Reinventing the Millennium

The secret visit to the head of Bank of China did not last long.

What Fang Zhuo and Paulson needed was a possible attitude, and as a result, they got it.

Next comes the stage where actions speak louder than words.

What President Li said is correct. Even though the funds have not been officially delivered, the contract has been signed and it will not be operational for long.

On the way back, the two of them were still riding in the same car.

Paulson first talked about one thing.

"Fang, ICBC is larger than other banks, and it also faces more complex problems that need to be solved urgently."

"Whether it is from the perspective of ICBC's own development or the reputation of Goldman Sachs, I prefer to see that the cooperation with ICBC does not become intense."

He looked at Mr. Fang's blurry expression under the light in the car and expressed his position more clearly: "We should all quickly advance our strategic investment in ICBC. This is a better situation for ICBC, Goldman Sachs and MIGA Fund."

Fang Zhuo nodded and said, "Yes, I think so too."

Allianz and American Express were abandoned.

Their names no longer appear in Paulson's words.

After truly seeing more profit prospects, the original shares of these two companies naturally became the basis for the cooperation between Fangzhuo and Paulson.

A stable cooperation with ICBC will also be helpful for the next formal contact with Bank of China. If MIGA and Goldman Sachs fight like crazy, they will definitely lose a lot of points. What's more, the situation of Bank of China itself requires everyone's joint efforts.

Paulson wanted more.

The current situation is to solve ICBC first to unite Fang Zhuo. Even if Fang Zhuo cannot provide more help after bringing about certain tendencies of the head of Bank of China, at least he will not do anything bad.

Fang Zhuo shook hands with Paulson, and ICBC's situation took a big step forward.

He also took the initiative to mention the Bank of China: "I will try to see the Bank of China's views on cooperation. If Goldman Sachs and MIGA can be included as strategic investment candidates, we will also try our best to provide regulatory protection."

"A reasonable lock-up period is a sign of good faith."

"I also believe that China's banking industry will usher in rapid development."

If you want to poach people, you must not only work hard from the outside, but also be reliable yourself.

The reason why Bank of China has an opportunity here is because Royal Bank of Scotland’s approach this time is unreliable.

Paulson agreed in principle to the lock-up period proposal, and the specific details would be discussed on the ICBC conference table.

The two discussed the framework of cooperation again.

ICBC originally allocated three board seats, but now only needs two.

Bank of China is said to have signed a contract with the Royal Bank of Scotland to provide only one board seat. Merrill Lynch and Lijiacheng Fund both cooperated with Scotland privately. If they are successfully replaced, they will need to fight for one more board seat.

When the car arrived at the hotel, Fang Zhuo asked one last question.

"Paulson, what are you going to do with Merrill Lynch?"

This is about the success or failure of poaching.

"Merrill Lynch was raised by a group of people." Paulson said flatly.

Fang Zhuo thought that this sentence might have some personal grudges, and he expected to hear something more precise.

"Don't worry, I won't misjudge those gangsters." Paulson only promised this before getting out of the car.

Fang Zhuo could only choose to believe it.

The head of Goldman Sachs walked into the hotel.

Fang Zhuo watched his figure disappear through the car window, and then said to the driver Chen Zhao: "Let's go back."

The car turned around.

Fang Zhuo took a sip of water and thought about tonight's contact for a while. Suddenly he remembered what happened before leaving and asked casually: "Da Chen, do you think Mr. Zhang is still waiting for me in the hotel?"

Chen Zhao didn't know what kind of business the boss was doing this time, he only knew that it was very big.

He thought for a while and said: "It's so late and I didn't say when I would go back. Mr. Zhang won't be waiting."

That Mr. Zhang is also a dignified CEO.

Fang Zhuo said with a smile: "I guess he hasn't left yet. Mr. Zhang only got to where he is today by being able to bend and stretch."

Chen Zhao didn't quite believe it.

However, when he returned to the hotel, he saw that Mr. Zhang not only had not left, but was squatting at the door of the hotel smoking and waiting. Mr. Fang also kept saying "Why is this" as if he had not expected it at all.

Then the two presidents went to the conference room talking and laughing.

Chen Zhao subconsciously looked at the time, it was already eleven ten in the evening.

Not easy, not easy at all.

Chen Zhao sighed in his heart and silently performed his duties.

…

In late September, the temperature in Beijing dropped due to a continuous rain, but the cooperation situation between MIGA Fund, Goldman Sachs, and ICBC suddenly became heated.

