially when it comes to new products that inherit the status of mainframe computers?"

"If Bora Company stubbornly remains conservative, then there is no need for us to waste that energy."

Michael Blumenthal, who understood Gao Xian's thoughts, said clearly: "I will be responsible for the specific communication work and strive to report a clear result to Sir Gao within the first quarter."

Gao Xian further explained with great satisfaction: "Although I sold my personal computer business to IBM, I still have many computer projects in operation, including new microprocessors and server customers built on this basis.

End-to-end architecture enterprise-level solutions, the banking industry is one of the target users."

"Compared with traditional large computers with dedicated architecture, the server-client architecture has obvious advantages in terms of cost, maintenance, etc., and it will definitely represent the future."

"If Bora Company can satisfy us, we can set up a new company to gradually integrate this new product that represents the future with the customer resources controlled by Bora Company. When the time is ripe, we can use capital operation methods.

Either sell the new company to Bora, or directly put it on the stock market. Anyway, whatever method of operation is used to maximize profits."

Michael Blumenthal's eyes lit up when he heard this. He seemed to have seen another capital feast similar to IBM's acquisition of Universal Personal Computer, waiting for him to participate.