American Fortune Life

"Good morning, boss."

As soon as the elevator door opened, the little assistant, who was wearing a white and black OL suit, with her hair pulled back, showing a shy girlish charm, greeted with a smile.

"Well, what's the schedule for today?"

Returning to the family, Andy, who has been at home with his son and Ivana for three days, has to return to his busy work. Now he can no longer be as self-willed as before. There are too many companies under management, only relying on the professional ethics of professional managers, in the end, maybe it will be the beginning of the collapse of the empire that I have worked hard for.

Especially since he is still the chairman of three listed companies, this is not a job he can let go of. If he does not go to work for three days, the backlog of work is really enough for him to work for a day.

"...Today there is only a financial meeting at 9 o'clock, but the day after tomorrow is Starbucks' regular board meeting. The boss needs to be present to host the meeting."

"That means I'm flying to Seattle? Can video conferencing replace it?"

Walking into the office, Andy sat on the boss's chair, picked up a stack of folders that had been placed in the office, looked at them a few times, and asked the little assistant beside him with a frown.

"I'm afraid not, because there are important resolutions to be made and the boss needs to sign, so..."

"Okay, you call the crew and let them prepare, in the afternoon..." Andy looked at his watch, frowned and said, "I'll arrive at the airport at three o'clock in the afternoon."

"Okay, boss, this is my arrangement."

Seeing the back of the little assistant twisting his waist and leaving, Andy took out his mobile phone and called Ivana to inform him of his itinerary. On the phone, although Ivana was very reluctant, there was nothing she could do. A successful For entrepreneurs, flying talents are the norm, and sometimes it is really difficult to balance family and career.

Shaking his head and hanging up the phone, Andy quickly devoted himself to the work of approving the backlog of documents. Fortunately, many things have been screened by the think tank, and his workload has been reduced a lot.

In the conference room, Andy leaned back on the boss chair very relaxedly, put one arm sideways on the conference table, and casually flipped through the financial reports handed over to him by the think tank with the other hand, while listening to the reports of the think tank members explain.

"That is to say, at present, I already own less than 6% of the shares of Burlington Northern Santa Fe, the second largest railway company in the United States..."

When Andy saw a number on the document, he raised his head and asked the middle-aged Chinese subordinate who was reporting to him. The Chinese are talented in numbers, so Chinese faces are not uncommon in his think tank. .

"Yes, boss, according to your instructions, we have been continuously accumulating funds, but because of the repurchase of Northern Santa Fe and the rush of other forces, we only got 5.7% of the shares. At present, According to information we have received, Northern Santa Fe holds a 77% stake."

"Hehe, Al, look, what I said, this is the goal of Warren Buffett." Andy smiled and said to his chief think tank.

"If Warren Buffett finally completes the acquisition, it will be his bet on the U.S. economy." Alvitlie pushed down his glasses and said with a light smile.

"Oh? Can a railway company become the embodiment of the American economy?" Andy frowned slightly, but was aroused by Al's judgment.

"It is true that the railroad industry, this ancient form of transport, has been continuously modernizing in recent years, making trains more efficient, employing fewer workers, and increasing profit margins.

Plus, the industry has for years pitched itself as a greener alternative to a congested and outdated road system, while railroads account for 43 percent of all U.S. freight. Santa Fe in the north has a total of 32,000 miles of railways, which is more than 10 times the distance between the east and the west of the United States. They have merged or acquired 390 different railway lines in the past 150 years, and the total number of employees has reached 40,000. The company is the largest in coal and grain. rail transporter.

Enough coal is shipped each year for 10 percent of U.S. homes,

The grain transported is equivalent to the annual rations of 900 million people. Buffett would certainly bet on a recovery in the freight industry if he were to buy the railroad company, and while there aren't many signs of recovery yet, the most positive performers in the railroad industry on volumes have said nothing more than that the downturn appears to have bottomed out , but since Northern Santa Fe carries everything, it can almost be considered an indicator of economic activity.

More importantly, if it is acquired at this time, it will be very cheap, not ordinary cheap. This is the second largest railway company in the United States. According to the current stock price, it is only more than 30 billion US dollars, plus its operating profit level , It's really the same as picking it up in vain! "

"Tsk tsk." Andy reached out and touched Chun Chun, squinted his eyes slightly, slammed it a few times, and said quietly: "This is indeed in line with Buffett's usual investment taste, and he favors those who do not rely on cutting-edge technology to achieve considerable investment Profitable company, so, if we didn’t give him that, maybe he would really choose to buy Costco.”

Speaking of this, Alvetrie also shook his head helplessly and laughed. He was also very speechless about his boss's dirty tricks. It also made the two founders of Costco startled. They began to pay attention to the whereabouts of their own stocks in the secondary market, and began to reserve and allocate funds to guard against hostile takeovers by some savages. The side that raised funds in a low-key manner was exposed to the other party's sight early.

"Boss, Costco sent you an invitation to be a board member, how should we respond, decline or agree?"

"Hey..."

Speaking of this matter, Andy couldn't help but laugh. There are really too many smart people in this world. As soon as his side was exposed, the two founders of Costco immediately sent him an invitation. To test his ambition for Costco, with the idea of ​​incorporation, and even with the idea of ​​adding sand to Costco's board of directors. After all, they already know that their company's board of directors has become a sieve. If you don't respond, then you really won't be wronged if you are squeezed out.

"Agreed. Now that it has been discovered, it is no longer feasible to quietly raise money and complete a one-hit kill acquisition. If the other party is prepared, the price we have to pay is too high. At present, it seems that It can only be slowly eroded from the inside, after all, youth is my greatest advantage, and if I keep eroding, one day, Costco will become my asset!"

Since he doesn't want to spend a lot of money on a hostile takeover, Andy can only choose to make troubles from the inside. Anyway, both the founder and several shareholders and directors are in their seventies and eighties. Even if the maintenance is good, how many years can they live well? ?

"However, this is also a loss for me. Someone has to be responsible, so let Buffett pay the bill!" Andy narrowed his eyes slightly, flashing sharply, and said coldly: "Continue to acquire Burlington North St. Duffy's stock, I bet that he wants to completely privatize this company. Since he has placed such a big bet, it is impossible not to want to own this company forever. At that time, these stocks in my hand will become the largest A bargaining chip can be sold for a good price!"

Andy still knows a little about Warren Buffett. He also has the kind of personality that likes to monopolize what he likes. Whether it is a candy company or an ice cream company, Warren Buffett has completed privatization. The second largest railway company in the United States, How could he not monopolize it? If it were Andy Smith, he would definitely find a way to complete the privatization, just like Andy's acquisition of NBC Universal, not for next month or next year, but to permanently own the company!

Everyone in the meeting room looked at each other noncommittally and smiled at their boss's plan to rip off again. . .