Originally, the acquisition consortium of the MIGA Fund broke into the ICBC conference room in a surprise attack. Fang Zhuo and Goldman Sachs were in a tit-for-tat confrontation, and Paulson personally flew to China from the United States to try to exert pressure from the administrative level.

Many ICBC leaders felt that this strategic cooperation would take some time.

Unexpectedly, as if overnight, not only did MIGA Fund not delay, it even sat down with Goldman Sachs and announced its willingness to complete a strategic investment in ICBC through cooperation.

Germany's Allianz Group and American Express Co. were inexplicably eliminated.

As the main body of the acquisition consortium, MIGA Fund became a new partner, while Deutsche Bank, U.S. Bank, and Washington Mutual, three banks that had little competition with ICBC's main business, assumed a considerable part of the business cooperation.

Not only that, the US$3.7 billion price initially set with Goldman Sachs, Allianz and American Express to acquire 10% of ICBC's shares also changed. Goldman Sachs and MIGA Fund took the initiative to raise the price to US$3.8 billion.

this……

This gag is quite... good.

According to the current situation, private capital has entered the market, the valuation of the accused has increased, and the cooperative business has been allocated to banks in more vertical fields. At the same time, ICBC's share reform has not been delayed. It is simply as clean and tidy as imaginable. .

On September 30, the ICBC head office held the last meeting before the review, and all strategic investors attended.

This is basically the final plan.

Goldman Sachs Group and its private capital operating funds will invest US$2.6 billion to acquire 7% of the shares, and MIGA funds and Deutsche Bank, Partners and Mutual Bank will invest US$1.2 billion to acquire 3% of the shares.

Paulson and Fang Zhuo will become directors of ICBC after the share reform.

All acquired shares will be subject to a three-year lock-up period, and several parties have unanimously promised that they can renew the contract if necessary upon expiration.

ICBC leaders are very satisfied.

Now we just have to see how the China Securities Regulatory Commission handles this new cooperation plan.

"Paulson, why is it so calm here?"

After the cordial meeting, Fang Zhuo chatted with Paulson about things on the other side.

"Don't worry, we have already contacted Merrill Lynch." Paulson revealed the accurate information.

Fang Zhuo has repeatedly researched relevant information and the background of this share reform and listing in the past few days. When he heard this sentence, his thoughts were rolling in his mind and he said, "Merrill Lynch can't be so short-sighted, right?"

Paulson was a little surprised and asked with interest: "Fang, what did you guess?"

He has not said anything since the night he visited President Li until now. He is also sure that the actions of the United States will never be reported here. The young CEO in front of him can only guess.

"I don't know much about Merrill Lynch." Fang Zhuo considered, "I just think that if I were in your position and used Merrill Lynch as a breakthrough point to leverage Bank of China, I might be trying to steal the contract they have."

Paulson remained calm and continued to listen.

Fang Zhuo didn't see anything from this man's face and continued: "The content of the cooperation between Merrill Lynch and Royal Bank of Scotland is kept secret. We don't know how it was signed, but the Bank of China is really unhappy."

BOC's displeasure is not only felt in the heart, but also expressed.

A reporter asked a Bank of China spokesperson about the Royal Bank of Scotland's introduction of third-party cooperation funds, and the answer was - "Bank of China only signed a shareholding agreement with the Royal Bank of Scotland. How the other party raises funds is beyond the scope of Bank of China's disclosure."

Bank of China quite intends not to regard Merrill Lynch as a collaborator. It just so happens that Merrill Lynch may only be here for profits.

Fang Zhuo considered the signings between Bank of China and the Royal Bank of Scotland, and the signings between the Royal Bank of Scotland and Merrill Lynch and Li Jiacheng Fund, and believed that their transfer was probably due to the fact that the contracts did not have restrictions on raising funds in this way, otherwise there would be no Merrill Lynch. and Li Fund entered the market regardless of the feelings of Bank of China.

In this case, if the Soviet Union can sign with Merrill Lynch, can Merrill Lynch sign with other companies?

Although cooperation with banks is extremely profitable, it also requires a large amount of capital to be deposited.

The investment with Bank of China has not yet been completed. If Merrill Lynch is persuaded to change hands to acquire the bank's shares again at this time, the "huge uncertainty" Paulson mentioned will be proven that night.

The shares of Bank of China have been transferred frequently in a short period of time. This situation is quite ugly.

But Merrill Lynch is all about profit. It doesn't need to invest money, it can just wave a contract and make a large profit from it, so why not?

Fang Zhuo has a way of piecing together fragmented information and always likes to put himself into consideration.

