On the morning of April 18, Li Guangyu’s special plane took off from Vienna and officially embarked on the voyage back to Xiangjiang.
This trip to Europe is still far from the goal set by Li Guangyu. The funds he brought there were only US$10 billion invested in Yingya Investment Company and US$2 billion invested in Bentley Group to purchase it.
Office buildings and industrial expansion.
Now he still has more than 1.4 billion US dollars in funds, but he has not yet decided where to use them.
While Li Guangyu was on the long journey on the plane, a very sensational news came out in England. British Asia Investment Company successfully acquired British Gas Company for 5.8 billion pounds, about 9.5 billion US dollars.
In the past few days, the competition between Yingya Investment Company and Yingli Investment Company has become fierce, and they have made bids for the major companies sold by the British government.
This time, Li Guangyu was coordinating in the middle, and all parties hoped to teach the American consortium a lesson, so companies that mainly involved people's lives quoted prices very quickly.
I don’t know if the leaders of the British consortium in the United States do not have enough authority to deal with such a huge acquisition, or if there are differences in the cooperation between them, or if the major consortia themselves are not interested in natural gas companies. Anyway, on this matter
The quotes are not positive.
The British government also acted very quickly. Yingli Investment Company just exceeded the prescribed quotation time limit and actively agreed to transfer the natural gas company to Yingya Investment Company for 5.8 billion pounds.
While Yingya Investment Company and subsequent shareholders were celebrating the acquisition of British Gas Company, in the conference room of Yingli Investment Company, several shareholder representatives were discussing the company's acquisition plan.
Dampier Worthy, head of Western Europe at Merrill Lynch, said: "Our opponents have now begun to celebrate their victory. I think we need to take some practical actions to counterattack to boost everyone's confidence. Once we
This failure in England will cause huge damage to our influence in Western Europe."
Once the forces in Britain and even Western Europe feel that the strength of their American consortium is no more than this, it will be even more difficult for the United States to control the economy of Western Europe.
Merrill Lynch really didn't want Anglo-Asia Investment Company to take over the natural gas company so easily. Unfortunately, Morgan, Citigroup One, and Rockefeller were not very interested in these public service companies.
They have all focused on oil, aerospace, Rolls-Royce and other companies, which has resulted in Yingli not being aggressive in quoting companies such as natural gas, tap water, and electricity.
Today's natural gas company is just the beginning. If they do not change their current strategy, it is estimated that within a few days, the electricity and water companies will also be eaten by Yingya Investment Company.
Cross Charles, head of Morgan's Western Europe, said: "Our main focus is on British National Petroleum, British Steel and other companies. First, let Anglo-Asian Investment Company spend a lot of financial resources to acquire British public service companies, which can reduce our competitive pressure.
"
Even if the Japanese consortium and the Lee consortium have deep funds, after spending tens of billions of dollars, when they compete with them for these companies, they have to consider the financial pressure they will bear. No matter how rich these consortiums are, they still have a degree.
It is impossible to let this acquisition affect the development of their industries.
Moreover, Morgan mainly focuses on the financial industry, supplemented by the energy industry, and is really not very interested in these public service industries.
On the British side, Anthony Bamford and others felt a little disappointed. They cooperated with the American consortium this time in the hope of expanding their influence in Britain.
Fortunately, now, the American consortium is directly preparing to hand over the companies that have the greatest influence on British citizens to their opponents, but it is still unknown whether they can take over several other huge companies.
Anthony Bamford said: "Worsey, Charles, Smith, Dijak, I don't think we can let Yingya Investment Company eat up all the companies he focuses on. This will only boost their morale. We want to acquire
Companies like oil, steel, Rolls-Royce, aerospace will have a harder time."
Virgin Group Chairman Richard Branson also said: “What we are facing this time is not a single consortium, they are a collection of multiple consortiums in Asia, and even the Japanese and Korean governments are on their side. How can they
There will be a lack of funds to acquire these companies, and even if they are lacking, their banks and even the government will find ways to help them.
This time Japan has six major consortiums and many families holding shares in it. With Japan’s current economy, Charles, do you think they will miss these tens of billions of dollars?"
Not to mention the powerful consortiums in Japan, the market value of the Lee Consortium alone has now exceeded US$200 billion. This is a valuation given by many institutions, including Morgan's own investment bank.
The combined market value of the major companies they want to sell this time in England will not exceed US$200 billion. They hope to reduce financial pressure by acquiring several companies through Yingya Investment Company, which is simply impossible to achieve.
These British shareholders know that the main reason why such a problem occurs now is that American consortiums have no intention of acquiring companies such as electricity, gas and tap water, and their major consortiums are not fully prepared to deal with the challenges of Asian consortiums.
Although their company is currently established, they and the four major U.S. consortiums each hold 20% of the shares. It is difficult for everyone to take the lead. None of the four major U.S. consortiums obeys the other. Many issues have to be discussed repeatedly, and problems often arise.
How can this compete with Yingya Investment Company in a situation where they are trying to undermine each other?
There is a concerted effort to repel the American consortium. With the Lee Consortium and the Japanese consortium as the main axis, Yingya Investment Company will never be in a situation like theirs. It is difficult for everything to have a result.
Sambotson Smith, the head of First Citigroup, said: "Don't get excited, everyone. I know that everyone must have some calculations of their own, and it is normal to have different opinions. This time we all sit together, mainly to face the challenges of many Asian consortiums.
Attack, I believe everyone has the same original intention to repel the Asian consortium.
Although our company has been established these days, due to everyone's selfishness and grievances, we are unable to cooperate sincerely. This allows Yingya Investment Company to easily take over the British Gas Company. Of course, there are also some people from the British government in this process.
favoritism.
So I hope everyone can put aside their previous grievances and thoughts. We do not have the strength to repel the Asian consortium, and there is still a huge collection of consortiums favored by the British government."
Sambotson Smith said so, but it is very difficult for several parties to cooperate fully. The grievances between their major consortia are not a matter of a day or two. In the past, when dealing with external forces, their consortium
I am enough on my own, and I don't have any big strength to compete with them, except for their internal consortium in the United States.
But now that Japan is rising strongly, several major consortiums have jointly attacked their American market, allowing them to work with their allies to suppress the Japanese consortiums, but that is also the action of the major consortiums and the consortiums that have good relations with them.
In addition, Japanese consortiums are very strong in various industries, so all major consortiums are suppressing them. However, this is because they work independently and will not discuss cooperation and take action together.
The same is true for the rise of the Lee Group. For example, the California Group, Texas Group, Mellon Group, Cleveland Group, Rockefeller Group, etc. have not taken action against the Lee Group in the U.S. market.
The British market is different this time. If they don't cooperate, I'm afraid even one company won't be able to take over it. However, the headquarters of several major consortiums have no intention of sincerely joining forces with other consortiums, so this is what happened now.