My Age of Investment

Before the news hit the newspapers the next day, Jobs and Robert Iger learned that Marvel had been sold that night.

The two stared at each other in a New York hotel, speechless.

After a long while, Jobs said bitterly: "Those idiots on the board of directors, sooner or later they will pay for their stupidity these days!"

Iger comforted him: "Steve, don't be angry. If you miss it, just miss it. At least we raised the acquisition price by US$200 million, which can be regarded as a bad breath for you."

"This is not to vent my anger, this is an acquisition of great strategic significance! Robert, just wait and see, Darren Xia must have discovered some value in Marvel that we have not seen! It must be!"

Looking at Jobs, whose eyes were spitting fire, Iger didn't know how to comfort his old friend.

In his view, the reason why Jobs pushed Disney to acquire Marvel at all costs had only one purpose, which was to retaliate against Darren Summer.

Not only was he sick and attended the board meeting to persuade all directors to agree to the acquisition, he also worked tirelessly for the entire acquisition.

What exactly is the picture for? Don't you just want to disgust your opponent before dying?

It's a pity that Disney's board of directors is not a monolithic one. The previous CEO actually proposed to acquire Marvel, but encountered great resistance and doubts. The opposition said, "Have you ever thought about what it would be like to have Black Widow and Mickey Mouse in the same frame?" All the supporters of the acquisition were speechless.

The brand tones of the two companies are different. Whether they can be well integrated after the acquisition is a big problem.

At the board meeting, Jobs, Disney's largest individual shareholder, proposed using his personal credit as a guarantee, and finally the acquisition resolution was reluctantly passed by the board of directors.

However, the transaction price and acquisition plan were greatly restricted, which prevented Disney from quickly cutting through the mess and acquiring Marvel, thus giving Vision Capital an opportunity to take advantage of it.

Jobs let out a long sigh and said, "The matter is now over. It's useless to say more. I'm going back to California. Wisdom Fruit will release its second mobile phone in more than a month.

The team and I have high hopes for this phone, and believe it will be a heavy blow to Fuxing Mobile.

If you have time to attend the mobile phone launch conference, you are welcome to come and join us. "

Iger agreed with a smile, and then watched Jobs leave with his back bent.

It's better to die vigorously on the business battlefield than to die silently in bed, right?

Iger sighed. He suddenly understood his old friend a little bit, but understanding was understanding. He really couldn't do anything about Marvel. Who told Vision Capital to have a faster decision-making process and be more optimistic about Marvel than they were.

…………

…………

“The legendary comic that has accompanied generations of Americans to grow up has come to an end. It already belongs to the Chinese!” - "Wall Street Journal".

"Technology, finance, and entertainment are the starting points for Darren Xia's career in the United States." - "New York Post".

"Marvel, controlled by the Chinese, filmed a story that took place during the war in Afghanistan. What kind of superhero movie is this? Will you go to the cinema to watch it?" - "Dow Jones Newswires"

…

The next day, news reports related to Vision Capital’s acquisition of Marvel came out one after another.

Xia Jingxing, who has been silent in the United States for some time, has once again become a topical figure in the news, causing widespread heated discussion.

The mouthpieces owned by News Corporation are still the same, with various connotations of Xia Jingxing and Vision Capital in the report content, and they want to bold and enlarge Xia Jingxing's name and his Chinese identity.

Xia Jingxing paid little attention to these noisy voices because he and Vision Capital were busy dealing with the review from the CFIUS Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.

In previous lives, Ali's acquisition of MoneyGram and ByteDance's acquisition of Y both encountered difficulties from this department.

Xia Jingxing was not surprised that CFIUS came to visit him, and he had even made corresponding preparations.

What makes him feel strange is that I just completed the acquisition yesterday, and you are here today. When has the work efficiency of Americans been so high?

This is not normal!

The whole thing smells of conspiracy!

…………

…………

In the conference room of 85 Wall Street.

A graceful blond young woman in her thirties was looking at Xia Jingxing sitting opposite with a smile, her flaming red lips flying up and down, and she kept asking questions.

She was wearing a well-tailored suit and a white shirt with a bulging chest. Unfortunately, a few freckles on her face slightly ruined her beauty.

"Mr. Xia, can you tell me the source of funds for your acquisition of Marvel?"

Xia Jingxing spread his hands and smiled: "Ms. Tracy, I am an investor who abides by US laws and regulations, and I have never done anything that harms the interests of the American people.

In recognition of my contribution to local tax revenue and employment, a few months ago I was made an honorary citizen of California and New York. "

The woman named Tracy smiled, "Mr. Xia, I know you are a big shot, and I also know that you are a guest of many governors and congressmen.

But what we are talking about now is another matter, and we ask you to cooperate with our work.

If the review ends sooner, you can complete the deal with Marvel sooner, and we can finish our busy work and enjoy the holidays, which is better for both of us! "

Xia Jingxing nodded, "Good suggestion!"

After saying that, he turned to look at Abel and ordered: "Bring the materials related to the Autumn Equinox Fund to Ms. Tracy and her colleagues for review, and also call the Starbucks downstairs to send a few cups of coffee."

After giving the instructions, Xia Jingxing looked at Tracy, "The workload may be heavy. You and your colleagues may have to work here for most of the day. If you have a cup of coffee to refresh yourself, your work efficiency will be higher."

"Mr. Xia, thank you for your cooperation!"

"Ms. Tracy, I still have work to do, so I may have to leave for a while. If you have any questions, you can contact my secretary directly."

"Okay, please do as you please!"

…

Abel followed Xia Jingxing out of the conference room and came to the latter's office.

As soon as he entered the house, Abel cursed: "Dylan, someone is definitely doing this to us behind our backs!"

"I know!" Xia Jingxing said calmly, appearing very calm.

Abel said with a firm tone: "I guess it must be Disney! Marvel was sold to us and it was not in their hands. They must be unconvinced and use this method to retaliate against us."

Xia Jingxing shook his head slightly, "It's not necessarily them. I feel like there's someone else."

Abel frowned slightly, there was someone else, who could it be?

"News Corp?"

Abel suddenly thought of a name and blurted it out.

"Don't worry about who it is for now. Let's put it aside for now. We will investigate later. Do you think we can successfully pass the CFIUS review now?"

Abel said in surprise: "Why not? Marvel just destroyed the comic book company, and it is not a high-tech, semiconductor or other key enterprise involved in the military and government departments.

If even this kind of transaction is not allowed, who will dare to invest in the United States in the future? "

Xia Jingxing said calmly: "You are right, but after all, Marvel belongs to the field of cultural media. Although it is not high-tech, it shoulders the task of spreading universal values.

Now that CFIUS has come to the door, it is definitely not that easy to get rid of. "

Abel shrugged and said: "The source of funds of the Equinox Fund is very transparent. The LPs are all well-known wealthy people, university funds, teachers and civil servant retirement funds in the United States. We are not afraid of their scrutiny at all."

Xia Jingxing nodded and said: "From this aspect, of course it is impeccable! But if we really want to accuse you of a crime, it is not difficult to do. I will tell you an "unfounded" Chinese story today..."

After hearing this, Abel frowned, "Then we really can't take it lightly and must go all out to deal with it."

Xia Jingxing nodded slightly, "So, you will have to work hard for a while."

Abel was fully mentally prepared for this and said without hesitation: "Okay, Darren, just tell me, what should we do next?"