The Industrial Giant Reborn

In the next few days, Chen Zhiwen and Zhang Yunxue entertained several friends from the United States, and enjoyed the beautiful scenery of several German cities by the way.

On December 12th, it suddenly snowed heavily in Munich, and the whole sky turned gray. Because of the high latitude, the daytime, which was originally only eight hours a day, became shorter and the temperature dropped suddenly.

The cold wind is biting, but the heating in the hotel is very strong, just like summer. In the luxury suite, wearing short sleeves, eating ice cream, watching the howling blizzard outside, it is very flavorful.

"Dong dong dong" there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." Chen Zhiwen walked into the main hall and said. He was not worried about any accidents outside. Now, no matter where he went, there were no less than four professional bodyguards by his side. Outside the suite, there were two guards. At the door, there are several people living nearby, and he has reserved a hotel on the first floor. Anyone who enters this floor, unless it is a waiter, has no reason.

It was Lei Shengli who came in. He must have just come back from the hotel. He was still wearing a thick down jacket. Chen Zhiwen smiled and said, "You should go to your room and change, or you will die of heat later."

"It's okay, I'll just take off the down jacket." After finishing speaking, Lei Shengli took off the clothes and hung them on the hanger, and said, "Deutsche Bank has the latest progress, so I'm in a hurry to come back and tell the chairman .”

"Okay, sit." Chen Zhiwen also got up and lowered the temperature of the heat control a little. In fact, it is not necessary to adjust the temperature so high for heating. It is just because you have learned to enjoy it and you will get used to it. This is the case in the whole of Europe and even the United States. Huge energy Waste and material waste, not only lost a lot of wealth, but also caused huge environmental pollution, but they often blamed the developing countries that produced these materials for them.

After taking a sip of water, Lei Shengli said, "Sheng Chen, Deutsche Bank has basically reached a consensus with Bitzer's existing board of directors. The transaction price is 13.5 million US dollars, and they also agreed to trade in US dollars."

The reason for choosing the U.S. dollar is also because it is the most common international transaction currency. The current German currency is the mark. Although it is also very strong, many rich people still like to hoard U.S. dollars, because many rich people also need to transfer their assets. Diversification, to prevent serious losses caused by a sudden depreciation of the currency when all are invested in one currency.

The Midea side naturally happily agreed that the transaction in US dollars can also save a large amount of remittance fees, and both parties get what they need.

"What about Bitzer's debts? Will there be a gap between the financial account and the actual situation?" Chen Zhiwen asked again.

In commercial acquisitions, the most important thing to pay attention to is the debt and accounting issues of the other party. Historically, many large companies have been cheated here. It is better to check clearly.

Chen Zhiwen basically didn't care about this issue in the previous several acquisitions or shareholdings, because he invested in the team, and with the evidence of later generations, there would basically be no problems, but Hutchison's acquisitions also had many internal factors The hidden debt is not aimed at him by Qi Dezun, but at all shareholders and banks. Fortunately, Hutchison has enough land, even if there is a problem with tens of millions of accounts, it doesn't care.

Now, the first acquisition of assets in Europe still involves the important layout of Midea's home appliance business. He naturally needs to pay attention to it, especially now that Hutchison has consumed a lot of money, and he is also in a stage where funds are a little tight. , I don't want to see anything wrong at this time.

"Deutsche Bank has entrusted a third-party agency in Germany to check all the accounts of the previous three years and the large accounts of the previous ten years from this year. They have made a written promise to us that there will be no If there is a debt gap or accounting problem higher than 100,000 marks, they will subsidize the money." Lei Shengli said.

"Okay, it can be considered that we have spent close to a million dollars." Chen Zhiwen nodded and said.

Deutsche Bank played the role of an intermediary and guarantor in this transaction, ensuring that there would be no problems, and the price was naturally not small, and Midea needed to pay nearly 8 points for this.

"If it wasn't for Deutsche Bank this time, our acquisition wouldn't be so smooth." Lei Shengli said with a smile.

Chen Zhiwen said: "Of course, their investment banks rely on this kind of business to make money. Although our acquisition is a small business, it is still a piece of fat for a department or an individual."

Lei Shengli continued: "Actually, I have another idea. Deutsche Bank has a great influence in Germany. In theory, their executives must also know the German automobile company. I think this is Bitzer. A relationship that can go."

"That's right, use Deutsche Bank to contact the senior management of Mercedes-Benz and BMW? Then find a way to get Bitzer into their supply chain?" Chen Zhiwen thought for a while and said, "You can try it, and spend what should be spent. This kind of relationship It will always be useful in the future, many technologies in Germany are very powerful, we want to improve our technology research and development, and there should be no less exchanges with Germany.”

Since its inception, Midea has decided to take the high-tech route. Now it is relying on arcade machines and games to make a lot of money. It just wants to use this kind of funds to develop technology. Only strong technology can ensure that an enterprise can survive for a long time and grow more and more. The more powerful the foundation, relying on such side projects as games, it can only be prosperous for a while. Even his golden finger will last until the 90s at most. Before this time, he must occupy a certain market in other fields. And the foundation of all this, in addition to its own layout in the retail field, technology is also indispensable.

"This is the best way. We are in Germany, and we also need a local partner with resources and contacts." Lei Shengli nodded and said.

"Okay, in terms of price, let's see if we can talk about it. It's best to erase the 500,000 dollars. We still have to spend a lot of money to invest in it, not to mention Hong Kong, but also in Europe, at least to allow the development of BITZER's automobile business." Chen Zhiwen said: "It is best not to mention compressors, The refrigeration assembly, and then enter the field of other automotive parts, my idea is to make BITZER a well-known auto parts company in Europe.”

