Morris, the president of Times Shipping, is very angry because the sudden change in the acquisition of South African Shipping (safmarine) has attracted competition from Maersk.
Originally, Times Shipping offered US$600 million to acquire Safmarine. This price was very reasonable, and the shareholders of South African Shipping had also agreed.
Unexpectedly, at the last critical moment, Maersk joined the competition, and the shareholders of South Africa Shipping naturally started to sway, meaning you should compete with others to see whose price is higher!
"Damn the Mueller family!" Morris cursed angrily in a low voice.
If the $600 million acquisition is completed, he can prove to his boss that his high salary is worth the money; but now, with Maersk joining, everything has become uncontrollable.
"Let's ask for permission!" Morris finally said helplessly.
Xiangjiang.
Lin Zuhui was not very surprised when he received the call from Morris. Any acquisition is unlikely to be smooth sailing. Even if there are no competitors, the seller may drag the price up.
He remembered an acquisition case in his previous life: Australia's largest wine merchant, Southern Wine, confidently launched the acquisition of Australia's second largest wine merchant, Rose Manor, for 600 million Australian dollars after the turn of the millennium.
; As a result, it took a year or two for the price to rise to 1.4 billion Australian dollars (8 billion rmb). Because during this period, Australian wine posed a huge threat to established wines such as France and Italy due to currency exchange rates.
Exports are getting better and better, so prices are becoming more expensive.
Based on this story as an example, if Lin Zuhui knows the future trend of a certain industry, he must not be sloppy, otherwise the price will become more expensive.
He thought about it!
The price of South African shipping (safmarine) in the past four and a half years (as of early 2003) has been worth US$600 million; even this price is slightly higher. After all, affected by the financial crisis, although Europe and the United States have not had a big impact, shipping
Prices will also be affected to a certain extent. It can only be said that there is a lot of business on the routes. (Asian export routes are busy, but import routes almost suffer huge losses)
"Do you know the other party's price?"
"It is said to be 630 million U.S. dollars! Originally, I wanted to continue to quote 650 million U.S. dollars, but I was worried about falling into vicious competition, so I asked my boss for instructions."
Lin Zuhui did not blame Morris. Calling him did not mean that others were incompetent; on the contrary, Lin Zuhui was very satisfied with this kind of communication, and his sense of presence came out.
Even though Morris offered $700 million and the acquisition was completed, he would not blame it.
"In this way, although South African shipping is important, it is not absolute. We have better choices. If you tell the people of South African shipping, we will have an answer within three days for 688 million U.S. dollars, and it will be our final quotation. If we can't make the deal, we will
quit."
Morris immediately said confidently: "Okay, I believe this price can succeed!"
Lin Zuhui is not deceiving people. He really has a better choice, which is the railway company Zhahua, which accounts for more than 5% of the world's shipping. (ps: Shipping generally refers to container ships and bulk ships, and they must open fixed routes; as for
Shipping of iron ore, oil and gas is almost dominated by ship leasing)
As long as the price is right, if he is being ripped off, he would rather be ripped off by such a giant.
Moreover, although it seems that he is being ripped off, in four years time, when the shipping price doubles, triples, or quadruples, that will be the time for him to laugh.
To be honest, the shipping cycle is crucial, and the prospects of Times Shipping are much greater than those of Maersk.
Of course, Lin Zuhui only knew that September 2008 (Lehman) was the top, and 2016 (Hanjin's bankruptcy) was the bottom. The small cycle was not clear. However, he felt that these were enough, and his group's debt situation was not high.
........
In 1904, 28-year-old A.P. Muller co-founded the "Svendborg Shipping Company" with his father, Captain Muller, and purchased a second-hand steam freighter. The company's first office was located in the village of Anna in Svendborg.
, this is the predecessor of Maersk.
Maersk McKinney Muller took over as chairman and CEO of the company in 1965. After retiring from the CEO position in 1993, he continued to serve as chairman. Behind the scenes, he was still involved in some major company decisions. He was once the richest man in Denmark.
He works hard and is full of superhuman perseverance. Muller himself has since become a symbol of the group's achievements and is known as "the greatest businessman in Danish history."
