Rebirth of the Industrial Tycoon

During the subprime mortgage crisis, Ford not only sold Jaguar Land Rover, Volvo and Aston Martin, but also sold 20.4% of its shares in Mazda.

20.4% of Mazda shares were sold for US$540 million. Calculating this, Ford's 33.4% of Mazda shares are worth approximately US$884 million.

If you meet an interested buyer, selling these 33.4% shares for US$1 billion is not a problem.

Mazda is only a third-tier car brand, while Jaguar Land Rover is a luxury brand, and its market value is obviously much more expensive than Mazda's shares.

In 1989, Ford spent $2.52 billion to acquire Jaguar. But after all, that was 2.5 billion US dollars in 1989, and its purchasing power was dozens of times that of later generations!

However, at the time, the deal was still a good deal. Jaguar in the 1980s and 1990s was still a leader among first-tier luxury brands. As far as D-class cars are concerned, Jaguar is even more luxurious than Mercedes-Benz and BMW, and is on the same level as Bentley. level, only second to Rolls-Royce.

If you look back at old Hong Kong movies in the 1980s and 1990s, you will often see that many of Hong Kong's richest people drive iconic Jaguar sedans, and the iconic little leopard on the front of the car is particularly conspicuous.

At that time, the Jaguar was regarded as a symbol of nobility. In contrast, the famous Hutouben was used by the nouveau riche or gangsters.

The future Jaguar is considered to have been sold out in China. Its relatively poor reputation has reduced Jaguar to a second-tier luxury brand, and it has even been dubbed the "Leopard with a 30% discount."

However, in the perception of consumers in European and American countries, Jaguar is still a first-tier luxury brand, not inferior to Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

Especially in the former British colonial countries, people will think that Jaguar is more luxurious than Mercedes-Benz and BMW, and is on the same level as Porsche.

For example, the British Prime Minister's exclusive car is a Jaguar. Affected by this, many British officials also ride in Jaguars, which also affects other Commonwealth countries.

Another example is that when British people get married, they often choose Jaguar as their wedding car. Because the British believe that only Jaguar can handle such solemn and formal occasions. Even when Prince Harry got married, he chose a retro Jaguar convertible.

So in 1989, Ford spent US$2.52 billion to buy Jaguar, which was equivalent to buying a car brand of the same level as Porsche, which was still a very cost-effective deal.

As for Land Rover, it was purchased by Ford in 2000 for US$3 billion.

This deal was also a good deal, because at that time, there was only one Land Rover Range Rover that could be called a first-tier luxury brand SUV.

Americans are very good at making large-displacement models. General Motors' Cadillac and Ford's Lincoln both have luxury SUVs. However, in the minds of European and American consumers, the most luxurious SUV is the Range Rover.

For example, when the Queen of England was reviewing the troops, she was riding in a Range Rover with a convertible rear compartment. For European and American countries, especially those former British colonies, there is no better advertisement than this.

As for off-road vehicles, the Land Rover Defender also comprehensively outperforms other vehicles of the same type. Look back at those Hollywood adventure blockbusters. Archaeologists and explorers are all driving Land Rover Defenders in the wilderness.

After Ford purchased Jaguar and Land Rover, it integrated these two British luxury brands together, which is today's Jaguar Land Rover.

Later, Jaguar Land Rover was bought by India's Tata Group, and the price at the time was US$2.3 billion. In other words, Ford spent a total of 5.5 billion US dollars to buy Land Rover, and went to great lengths to integrate it. As a result, it sold it for less than half the price, which was obviously a huge loss.

And if currency inflation is taken into account, Ford lost even more. How could the US$2.5 billion in 2008 be compared with the US$2.5 billion in 1989?

More importantly, of the US$2.3 billion from the sale of Jaguar Land Rover, Ford could only receive US$1.7 billion, and the remaining US$600 million was given to the United Auto Workers union.

At that time, Ford's psychological price for selling Jaguar Land Rover was 1.7 to 2 billion U.S. dollars. After some bargaining, it had negotiated a 2 billion U.S. dollar deal with the Tata Group. As a result, the Auto Workers Union came out to cause trouble again and wanted a share of the pie. .

