The Industrial Giant Reborn

"The location is indeed okay." Chen Zhiwen looked at the documents in his hand while listening to Lee Iacocca's introduction.

This information is very well prepared, and many places use maps to show their locations. Only a few of the cities where these sales outlets are located, such as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, etc., he has been to, and other places he has not been to also rely on Looking at the map, you can see where the city is located.

"In fact, a long time ago, Chrysler had more stores, including GM and Ford, but then faced with the anti-monopoly threat from the US federal government, the three companies unanimously agreed to sell the terminal sales industry, leaving only a small number of self-owned stores with better locations. .” Lee Iacocca explained.

"That's very smart, unlike those people in Hollywood." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.

He has never heard of this period of history, but it is possible to think about it carefully. American capital giants like to merge upstream and downstream together when expanding. For example, several major Hollywood giants, from film and television shooting, film distribution to theaters , the three important links have been monopolized for a period of time, and other small companies can only rely on giants, otherwise the films they shoot will not even have the chance to be released, and some independent theaters can only be sold to giants in the end. , because there are no high-quality movies, independent theaters can only go bankrupt.

Several giants monopolize all the upstream and downstream profits of the entire film industry, and Hollywood stars are also suppressed, just like Shaw Brothers in Hong Kong. The result of such arrogance is naturally targeted by the US anti-monopoly agency, and in the end it is naturally suppressed ruthlessly.

Apparently, there are similar stories in the automobile industry, but the automobile industry chain is very limited, and even the automobile giants cannot completely monopolize the upstream, and because it involves technology research and development, even if they have money, they may not be able to do it, but In terms of terminal retail, if you have money, you can buy terminal retail stores. However, when the anti-monopoly agencies are stalking, several major auto giants are smarter and take the initiative to admit defeat. The U.S. officials won't care, and the ones that can be left by the three major auto giants are naturally in a superior position. If it weren't for Chrysler's life and death, these would not be sold.

"That's a long history." Lee Iacocca said, "What do Mr. Chen think of these positions?"

"I can consider buying these stores, but there are still a few prerequisites." Chen Zhiwen said.

"Please tell me, Mr. Chen," said George York on the side.

Chen Zhiwen said: "First, although the information here is relatively detailed, I still need to send people to investigate these sales outlets, and I still need to invite a third party to review some of them. I don't know what Mr. Iacocca thinks?"

"Of course it can." Li Iacocca nodded and said, involving acquisitions of hundreds of millions of dollars, it is natural to be cautious. A large number of financial investigations, property investigations, business status investigations, market investigations, etc. are necessary.

"Secondly, we will discuss the price after the review, but the premise of my acquisition is that I can acquire AMC. If the acquisition of AMC fails, then this acquisition will be over." Chen Zhiwen said again.

"Mr. Chen, even if you don't acquire AMC, it doesn't affect these sales outlets." George York said.

"That's right, but if we didn't acquire a car company, then it would be meaningless to acquire these sales outlets." Chen Zhiwen said casually.

"Okay, I understand what Mr. Chen means. AMC is not large, and it is not sensitive to the US officials. As long as the review is in place, there should be no problem. We also have some friends at the Ministry of Commerce at Goldman Sachs. After a while, I will Go ask." George York somewhat understood what Chen Zhiwen meant.

Chen Zhiwen said: "That's just right. I also need to send people to investigate the situation of these sales outlets during this time. Maybe when it is completed, the Ministry of Commerce will agree to my acquisition of AMC."

In fact, AMC's own board of directors is very happy to buy it from Chen Zhiwen. Both parties basically already have the willingness in this regard, and the labor union does not have too much trouble. In fact, no matter which foreign capital wants to acquire an American company, it must have a guarantee for employment A certain promise, this promise does not necessarily need to keep everyone, but if you want the U.S. government to agree, most of them still need to be guaranteed. Besides, Chen Zhiwen has no plan to lay off employees after taking over, and AMC has small benefits. It's just that the trade unions are not as powerful as those giants like GM, Chrysler, and Ford. In addition, the entire American auto industry is not good, so many aspects can be discussed.

