America's Road to Wealth

"I believe you all have a very clear understanding of what happened this time."

At the headquarters of British Smith Financial Group.

In the conference room.

Abel looked at everyone at Clifford Chance Law Firm and whispered:

"People from BMW and Volkswagen are coming soon. My purpose is simple, that is, to get their Rolls-Royce shares at the lowest possible price. But besides these, there are some Be careful, I need to explain.”

Several people in the legal team already knew a lot about what Abel told him before.

In fact, this matter is apart from Rolls-Royce itself and its original parent company Vickers Group.

On the British side, the most involved person was Clifford Chance, the law firm entrusted by Abel to take charge of the entire litigation.

Clifford Chance has long ago known how detailed it has been in preparing legal services for the relevant aspects that may be involved.

After all, it is European giants such as BMW and Volkswagen Group that are involved.

These two German giants have a great influence in Europe.

If only this time, Rolls-Royce was not a British company, but other European companies.

It might have been settled long ago, and Abel's turn would never have happened.

The influence of the Germans has begun to affect the entire Europe along with the long-term development of its economy.

Even the French had to hold their noses and cooperate with this former biggest competitor.

Since around the 1990s, Germany and France have been thinking about building a European army and the euro.

Now that the European Union has been established, the Euro has been officially implemented.

The plan for the European Army is also on the table.

As for whether it can succeed, no one knows.

About ten minutes later.

In the conference room where the problem was being discussed, the door was knocked and pushed open.

A staff member reported that representatives from the BMW Group and the Volkswagen Group had arrived.

Abel said: "Then let them come in. Everyone, remember what I just said."

The battle for Rolls-Royce has been entangled for almost a year. Today is the first real meeting between the two parties.

Then more than 10 representatives of the two major automobile groups filed in from the outside.

Among them were Byrd and John Wieland, whom Abel was "familiar" with, as well as others he didn't know.

In the conference room, after everyone exchanged greetings, they sat down on two sides and started the first formal negotiation on Rolls-Royce cars.

The people in charge of the German team this time are no longer Berid and John Wilander.

It’s Ferdinand Piech, global chairman of the Volkswagen Group.

Piech has an unusual background in the automotive industry.

His maternal grandfather, Ferdinand Porsche, was the founder of Porsche and Volkswagen.

Since taking office in 1993, under the leadership of Ferdinand Piech, the Volkswagen Group has developed very smoothly, suppressing the rise of Japanese cars.

In other markets outside of North America, American companies such as General Motors and Ford are even more marginalized.

It can be said that he is a world-class figure who has a huge influence on the Volkswagen brand, and is recognized as the leader of the group who knows the most technology in the automotive industry.

In contrast, the team leader representative from BMW is just a president.

Obviously, among the German delegation, Ferdinand Piech is the leader.

Abel did not speak, and Jess made the first opening statement of the formal negotiation, "Everyone, take a look at the document in front of you. This is the opinion of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars."

Ferdinand Piech heard this and opened a document in front of him.

It is in the name of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, indicating their need to become independent from the BMW Group.

This request did not surprise Ferdinand Piech.

If you don't want to sell it at a better price. There is no need for Rolls-Royce to have been in a stalemate with Volkswagen and BMW for so long.

But what made Ferdinand Piech a little angry was that there was no mention of compensation for BMW and Volkswagen.

Volkswagen spent so much money to buy a Rolls-Royce.

Later, BMW threatened to transfer it, so forget it.

After all, they are compatriots, and there is enough internal benefit transfer to make up for the losses, and even make a little profit.

Now these British people, no, Ferdinand Piech knew very well that in fact this was definitely not the will of the British, this was an American conspiracy!

Now these Americans want to get the Rolls-Royce cars that Volkswagen and BMW have worked so hard to acquire for little or no money.

If he could, Ferdinand Piech just wanted to kill all the Americans on the opposite side with one shot.

It’s too much to bully the Germans!

After quickly reading the document, Ferdinand Piech took a deep breath.

The Tarzan Beidou of the automotive world didn't look at Jess at all, but looked at Abel Smith.

Obviously the Germans know who the real useful person is here.

"The Volkswagen Group and the BMW Group completely disagree with this document from Rolls-Royce Motor Cars."

"If you go by the above, then this is not a commercial dispute. It is a premeditated plunder, a conspiracy against the Germans!"

"us……"

Ferdinand Piech made an impassioned speech, expressing his position with the Volkswagen Group and BMW.

But he found that he didn't wait for him to finish speaking.

Abel Smith, who was being watched by himself, was the real mastermind behind this "conspiracy".

He actually opened his mouth and yawned, looking bored.

Then Ferdinand Piech, seeing him talking to Jace just now, said boringly:

"It seems like it's still the same. As a middleman and troublemaker, I shouldn't get involved. Forget it, Jess, let them continue to fight with Rolls-Royce. You talk to them, I'll leave first. .”