"It's just that if this is the case, we need to invest a lot of money, and our funds are relatively tight now." Lei Shengli said.

Chen Zhiwen said: "I know this, don't worry, even if they give Bitzer tens of millions of dollars now, they have nowhere to use them. If they want to develop in the auto industry, they have to invest money step by step. Can Duo compare with BBA and Volkswagen?"

"Is that true? After the transaction is completed, does Hong Kong need to prepare to build a factory?" Lei Shengli asked.

Chen Zhiwen said: "No, don't be in such a hurry for now, don't you think the factory layout in Hong Kong is already in a mess?"

In the past, whether it was Red Bull or Midea, when the initial scale was not very large, mass production was required. Although under the intentional guidance of Chen Zhiwen, the factories were gathered together as much as possible, but the industrial layout of Hong Kong itself was a mess. Quasi-industrial office buildings are mixed with residential areas.

This kind is very suitable for all kinds of small assembly industries and light industries. There are people near the factory, and the workers go to work relatively close, which is perfect.

The early Red Bull Midea is actually suitable for this model, after all, the scale is not very large.

After reaching a certain scale, the rapid growth of production capacity left the two companies with no choice but to frantically buy land nearby to build factories or directly purchase industrial office buildings. At that time, they had no choice but to rapidly increase production capacity, which also led to Oh, the chaos in various factories, those that could be together are not together, and those that can be produced in one place are the best, but they are produced in several places.

"Chen Sheng is going to redesign the factory in Hong Kong?" Lei Shengli also understood what the boss meant.

Chen Zhiwen nodded and said: "Yes, I have this idea, except for the latest factory that is preparing to produce Coke, which is a plan that I have prepared, the others are very passive, being led by the nose by the rapidly increasing production capacity.

Looking at it now, it’s too messy. It’s just that it’s winter now. Fans, beverages, air conditioners, and refrigerators are all in the off-season. A certain amount of blank land is needed to cope with future capacity growth. "

In fact, Chen Zhiwen knew a few years ago that if the development goes smoothly, production capacity will definitely be a big problem, but it is impossible to invest huge sums of money to integrate factories at that time, and there is no such fund, even if it is Apple in the 21st century. Knowing that mobile phones will be popular and not short of money, it took several years to integrate the production capacity.

"Such a large plan requires a large land area. We can't buy it. We need to discuss it with the Hong Kong government." Lei Shengli said.

"Not only the land area, but also a large number of suitable age workers living nearby. There is no such large land in Kowloon anymore. Even if I don't consider real estate development, the area of ​​He Huang's land in Hung Hom is not enough. Compared with the real estate The so-called small port is simply not enough for the industrial needs of the country." Chen Zhiwen shook his head and said.

It is said that Hung Hom has a large land area, which is for commercial use. Maybe it is still enough for Red Bull and Midea, but it will definitely not be enough in a few years. The biggest problem in this kind of urban area is that there is no area to expand nearby.

Of course, the area of ​​a large port is actually very large, a few square kilometers is normal, but in a small city like Hong Kong before the 1960s, 2 million square feet (0.2 square kilometers) was considered a super-large port.

"With such a large industrial investment, we should get the land for free. This is the same principle in any country, but in Hong Kong, it may be a bit difficult. Those ghosts know how to keep an eye on the land." Lei Shengli frowned Said.

"When I go to the United States to confirm some things, I will discuss this matter with the Hong Kong government. This time, after you go back, you will release the news first, saying that Midea, Galaxy and Red Bull are planning to build an industry with tens of thousands of people in Hong Kong or Wanwan. Garden." Chen Zhiwen said.

Lei Shengli said: "Is Chen Sheng planning to use Wanwan to put pressure on the Hong Kong government?"

"It's not for the Hong Kong government, but for the group of real estate developers in Hong Kong. An industrial park for 10,000 people can drive a large area of ​​barren land around. If the news is really released, these dog noses can naturally smell it, and they will naturally Find a way to help me facilitate this matter. The rest is up to the MacLehose government. I heard that the governor of MacLehose is very capable. In the past, the UK also regarded employment issues as important. He should be able to understand such an industry. How beneficial will the garden be?" Chen Zhiwen said.

Although a group of British ghosts are desperately trying to squeeze the value of Hong Kong, smart people will be appropriate. It is better to let the sheep fatten up, instead of directly fishing in the marsh. MacLehose should be regarded as a smart governor. He is very appreciative, and besides, the establishment of the ICAC in Hong Kong to suppress Tan Wu, at least on the bright side, also hopes that Hong Kong will get better and better.

"Good way, in this way, maybe this problem can be solved." Lei Shengli nodded and said.

Chen Zhiwen said: "That's it, Hong Kong is not in a hurry for the time being. After the acquisition of BITZER, we will first select suitable people from Hong Kong to study. Production, maintenance, technology, and quality control need to be fully studied. In addition, if When it comes to technology that does not exist in BITZER itself, it is necessary to choose suppliers in Europe to purchase equipment, and to arrange people to come and learn. The investment in this area should be prioritized. It is better to wait for equipment than to wait for equipment. After the factory is built in Hong Kong, it needs to be able to get started as soon as possible.

For the German side, we need to select some people first, and prepare to arrange them to be teachers in Hong Kong. The language problem needs to be solved, and translators must be prepared on the Hong Kong side. In addition, Bitzer also needs to arrange our people. See if you can Chinese in finance and business management cannot be recruited in Germany. Although we will not interfere with the normal operation of BITZER, we still need to understand. "

"I will arrange this matter. After the transaction is completed, I will leave two trustworthy people here to deal with these matters." Lei Shengli said.