Chapter 1562 Not Short-sighted

The Wall Street Journal article was like pouring a bucket of cold water into a boiling oil pan.

Although the article cleverly gave the market a "controllable risk" vaccination and avoided a catastrophic collapse, it accurately named three patent trolls including Liming Technology, and strongly hinted at the existence of industry giants behind them. Its sharp analysis was like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, causing huge waves.

Global financial media and analytical agencies with a keen sense of smell immediately began a crazy decoding game.

Industry giants, laboratory equipment suppliers, defenders of existing monopolies...

In the eyes of professionals, the directionality of these keywords is almost self-evident. Although the Wall Street Journal adheres to the bottom line of "not naming names", the speed of information dissemination in the Internet age is far beyond imagination.

Just a few hours later, when Xiao Liming was incoherently explaining the key details of how Conversant instructed and how FEI provided intelligence and financial support, the world's leading financial information service organization had already issued a short message on its terminal.

It quoted "multiple sources familiar with the situation" as saying: "It is believed that FEI Company (FEIC), a high-end scientific instrument manufacturer in the United States, is deeply involved in the recent global patent litigation against Huaxia Candlelight Technology, which is interpreted as an attempt to delay the commercialization of the latter's revolutionary battery technology."

They even "thoughtfully" marked the other party's stock name and code on Nasdaq.

This piece of news was like the final fuse.

Soon after, Reuters, CNBC, Financial Times and many other heavyweight media quickly followed up. Although not so direct, the titles and contents of the reports were full of words such as "FEI is involved", "may be involved in obstructing competition", and "face market doubts".

On social media, speculation and analysis that "FEI is the mastermind" spread like a virus.

The market reaction was brutal and swift.

FEI's stock was hit hard at the opening. The share price, which had stabilized slightly due to the "risk is controllable" argument of the Wall Street Journal, plummeted as if a building block had its bottom plate pulled out the moment the Bloomberg news leaked!

The selling pressure was overwhelming and the buying pressure disappeared in an instant.

Panic spread like a plague. Investors didn’t care whether FEI was the only or the biggest culprit. They only knew that the company was involved in a scandal that could ruin the “new energy revolution” and its own huge investment. It became the best outlet for the market to vent its disappointment and anger.

In just two hours, FEIC's stock price plummeted by more than 52%, and its market value evaporated by more than half, setting a record for the worst single-day drop since the company went public.

This is no longer a simple adjustment, but a massacre that almost cuts the team in half!

The panic did not stop at FEI. The share prices of other lab equipment giants like Thermo Fisher, Hitachi, and JEOL also fell, ranging from 5% to 15%. The entire high-end scientific instrument sector was in the red.

FEI Headquarters, Hillsboro, Oregon, USA.

President and CEO Dan Raymond Kania paced back and forth in his large, thickly carpeted office like a trapped animal.

On the expensive mahogany desk, the computer screen showing the precipitous decline in FEIC's stock price was like a bleeding wound, piercing his eyes. The phone kept ringing, but he turned a deaf ear to it.

The office door was flung open without even knocking, and the company's chief compliance officer, Ms. Alanza Jimenez, rushed in with a pale face and a freshly printed document in her hand.

"Dan! The response from Washington..." Jimenez's voice trembled slightly.

Kania stopped abruptly, staring at her with bloodshot eyes, as if grasping at the last straw: "How is it? Did they agree to launch an investigation into Candlelight Technology? Anti-dumping? National security review? Anything is fine!"

Jimenez shook his head hard, handed over the document, and said in a dry voice: "Rejected... Both the Department of Commerce and the Office of the Trade Representative clearly rejected our concerns. They...their responses were very cold."

Kania's body shook and his face turned pale in an instant.

Jimenez's voice was even lower, with a hint of fear:

“Moreover… at the end of their reply, they also… added a sentence: ‘Fei is advised to focus on its own business development and fair competition, and avoid taking actions that may be interpreted as interfering with market freedom or damaging the international trade order.’ This… this is almost a warning to us…”

"Warning? Interfering with the market? Disrupting order?" Kania seemed to have heard the most ridiculous joke. He punched the solid mahogany table with a dull "bang" sound, and his knuckles turned white in an instant. "Those idiots in Washington! Short-sighted! Cowardly! They will regret it! They will definitely pay the price for today's decision!"

His voice was hoarse and distorted with anger and despair.

Just then, the office door was pushed open again.

His secretary, Mycroft King, had a pale face and was holding several sheets of fax paper in her hands.

"Sir, this is bad!"

Kania and Jimenez's hearts sank to the bottom at the same time.

"Thermo Fisher, Hitachi, and JEOL, they... they just released public statements almost at the same time!"

Mycroft's voice was flustered:

“They said they were completely unaware of the patent lawsuit against Candlelight Technology and expressed deep regret for any actions that may hinder technological progress… and emphasized that they always maintain an open and cooperative attitude and welcome technical exchanges and business cooperation with global innovators including Candlelight Technology at any time…”

Kania felt dizzy and her body took a step back uncontrollably, leaning heavily against the cold floor-to-ceiling window glass.

At the desperate moment when FEI was criticized by the market and ruthlessly abandoned by Washington, they chose to cut off without hesitation.

This is just rubbing salt into his wounds!

"And... and..." McCoff's report was not over yet. "This is... the non-binding cash acquisition offer for FEI that Thermo Fisher has just submitted to the board of directors and the SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission)..."

"What?!" Kania snatched the fax paper and stared at the cold terms on it - an acquisition offer that was far lower than FEI's closing price yesterday, but seemed to be a 15% "premium" in the face of the current plummeting stock price!

Looking at this humiliating "acquisition offer", looking at the hypocritical cuts made by former allies in the statement, and looking at the FEIC stock price curve on the screen that is still struggling in the abyss...

Dan Raymond Kania, the once high-spirited helmsman of an industry giant, seemed to have lost all his energy in an instant.

His upright body hunched over, and he looked in despair at the glaring red curve on the computer screen that was still falling, symbolizing the collapse of the FEI empire.

……

Meanwhile, the White House.

"Peter, you may think that my decision just now is a bit short-sighted, right?"

Behind the large desk, the thin Ao Guanhai suddenly asked with his back to the room.

Not far in front of the desk stood his chief of staff, Pete Rouse.

Of course, when the leader asks this kind of question, he certainly doesn’t want to hear a positive answer.

Therefore, Rolls quickly denied: "Fine chemicals were not included in our plan..."

However, Ao Guanhai simply waved his hand to interrupt him: "No, this is not the point."

Then, he slowly turned his chair 180 degrees and looked at the chief of staff again:

"In the coming months... or even years, hot money from all over the world will continue to flow into our stock market... Of course, China and Japan will also benefit, and may even include South Korea and India." Ao Guanhai leaned forward and his tone suddenly changed, "But Europe will definitely not be included."

Ross's eyes widened instantly: "Are you ready to..."

In fact, he really thought that the other party rejected FEI's request simply for the sake of Wall Street's profits.

But now it seems that is not the case.

"The EU is in the midst of a sovereign debt crisis... Of course, the current situation may not be irreversible." Ao Guanhai explained leisurely, "But if a large amount of capital flees... Even if it flees to China or somewhere else, it can basically sentence the entire EU to death..."

Ross subconsciously raised his arm and wiped the non-existent cold sweat from his forehead.

"Since Europe will not become our ally against China," Ao Guanhai said coldly, "then we have no choice but to make them our weapon..."