The first formal contact between the two parties.

Smith Capital came here as the fully authorized person of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.

Although everyone actually knows what is going on, Smith Capital can barely be said to be a middleman now.

What Abel said was a bit unreasonable, but it made sense.

Seeing that he really stood up, he turned around and walked out.

Ferdinand Piech was anxious.

"...Hey, Mr. Smith. You can't do this."

Abel turned around and looked at the old man, "That depends on whether you are sincere, gentlemen."

"We are very sincere. Otherwise, we wouldn't have come all the way from Lower Saxony!"

Ferdinand Piech said with suppressed anger.

Lower Saxony is where the Volkswagen Group is headquartered.

At the same time, the local state government is also one of the major shareholders of the Volkswagen Group, holding 11.8% of the shares of the Volkswagen Group.

As Germany's number one and one of the largest automobile groups in the world, Volkswagen's equity is very clear.

Porsche SE, 50% owned by the Porsche and Piech families, controls 31.4% of the company.

Qatar in West Asia holds 18% of the shares.

Together with the Lower Saxony state government, these three giants control 90% of the voting rights of the Volkswagen Group.

Strictly speaking, Nakatar is just making up the numbers.

Although Qatar owns 18% of the shares, its voting rights are only about 10%.

Including Lower Saxony, the figure is less than 30%.

In other words, Porsche SE is the Piëch where the Porsche family and Ferdinand Piech belong.

These two families, through their 31.4% stake, fully control the Volkswagen Group.

"Is this considered sincerity? If this is considered sincerity, then I would be much more sincere than you when I came here from the United States."

Abel said directly: "I am not good at geography. I would like to ask, is Germany closer to the UK, or is the United States closer to the UK?"

Ferdinand Piech was so blocked by Abel that he didn't know how to speak.

While he was stunned, Abel had already walked out of the conference room in a swagger.

Looking at his leaving back, Ferdinand Piech was really in a daze.

The global chairman of the Volkswagen Group did not expect that Abel would actually do what he said.

He left as soon as he said it. He didn't look like a super entrepreneur or the world's richest man at all.

Like an angry child, can negotiation be such a child's play?

Shouldn't it be that the two sides first put their horses and the horse in a straight line, then go back and forth, exchange quarrels with each other, and then finally compromise and reach an agreement?

This is really the first time Ferdinand has encountered this method of flipping the table if he is not satisfied at all.

"Sir, sir? Mr. Piech?"

Jace's call summoned the spirit of Ferdinand Piech.

The CEO of Smith Financial Europe Division continued with a smile: "Let's continue our negotiations."

Of course, the negotiations can no longer continue.

The real owners have left, and Ferdinand Piech is also angry.

The first formal negotiation of this incident, dubbed the "Rolls-Royce Battle" by many media and newspapers, ended in failure.

Ferdinand Piech leads the team away.

In Abel's office.

Jess came up with Timmy Owen from Clifford Chance, and Amo Alamuddin.

"The Germans are gone, right?"

"Yes, Ferdinand Piech was very angry."

Abel chuckled, "What I want is to make him angry. The Germans are a little confused about their status. Do they think it is 1941?"

1941 was the time during World War II when the German army had the greatest advantage.

At that time, the Germans were invincible and invincible, and it only took a few days to capture a country.

Seeing his boss say this, Jess smiled and said nothing.

Timmy Owen was a little puzzled, but the barrister was well-informed and had strong self-control. He knew when to speak and when not to listen.

Of the three people present, Amo Alamuddin was the younger.

At the same time, he also has a close identity with Abel and is Abel's number one personal power.

I can't figure it out, and I also want to spend more time with Abel.

Amo Alamuddin asked softly:

"Mr. Smith, the Germans are actually very sincere this time. They are probably willing to give up Rolls-Royce as long as they are compensated for the cost of acquiring Rolls-Royce."

Her subtext is that with Abel's financial resources, the 1.44 billion marks paid by Volkswagen to acquire Rolls-Royce are really nothing to Abel.

According to the exchange rate between marks and US dollars at that time, 1.44 billion marks was equivalent to less than 450 million US dollars.

According to Amo Alamuddin’s understanding, let alone only 450 million US dollars.

Even if it is 45 billion US dollars, Abel can definitely get it.

Based on what Amo Alamuddin knows about Abel's character, he is really not a person who would spend so much time with others just because of a small amount of money.

Timmy Irving actually has questions about this issue.

But he didn't dare to ask, and it was only because Amo Alamuddin was young and had a relationship with Abel that he dared to ask this question.

At this moment, the beautiful Queen's Lawyer asked, and Timmy Owen also cheered up, wanting to know why.

Abel smiled, and then replied softly:

"That's right. I did think so at the beginning. But now... things are no longer that simple."

What Amo Alamuddin could think of, how could Abel not think of it.

This time the battle for Rolls-Royce cars.