The Auto Workers Union is also evil. It seeks benefits from both parties in the transaction, and ultimately raises the selling price of Jaguar Land Rover to 2.3 billion, of which 600 million US dollars is for the benefits of automobile workers in Jaguar Land Rover factories, such as medical insurance, pensions, etc. thing.

Volvo, another brand owned by Ford, was also a huge loss-making investment. When Ford purchased Volvo in 1999, it spent 6.2 billion U.S. dollars. When it was later sold to Geely, it only sold for 1.8 billion U.S. dollars, a decrease of one-third. More.

Back then, Ford Motor Company had so many of the world's top brands, thanks to their global expansion strategy.

As early as the 1980s, there was a popular prediction in the world that in the future there would be only six cars left in the world, two American companies, two European companies, and two Japanese companies.

Other car companies either went out of business or were swallowed up by larger companies.

The powerful Ford company embarked on the path of annexing other brands. Starting from the acquisition of Jaguar in 1989, Ford spent a total of 20 billion US dollars to acquire other brands in ten years.

Ford was really rich at that time. At the beginning of the 21st century, Ford had completed a series of acquisition plans. The company had more than 20 billion US dollars in cash, and it didn't know how to spend so much money.

It is a pity that although Ford has acquired so many car brands, it is not good at running them. This brand lost one billion, and that brand lost 800 million. In addition, it paid a protection fee to the Auto Workers Union. Over the years, 20 billion will be enough. used up.

Every brand acquired by Ford ended up suffering a series of losses, and then was sold by Ford at a discount.

…

Li Weidong's proposal to acquire Jaguar Land Rover really surprised Bill Ford.

Jaguar Land Rover is a first-tier luxury brand. This is equivalent to going to the Volkswagen Group and saying, I want to buy your Porsche. Do you think the CEO of Volkswagen will be shocked?

If the CEO has a bad temper, just ask the security guards to take you out!

In the eyes of Bill Ford, Li Weidong is just an ordinary Chinese entrepreneur. He is not a world-class car company or a first-class consortium. It would be good to buy some shares of Mazda. Who gave you the courage to buy Jaguar Land Rover?

Li Weidong is indeed considered a top industrialist in China, and his experience of starting from scratch is a business legend, but it is definitely not enough in the United States.

There are so many business families in the United States that have been around for hundreds of years, and there are a lot of young business upstarts. Li Weidong does not stand out.

What's more, Ford has been the representative of American companies for nearly a hundred years. Even American business upstarts may not be able to get Ford's attention, let alone Chinese entrepreneurs!

Although Bill Ford was mocking Li Weidong for not knowing his own abilities, as an excellent entrepreneur, he still had basic qualities. He smiled slightly and said:

"Mr. Li, Jaguar and Land Rover were originally first-tier luxury car brands. Their respective market values ​​were several billions of dollars. Now that we have integrated Jaguar and Land Rover, their brand value exceeds 10 billion U.S. dollars." of!"

If it were Jaguar and Land Rover back then, it would be no exaggeration to say that the brand value was US$10 billion. But to say that Jaguar Land Rover is still worth 10 billion US dollars is nonsense.

Bill Ford made it clear that he looked down on Li Weidong and deliberately set a high price first. This is like a future mother-in-law who looks down on a poor son-in-law who comes from a mountainous area and asks for a large sum of money as a gift to make the poor son-in-law quit in spite of the difficulties.

Li Weidong had already seen Ford's intention. He smiled slightly and said: "Mr. Ford, I will not comment on Jaguar Land Rover's market value of tens of billions, but as far as I know, the Jaguar Land Rover brand has been in a state of loss!

Jaguar should lose US$500 million this year, while Land Rover's loss should be around US$1 billion! In other words, Jaguar Land Rover will lose at least 1.5 billion US dollars this year! Isn't a brand with an annual loss of US$1.5 billion included in Ford's weight-loss plan? "

After hearing the data reported by Li Weidong, although Bill Ford's face did not change, his heart tightened.