Maersk McKinney Muller only has three daughters, so after three generations of the Muller family running Maersk, the current president is Charlie, a non-Mueller family.
Of course, Maersk McKinney Moller is still behind the scenes, and he is still involved in some of the company's major decisions.
Charlie walked into the office of the old chairman (81 years old). He had great respect for Maersk McKinney Moller, a shipping man who was respected in the company and even in Denmark.
The old chairman is very healthy and can still inspect ships and steer the ship personally in stormy seas. In the words of the old chairman, he will continue to inspect ships and steer the ship himself until his death.
"Chairman, South Africa Shipping sent a message asking us to re-quote within three days, otherwise they will complete the contract with Times Shipping in Xiangjiang."
The old Muller raised his head and said with some surprise: "So, in that era, the shipping industry gave a three-day deadline to solve the problem quickly?"
Charlie nodded and said: "That should be the case! However, the shareholders of South Africa Shipping did not tell us the other party's offer, but what is certain is that the other party's offer must be higher than 630 million US dollars."
Muller stood up and walked in front of his desk. Although he was old, he was still strong, but at this time he was "racking his brains."
"Shipping is a cyclical business. If the purchase price is high, it will be difficult to make a profit. Times Shipping is an Asian shipping company, and Asia is in financial crisis. They just want to buy the bottom, and they should not offer too high a price."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Charlie immediately said: "I think so too! Moreover, South African shipping is not a 'necessity' for Maersk, and it is not in our interests to bid too high. So,
After discussion, we decided to offer a maximum of US$660 million!”
Muller frowned and said: "This price is too high! Have you lobbied those shareholders? After all, South Africa Shipping has greater prospects if it joins Maersk. Shipping was not a big company in that era, it was just a small shipping company in Xiangjiang. Now it is
The group just has some money. They don’t have rich shipping experience or company business philosophy..."
Charlie smiled bitterly and said: "We sent a team to do public relations with the South African Shipping Company for a long time, and the shareholders were very happy for our acquisition. They promised that if the prices were similar, we would be given priority. But this time the time was suddenly so tight, and it was obvious that the other party also knew that,
Delaying it would be detrimental to them, so we took the initiative."
Mueller finally said: "Then let's take 660 million U.S. dollars. This price is very high! Hey, if this small shipping company hadn't disrupted the situation, we could have won it even with 600 million U.S. dollars."
Charlie echoed: "No, we have already taken a fancy to South African shipping, but we just wanted to wait for the continued impact of the Asian financial crisis."
Both of them were a little annoyed that Times Shipping was disrupting the situation. After all, in their view, why are you, a small shipping company in Asia, acquiring an established shipping company?
.......
Three days later.
South Africa Shipping announced that it would sell itself to the "Times Shipping" from Xiangjiang, which immediately attracted the attention of the shipping industry.
Maersk was unwilling to say some "sarcastic remarks" in the media, which made people feel uncomfortable. For example, it was not a good choice for South Africa Shipping to sell itself to Times Shipping...
In the conference room of South African Shipping.
Morris leads the team and is signing a contract with South African shipping executives.
"Mr. Koch, we will become colleagues from now on!" Morris smiled and said to Koch, the president of South Africa Shipping.
Times Shipping is still in the process of expansion, integration, and governance, and rashly merging South African Shipping will cause great losses.
Therefore, after Times Shipping acquired South Africa Shipping, South Africa Shipping still operated independently, and Times Shipping only dispatched a small number of personnel.
The plan of Lin Zuhui, Morris and others is to first let the acquired company operate independently, and then merge and integrate the entire Times Shipping business when the time is right.
This 'time is ripe' means that Times Shipping will carry out 'digitization' and 'informatization' of global shipping; at the same time, Times Shipping has abundant talents and perfect systems.
Koch was originally a small shareholder and president of South African Shipping, so he was naturally very happy to see Times Shipping retain him, as the salary was high after all.
"I am very happy to be a colleague of President Morris. Our management team will continue to uphold the tradition of South African shipping and fulfill its duties."
Everyone started talking and quickly became one with each other.
Morris and others used to be elite talents in large shipping companies and celebrities in the maritime industry. There would be no generation gap among us.