He told Paulson: "As long as Merrill Lynch's operations make Bank of China more unhappy, for example, if it continues to transfer out equity, Bank of China will probably be angered. At this time, with Goldman Sachs taking the initiative, the China Securities Regulatory Commission may not be able to call Stop the original cooperation."

Paulson's expression finally changed, and he said with admiration: "Fang, your sensitivity and control are beyond my expectation."

Seeing this reaction, Fang Zhuo knew that there might be something wrong, and he was not too proud. He said: "Sharpness and control can't do anything. It's not easy to buy the acquisition rights from Merrill Lynch."

At the very least, the relationship must be cleared so as not to arouse Merrill Lynch's vigilance.

This is something that Fang Zhuo cannot do but Goldman Sachs can do.

Paulson shook the hand of the oriental man in front of him firmly and said with a smile: "Fang, it's a pity that you can't come to Goldman Sachs. Otherwise, I believe you will be an excellent decision-maker."

Fang Zhuo let go and responded: "If you can't be a decision-maker at Goldman Sachs, it's not bad to be a partner. I have always been grateful to Goldman Sachs for its support of Ice Core. This is also the beginning of our conversation here today."

"I hope the Bank of China can continue our cooperation." Paulson said a time, "I will fly from the United States by mid-October at the latest."

In other words, he wanted to settle the matter with Merrill Lynch within half a month.

Fang Zhuo nodded, he had to take advantage of this time to raise more funds.

However, in addition to speculating on Paulson's actions, he suddenly wondered whether Paulson would bribe people within Merrill Lynch to help make decisions there.

Anyway, if I were, well, I definitely wouldn't be able to do this.

Zhang Hongli saw Paulson getting into the car and knew that the exchange between the two was over. He walked over and asked tentatively: "Mr. Fang, are you giving Paulson any advice on the Bank of China matter?"

Fang Zhuo shook his head: "No, we are just talking about time. We will wait and see what happens in the next half month."

Zhang Hongli perked up and said, "I'm going to Frankfurt to apply for funds from the headquarters."

When it comes to the investment of Bank of China, the scale of funds is much larger than that of ICBC. This time, United Bank and Mutual Bank are not included. If the proportion of Royal Bank of Scotland is followed, MIGA Fund and Deutsche Bank need to bear a share of 1.5 billion US dollars, 4.8 % shareholding.

"Well, beat the slow with the fast." Fang Zhuo nodded, he also needed to raise funds.

This time, in addition to the money from Zhou Xin, Su Wei also needs Yike stocks in his hands, and he also needs to sell some stocks. In addition, MIGA Fund has to open another product, so that he can barely scrape together the funds.

If everything goes well, it will be equivalent to depositing a large three-year fixed term with ICBC and Bank of China.

Although the future profits are considerable, this fixed deposit actually has some sweet troubles, which will lock up some space for capital operation.

…

The first day of October.

Zhou Kaixuan, director of the Lijiacheng Foundation, flew to Beijing from Xiangjiang. In addition to looking at a real estate project on this trip, she also needed to pay attention to the cooperation between the foundation and banks.

Because the foundation signed a contract with the Royal Bank of Scotland, and considering the mood shown by the bank these days, Zhou Kaixuan persuaded Li Jiacheng to come to the capital at a suitable time to meet with the leaders of the Bank of China, and use his status to appease his mood.

"Mr. Zhou, when will Mr. Li come over? We will arrange another exclusive interview with the media." Meng Guanggui, another director of the foundation, asked Zhou Kaixuan.

"He will come when the funds are delivered, and he hopes to attend the ribbon-cutting of the real estate." After Zhou Kaixuan answered, he asked, "Is there anything going on with the bank?"

Director Meng Guanggui shook his head: "Everything went well."

Zhou Kaixuan thought for a while and asked again: "Are there any opportunities for cooperation with other banks?"

Meng Guanggui replied: "I'm afraid it's not easy. I heard that ICBC has made some changes. Some people are spreading rumors that funds from the mainland have entered the bank."

Zhou Kaixuan was a little surprised: "From the mainland? Who can be there?"

Meng Guanggui nodded and said, "It's said to be Fang Zhuo, but I'm not sure if the information is accurate."

Zhou Kaixuan frowned, feeling a bit unlucky. Thanks to him, TOM.com failed to be successfully listed. This incident has always made him hate it.

She said calmly: "Well, it has nothing to do with us."

Although ICBC is good, Bank of China is not bad either.

The Lijiacheng Foundation has signed a contract with the Royal Bank of Scotland. Even though Bank of China is a little unhappy about this, it is a done deal and the matter is settled.