Because this data should not be known to outsiders!

Ford is certainly very aware of Jaguar Land Rover's losses. Although 2007 has not yet passed, Ford has internally made a profit assessment of each of its brands.

Among them, Jaguar has an estimated loss of US$500 million, and Land Rover has an estimated loss of US$1 billion, which adds up to US$1.5 billion, exactly as Li Weidong said.

Of course, Ford cannot make this estimate public. Otherwise, Ford's stock price will definitely fall, and Bill Ford will not be able to explain it to shareholders by then.

However, Li Weidong accurately stated this number, which made Bill Ford's heart tighten.

The reason why Li Weidong knew this number was of course from the memory of his previous life.

"This Chinese guy came prepared. It seems he is really interested in Jaguar Land Rover!"

Thinking of this, Bill Ford immediately said: "Mr. Li, although Jaguar Land Rover is a first-tier luxury car brand, we don't mind selling this brand if the price is right."

"This is what I've been waiting for!" Li Weidong thought to himself. He immediately stretched out his right hand and said, "Mr. Ford, since your company intends to sell the Jaguar Land Rover brand, I will send a negotiation team as soon as possible."

"I'm also looking forward to cooperating with Mr. Li!" Bill Ford replied very gentlemanly.

After sending Li Weidong away, Bill Ford immediately picked up the phone on the table and dialed the public relations department.

"Publish the news to the major media that we intend to sell the Jaguar Land Rover brand!" Ford ordered.

For Ford, since it wants to sell Jaguar Land Rover, it is naturally much better to have more potential buyers than a single buyer.

…

A brand with an annual loss of US$1.5 billion is certainly part of Ford's slimming down plan.

Moreover, the consumer market in the United States is not booming. In this case, consumers will definitely give priority to purchasing practical pickup trucks and cheap Japanese cars, and the demand for luxury cars will be significantly reduced.

At this time, Ford will only lose more and more if it holds the Jaguar Land Rover brand.

Although Bill Ford despises Li Weidong, a Chinese entrepreneur, he can't live with money. As long as the price is right, Jaguar Land Rover can be sold to anyone!

Now that Bill Ford is willing to sell Jaguar Land Rover, Li Weidong also leaves Ford with satisfaction.

This kind of transaction involving more than ten to two billion US dollars cannot be concluded in one or two sentences like buying vegetables at the wet market. Even if both parties are willing to trade, it will still take a long time to negotiate.

This is not just a transaction of the Jaguar Land Rover brand, but also involves a series of issues such as production plants and sales networks, all of which need to be discussed bit by bit.

Such a large deal, even if the price is negotiated for 1%, involves tens of millions of dollars. Li Weidong and Ford Company are not the ones who are taken advantage of, and they all want to make more.

As for the specific negotiation details, Li Weidong and Bill Ford do not need to do it themselves, they can just leave it to professionals.

The United States has the largest number of lawyers in the world. The number of lawyers in the United States accounts for 35% of the world's total. The United States only accounts for 4.3% of the world's population, which means 35% of the lawyers serve 4.3% of the population.

And these lawyers are not just there to litigate. In addition to lawsuits and civil disputes, lawyers are needed in many places in the United States, such as business investments, securities transactions, housing transactions, and even signing an employment contract. Sometimes lawyers are needed.

Many law firms are not only responsible for legal affairs, but also business negotiations and political lobbying.

If there is a negotiation between two companies, both parties will probably not have to come forward and just appoint their own law firms to do it. The result will be that people from the two law firms will negotiate and draft a contract after the negotiation. The legal provisions are also made clear and signed directly to the company.

As for political lobbying, an industry has formed in the United States. Lobbying companies use the name of "legislative coordinator" or "government relations director" to lobby politicians and formulate policies that are beneficial to the father behind them.

These so-called "Legislative Coordinators" and "Government Relations Directors" are mainly lawyers. Lawyers know how to use the law, walk on the edge of the law, and give politicians some benefits legally.