........
Here, Maersk is still very unhappy about losing a South African shipping company. The main reason is that Times Shipping is not even one of the top 20 shipping companies in the world, but it actually snatched the South African shipping company from Maersk.
Muller said to Charlie: "Losing a South African shipping line is not a big problem! We, Maersk, are also sailing on South Africa's shipping routes, and we will be competitors in the future. We, Maersk, have advantages in all aspects, so we are bound to be able to suppress the new South Africa."
Shipping."
He is the richest man in Denmark and the pride of the Danes. He has his own pride in his heart and is very annoyed that an Asian company is robbing his favorite shipping company.
Charlie nodded and said: "Don't worry, Chairman, we can definitely give them some color to see!"
In fact, the two believe that if Times Shipping directly merges with South African shipping, it will definitely fall into turmoil, and Maersk can then seize its business.
But in fact, South Africa's shipping business is doing better than Maersk in some routes, and Maersk is better in global business.
........
The Morris team had no time to celebrate. After handover with South African Shipping, they immediately flew to the United States.
Because the boss called and wanted to make a quick decision on the acquisition of ‘Sea and Land Services (Sea and Land Container Business)’; and this time, the boss particularly emphasized that money is not an issue, what is needed is a quick decision to completely defeat Maersk.
Why did Lin Zuhui say this?
It turns out that since 1995, two shipping companies, 'Maersk' and 'Sea-Land Services', have developed an operating alliance.
It's like, sea and land services are what Maersk calls food. Sea and land services are "very important" to Maersk, because as soon as they are acquired, they can be seamlessly merged immediately.
Moreover, Sea and Land Services is the originator and founder of the world's "container" and has a transcendent status in the entire container shipping.
So, this time Lin Zuhui was serious and decided to teach Maersk a lesson!
Let Maersk understand - if you have money, you can really do whatever you want!
.......
"What? Times Shipping is negotiating an acquisition with Sea-Land Services?" The old Muller perked up at this moment and said in disbelief.
Charlie nodded and said: "That's right! And the people at Sealand Service didn't notify us. It seems that they are very satisfied with the price! If we hadn't been cooperating for so long, and I know one of their executives, I'm afraid we would still be in the dark.
middle."
Muller immediately said: "What is the origin of shipping in this era, and why is it so generous and aggressive?"
Charlie said: "The parent company is the largest consortium in Hong Kong, and the boss was the richest man in the world last year. The important thing is, it is said that their parent company has 10 billion US dollars in its accounts, and there are also 10 billion worth of European and American securities. In March this year, they
We also built 2.1 million tons of various types of ships in South Korea at one time.”
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Mueller paused for a moment. No matter how old and dim he was, he had never heard of Lin Zuhui, the richest man in the world. His wealth was even the pride of Americans, and technology
Bill Gates, the giant, has only recently surpassed others (45 billion U.S. dollars). As a result, Americans are overjoyed, as if the collective is very proud.
"You immediately fly to the United States in person to negotiate with the sea and land services. As for the price, keep in touch with me. We must annex the sea and land services!" Muller finally said firmly.
Charlie nodded and said: "Okay, I will go to the sea and land service immediately!"
Muller couldn't help but said: "You must be cautious about the price, keep in communication with me, it can't be too expensive!"
Charlie's morale suddenly dropped by half, but he still nodded!
.......
Times Shipping and Maersk once again engaged in malicious bidding, which temporarily put Sea and Land Services in control.
Major media have also begun to report on it, especially the American media, which has started to hype it up in the hope of selling high prices for land and sea services.
"A new shipping giant is about to be born, and it is already challenging the world's number one!" (In fact, even if the acquisition is completed, the three combined companies will only have a share of more than 6%, while Maersk's share is about 10%)
“Maersk, if we lose South Africa’s shipping, we will lose our sea and land services?”
There are endless slogans like this designed to start a fight!
America.
Morris felt that he was very unlucky and wanted to acquire two shipping companies to gain more trust from his boss. However, he did not expect that Maersk was still there and pursued him from South Africa to the United States.
"Call the boss!" Morris decided decisively.