At the beginning, Abel really just wanted to spend money to buy Rolls-Royce from Volkswagen and BMW Group.

But at the beginning, Volkswagen and BMW were not willing to sell it at all.

The two major German automobile groups are not money-hungry owners at all.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Group can make up for the lack of the highest level in their product series.

How can the Germans, who are not short of money, sell?

Even if Abel raised the price several times more, they wouldn't be willing to sell it.

The entanglement started later, and Abel became more and more anxious, and even used the super trick of the United States' long-arm jurisdiction.

The Germans were helpless and found that the price of taking over Rolls-Royce was too high.

Only then did contacts and negotiations between the two sides begin, with certain people in Washington acting as peacemakers.

By this time, the Germans, who knew Abel's ability and determination, began to retreat.

Initially they wanted to co-own Rolls-Royce Motor Cars with Abel.

For Germans, this is not impossible.

Because the Germans want brands and automotive technology.

Looking at Germany's powerful automotive technology, they felt that sharing Rolls-Royce cars with them was the wisest thing to do.

That way Abel didn't have to do anything but sit and share the money.

They felt that Abel would most likely agree.

Isn’t this the model that greedy Wall Streeters love the most?

But Abel refused directly.

He made it clear to the Germans that he wanted all the Rolls-Royces and was unwilling to share them with the Germans.

Although the Germans were furious, they had no choice but to accept it when it came to this.

They chose to negotiate with Abel. The bottom line was to get back the 1.44 billion marks originally used to acquire Rolls-Royce.

By compromising like this, the Germans already feel that they are very sincere.

But now, Abel has made it clear that he doesn't even want to spend the money and just wants to get a Rolls-Royce.

Of course the Germans didn't want to.

So, is Abel really so stingy that he is not even willing to spend these hundreds of millions of dollars?

Of course not. He is the master who spends hundreds of millions of dollars on Valentine's Day to buy gifts for a large number of women all over the world.

US$450 million is, at best, only enough for Abel to spend two Valentine's Days.

The reason why it is so easy to get a Rolls-Royce completely, but you still have to torment the Germans.

It's because this matter is no longer simply a matter between Abel, Volkswagen and BMW.

This happened when Abel called George in the white house asking for help.

It has risen from a simple commercial dispute to the realm of international governance.

What aspect of international governance?

The United States wants to suppress or even control Europe's international politics.

Why did the Euro appear and why was the European Union established?

The reason for the emergence of the euro is to compete with the US dollar!

The reason why the European Union was established was to unite to fight against the economic oppression of the United States!

Now is the time when the euro has just begun to appear and the EU economy is at its strongest.

It is so strong that Europeans want to build a European army.

How could Americans allow this?

Isn’t the means coming?

Now it is no longer that Abel wants Rolls-Royce cars, but to toss BMW and Volkswagen.

Now it is the big shots in Washington, with the help of Abel, who are torturing the Germans' greatest advantage.

BMW and Volkswagen may also be aware of this, so they want to compromise.

But now that they want to compromise, Abel will not give them a chance to compromise.

But there is no need to explain this clearly to Amo Alamuddin.

Even Abel was able to understand and participate in the inside story here only after he attained his current status.

People like Ferdinand Piech were just manipulated chess pieces.

In fact, in parallel time and space, there will be similar examples in the future.

For example, the Alstom incident in France.

Ostensibly because greedy Americans want to plunder this high-quality enterprise.

In fact, this is somewhat similar to today's battle for Rolls-Royce cars.

It was American businessmen who cooperated with Washington. One side wanted Alstom, and the other side wanted to suppress the French.

Of course, it can also be said directly that the American capitalists wanted to rob Alstom, and Whitehouse personally ended up doing so.

Anyway, the United States itself is just a corporate empire formed by a large group of entrepreneurs, capitalists, and businessmen who have joined together and each holds shares.

"Timmy."

After Abel dealt with Aimer Alamuddin perfunctorily, he looked at Timmy Owen with a smile.

"Cliff Chance Law Firm still needs to continue to pay attention to this case. I'm sorry to bother you."

"Of course." Timmy Owen, who had a sharp mind, had already guessed a little bit, but he still said cheerfully:

"No problem, it is our honor to work for the world's richest man!"

You guessed it, British and Americans often have their butts pointing in the same direction.

What's more, Britain has more motives than anyone else when it comes to messing up the European continent.

That's why the House of Lords in London, as well as the British government, shamelessly sided with Rolls-Royce and Vickers Group in this battle for Rolls-Royce cars.

They don't care about company law, contract law, or even business ethics.

Combining the relationship between father and son and the common work habits, it is really better than others.

Although he didn't understand why, it seemed that Abel had no intention of explaining it now.

Amo Alamuddin did not speak again, but quietly listened to the conversation between Timmy Owen and Abel.

Watching the sunlight outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, shining on Abel, making Abel's whole body shine.

For a moment, Amo Alamuddin was a little crazy.