Some lawyers with excellent lobbying skills can, after accumulating some political capital, run for election as members of Congress, enter the political arena, and launch a sprint for the presidency.

Since there are many professionals in the United States, Li Weidong did not have to negotiate in person. He paid for a professional law firm and left the negotiation matters to them.

…

Although Jaguar Land Rover is a first-tier luxury brand, it does not have many potential buyers. After all, Ford releases its financial report every year, and Jaguar Land Rover's losses are visible to the naked eye.

For example, in 2007, Jaguar lost US$500 million and Land Rover lost US$1 billion, so whoever takes over Jaguar Land Rover will first lose US$1.5 billion.

Coupled with the subprime mortgage crisis, car sales of all brands are declining, and everyone's life is difficult. They have to tighten their belts, and naturally there are few successors.

However, there are also serious buyers who are very interested in Jaguar Land Rover, and that is India's Tata Group.

The Tata Group is India's largest business group. It was founded in 1868. In terms of historical background, it is older than many European and American companies.

The Tata Group started out as a comprador. When the British invaded Iran and Ethiopia, the old Tata provided military supplies to the British army, thus saving its first pot of gold.

Later, Tata began to get involved in the textile and steel industries. However, under the British colonial rule, it was difficult for India's local national capitalists to develop.

But Tata Company had better luck. At that time, a boycott movement of foreign goods happened to break out in India. Indian people would rather buy inferior local products than imported goods, and Tata Company was able to gain a foothold as a result.

Then came World War I. The British needed steel to make weapons. Kaka Company received a large number of orders and became a leading large enterprise in India.

In the early 1930s, Japanese industry gradually developed and began to dump steel all over the world, which also violated the interests of the British. In order to fight against the Japanese, the British began to vigorously support Tata Company, and Tata Steel also achieved a monopoly in the Indian market.

At the same time, Tata began to get involved in hydropower, coal, aviation and other fields. Air India was established by Tata. When the British colonists left India, Tata was already the largest company in India.

In the 1960s, Tata began to actively expand overseas business. They first started as a consulting service company, and gradually extended their business to other industries, and gradually developed into today's Tata Group.

As an Indian company, Tata has a special affection for the former colonial mother country, Britain. Tata is also very keen on acquiring British companies. For example, Tata became the world's fifth largest steel company by acquiring the British steel giant Corus Group. Big steel manufacturer.

Perhaps for Indians, acquiring British companies will give them the feeling of riding on the head of the colonial mother country. The slaves of the past stood up and sang, which can boost Indians' national self-confidence.

Therefore, when the news that Ford planned to sell Jaguar Land Rover came out, the Tata Group immediately expressed its intention to acquire it.

…

The news that "Tata Group plans to acquire Jaguar Land Rover" appeared in the Times of India, and the whole of India was instantly excited.

As a first-line luxury car brand in the colonial motherland, Jaguar is more popular among Indians than Porsche and Maserati. It is a symbol of the colonial father's awesomeness!

Now that this brand is about to be acquired by an Indian company, wouldn't it make me, an Indian, more awesome than my colonial father?

Indians' national self-confidence instantly exploded. The inferiority complex left behind by more than a hundred years of colonization instantly turned into nationalism, and the entire India was applauding the Tata Group's acquisition plan.

Newspapers, TV programs, and even online blogs were immediately filled with all kinds of flattering voices:

"Tata acquires Jaguar Land Rover, and India will soon become a major car manufacturing country!"

"Jaguar is the best car in the world, and it should be produced in India!"

"In front of India's Jaguar, BMW and Mercedes-Benz are scum! We, India, are the ones in the South Bay!"

“Indian Car Nambo Bay!”

"In the future, the whole world will buy Indian cars! Indian Nanbo Bay!"

Although the media only revealed an acquisition plan, Indians have already begun to imagine that in the near future, India will become the world's largest automobile production country.

In the Indian dictionary, "will" is always the most commonly used word. Use "will" when you speak, and brag as much as you want! .