The current sticking point is still with the Ministry of Commerce, and Morgan Stanley's persuasion team is still working hard. If Chrysler and Goldman Sachs can help at this time, it may be easier to succeed earlier.

As for the acquisition of 330 sales car terminal stores, it is not a loss-making business. First, because Chrysler's funds are on the verge of collapse, the price of the sale will not be very high. Second, once the oil crisis passes, oil prices will rise. The period of low oil prices in the next decade will benefit the US auto industry.

With these terminal stores, there will always be great benefits for AMC brand car sales in the future. Although 3% may not seem like a lot, this market is a market worth hundreds of billions of dollars per year, and these stores cover many states , Future terminal repair and maintenance can also be guaranteed.

In fact, there is another king bomb, that is Costco. In the history of the United States, Costco, which has hundreds of supermarkets in the United States, also sells cars, and has become a force that cannot be underestimated in the car sales industry. In this life, with my own investment in Costco, the number of stores will inevitably increase, which will further guarantee the sales and after-sales guarantee of my own brand in the future.

Lee Iacocca thought for a moment, and then asked: "Mr. Chen, I would like to ask you a question. I wonder if Mr. Chen is willing to invest in Chrysler besides buying these stores?" '

"Now the US government is the major shareholder of Chrysler, can they allow me to become a shareholder of Chrysler?" Chen Zhiwen asked.

The U.S. government gave Chrysler US$1.5 billion, but it was not without a price. Many of Chrysler's rights were restricted by the U.S. government, and even the money needed to be reported.

"I can issue a bond, and the rate of return will not be lower than that of bonds on the market." Li Iacocca said.

"Bonds are not good. The so-called returns are just for ordinary people. If you want me to invest, you can, but it must be stocks, but I don't need voting rights." Chen Zhiwen said with a smile. Now in the 1980s, any investment can be made Easily surpass any bond, if it is not possible to go to Japan to buy a house.

Chrysler's stock has now fallen into a penny stock, just like Hutchison in Hong Kong. After all, it lost more than US$1 billion a year in the past two years. Anyone would doubt whether it will suddenly go bankrupt one day, and five years later, the entire The company's net profit can exceed 2 billion U.S. dollars a year, and Chrysler's stock price will multiply several times to reach the top 20 level in the United States. This rate of return is still very high.

"If it's just pure economic investment, I think there should be no problem. As long as Mr. Chen is willing, I can find a way to arrange all of this." Lee Iacocca said.

"Okay, in addition, I have one more condition." Chen Zhiwen paused and said: "If I acquire AMC, I hope that our two companies can work together in terms of technology, some involving engines, chassis, gearboxes, and safety configurations. patents, I hope to buy some from Chrysler."

"In terms of technical patents, it needs to be decided based on which patents are specific. I can't answer this question yet." Li Aikeka said.

"It will not be the most advanced technology patent of Chrysler at present. I just want to add some shortcomings of AMC." Chen Zhiwen said.

As an automobile company other than the three giants, AMC and other small brands lack various technologies. The first reason is that the research and development of high-tech patents is very expensive due to limited funds. The second is the technical road of automobiles. In the final analysis, it is similar Yes, when other early-born companies or larger companies register a patent, it is very difficult for latecomers to bypass it.

For example, in the mainland of later generations, before the 21st century, it can be said that the Mercedes-Benz engine cannot be replicated in front of the eyes, but after the 21st century, this sentence is basically untenable. Maybe it is not so good, but it can still be made. , but was stuck by the patent, trying to get around it is easier said than done.

Chen Zhiwen didn't expect to buy the most advanced patents from American automobile companies or other countries. It would be impossible to sell them. After buying these patents, if you want to use them in China in the future, you have to have many restrictions, and that is the trouble.

The automobile industry is a collection of modern industrial achievements. Even if you have some capital, if you want to develop in this industry, you have to take it step by step, first ensure that you have it, and then slowly improve.

"If this is the case, it should be fine in principle." Li Iacocca nodded and said, Chrysler is anxious to sell terminal retail stores, so why care about some patents that are not top-notch!