After all, an acquisition of more than 800 million US dollars is not a small number. If it is 100 to 200 million US dollars more expensive, his responsibility is more or less too great.
...........
When Lin Zuhui heard the news in Xiangjiang, he also felt a little helpless. The ghost of Maersk was still lingering, which cost him a lot of money.
Of course, then again, maybe others have long considered these two companies as acquisition targets, but Times Shipping has preempted them.
But Lin Zuhui did not worry for long!
On the phone, Lin Zuhui asked: "At what price do you think Maersk will give up? Will the sea and land services have to be sold?"
On the other end of the phone, Morris said: "Sea and land services are different from South Africa's shipping. Maersk will be more determined. I think the price of 1 billion US dollars should make Maersk retreat."
"Well, this time we directly open the offer, and we will acquire it for US$1 billion, and it will be completed within a week!"
"good!"
After hanging up the phone, Lin Zuhui didn't feel unhappy at all, and his expression didn't change at all!
If this acquisition is completed, he will indeed be defrauded of US$300 million, but he doesn't care, and naturally it won't affect his mood.
If this acquisition is not completed, next year we will acquire the giant Tiehang Zhahua and see if Maersk’s cash flow can compare with it!
The value of Tiehang Zhua is at least US$1.5 billion, and Maersk's cash flow is absolutely insufficient.
.......
"What, they're offering $1 billion, are they crazy?" Mueller couldn't help but raise his voice after receiving the call.
How can he acquire a company worth up to US$800 million at a higher price?
Charlie said on the phone: "However, they have gone crazy. Maybe the Chinese are too rich! And this time they have set a clear price for the acquisition. They also said that if there is no clear answer within a week, they will withdraw from the acquisition."
Muller's first reaction was that this was Times Shipping's 'game' in retaliation for the South African Shipping incident. After all, in that acquisition, Times Shipping was about to complete the acquisition, and Maersk joined the bidding, making Times Shipping 8,800 higher.
Won $10,000.
"Sea and land services, what do you say over there?"
"They said they hope we will make an offer within a week, and even if it is US$1.01 billion, they will agree to our acquisition!"
Mueller immediately said: "We will not be fooled. Maritime and land services are not worth the money, at most 800 million US dollars! Let them buy it, and they will regret it later!"
Charlie said tentatively: "Maybe the shipping cycle is coming?"
Muller immediately said: "This is just a guess, but it is not worth our risk! Shipping must not only rely on cycles, but more importantly, cherish every penny so that we can survive the shipping ice season."
Charlie immediately said with admiration: "Okay!"
........
A week later, many world media reported that Times Shipping, a shipping company not in the top 20, successively annexed two of the world's top ten shipping giants, becoming the world's third largest shipping giant in one fell swoop (with a share of more than 6%
).
"Crazy, Asians are crazy! Asia is experiencing an unprecedented financial crisis, and shipping has also been hit hard. The former world's richest man seems to be operating against the market trend. I wonder if he still has that kind of luck.
?”
“Times Shipping has spent a lot of money on shipping, acquiring two shipping companies for US$1.7 billion, building 2.1 million tons of various types of ships, and acquiring two European ports this year. They have spent more than US$3.6 billion on shipping.
.I just want to say, they are too rich!"
One by one, the news was published in major business newspapers around the world, and there was a lot of discussion.
At the same time, the news also spread back to Xiangjiang.
Of course, in Xiangjiang, Lin Zuhui is like a god. In the eyes of investors, his strategy is unmistakable.
Therefore, New Era Group's stock remains strong, although the Xiangjiang stock market continued to fall in early June. As of June 10 (Wednesday), it had fallen to 9,500 points, reaching Lin Zuhui's investment line.
The shares of New Era Group are still over 400 billion Hong Kong dollars, firmly maintaining the "Legendary" brand.
Although Lin Zuhui is not very heartbroken about spending 288 million US dollars more than expected this time, he has no intention of letting it go.
Maersk's boss has already been taken over. Before Mueller dies, he will see Times Shipping surpass Maersk's market share and see Times Shipping making huge profits.
At the same time, New Era Group lost just over 2 billion Hong Kong dollars, so it naturally had to find a way to make up for it.