Chapter 260 Digital Standards Group
At first, Barron only planned to use the Munger base on the Colo side as a base for his Protector Military Company.
After all, Africa has always been like this. It can be said to be an "adventurer's paradise". Many things that are inconvenient to do in other places can also be done.
For example, when he imprisoned and interrogated the "Raphael" organization, he would have some concerns if it were in other places, but in the Munger base, he was very relieved.
But now, when such an option appears in front of him, which can control a country to a certain extent behind the scenes, I have to say that it is indeed very tempting for Barron.
But temptation is one thing. Even if he can achieve his desired goal, he still needs to consider more aspects of the issue.
For example, will the UN recognize the new government, and the French side - in Colo at this time, it can be said that the government forces still have some cooperation with them in terms of military affairs. It can be seen that Xin Brigade is equipped with all French equipment.
Moreover, Colo has the richest phosphate resources, and many mines belong to French mining companies.
Although France now is different from the time when even the United States ignored it, their power in Africa is also much weaker than before. It can be said to be the "twilight of the empire."
But it was not until nearly two decades later that Niger was able to forcefully confront France, and the other side was helpless.
At least now, the Protector Military Company is not saying that it can ignore France.
Therefore, even if you choose which path, you still need to make some judgments to see if there will be unplanned situations.
But one thing that is good for them is that the capital of Colo, Loti, is a coastal city located in the southernmost part of the country. If you want to launch a raid on it, it is very convenient - this is why Barron's Protector Military Company is not only in Kolo, also had armed forces elsewhere and could be reached by sea.
Otherwise, wouldn’t the other rebels have thought of raiding the capital directly? Do they not want to?
Moreover, most of the government troops in Kolo, especially the most elite Naxin Brigade, have been sent to the northern battlefield, and the capital is relatively empty, which also provides conditions for their actions.
Of course, before that, the Protector Military Company still needs to solve problems. One is that it needs to be in a leadership position among the anti-government armed forces - otherwise, even if the coup is successful, they will still need to replace the government troops to wipe out other anti-government armed forces. Too Too much effort.
The other is to find a suitable “agent”.
There are currently three candidates to choose from among the remaining COLO Liberation Front.
After Barron's research, they finally selected a Kolo man named Jamei Bongo.
Jammeh Bongo is also one of the few highly educated talents in the Kolo Liberation Front. He once studied in Egypt and was supposed to devote himself to the construction of Kolo.
But because his father participated in activities against the then military government twenty years ago, he was expelled. Therefore, after returning to China, he joined the Colo Liberation Front. Before that, he was responsible for the civil affairs work of this anti-government armed station. , can be regarded as a member who has had more contact with the Protector Military Company.
If normal procedures are followed, then the person who takes over as the leader of the Colo Liberation Front should be Sheikh Hassan's military adjutant Sasu Biya. After all, in this kind of military organization, soldiers have greater rights.
However, Barron does not hope that there will continue to be a dictator in Colo. He will bring the dawn of "democracy" to this country - of course, this dawn needs to be under his "protection" .
Therefore, if the plan can be completed, then Kolo will hold elections. In this case, Jamei Bongo's situation is the most acceptable to the people.
As for whether the other party is willing to "cooperate", then you need to examine his thoughts.
After the plan was formulated, the Munger base became busy.
…
After a series of negotiations, Northrock Bank, represented by Colin Hall, finally accepted Barron's conditions.
The third-party agency they invited valued O2 Telecom at an overall valuation of 11 billion pounds, which was exactly twice the value when Barron's acquired the company.
Even so, according to Barron's previous words, if he wants to borrow 3 billion pounds, he also needs to mortgage at least 45% of O2 Telecom shares...
Seeing this, Barron was moved and offered to pledge 55% of O2 Telecom shares, but the condition was that he needed a loan of 4 billion pounds this time.
After Barron said this condition, he was keenly aware that Colin Hall's eyes flashed with joy.
However, he still agreed to Barron's request after some hesitation.
This kid really has something on his mind...
Eventually, Barron will pledge 55% of the O2 Telecom shares held by DS Capital to Northrock Bank and obtain a mortgage loan of 4 billion pounds from the other party for a period of five years with an interest rate of 3%.
Because at Barron's request, the repayment period of the loan was set at 5 years, the original interest rate was increased to 3%.
Barron is very satisfied with this.
The current exchange rate of the pound against the US dollar is around 1.75. By the end of this year, it will be above 1.9. After that, at the highest point, it can exceed 2, around 2.11.
But Barron knows that five years later, in 2009, the pound-to-dollar exchange rate will fall to 1.35...
No matter what Colin Hall had against him, at least nothing would happen to him within the next five years.
As for five years from now...
I'm afraid he didn't expect that he would encounter something like the subprime mortgage crisis next. Northrock Bank would be directly affected by this and be run and bankrupt.
…
After this, Barron's reorganized DS Capital.
The Digital Standards Group was established, with Barron serving as president of the DS Group.
DS Group consists of three branches: DS Investment, DS Holdings and DS Asset Management.
Among them, the CEO of DS Investment is Daisy. This is a wealth management company divided into self-operated department and private equity department, which mainly invests in the securities market.
Its private equity arm includes the Mars Fund, the Athena Fund and the Zeuss Fund for high-frequency investing in partnership with Goldman Sachs.
The CEO of DS Holdings is Amber Sheehan, who is the controlling shareholder of DS Group's companies. The companies controlled by this company include Standard Entertainment Media Group (SEM Group), which owns 90% of its shares; O2 Telecom, which owns 100% of its shares. % of the shares; Argos Retail Group, owns 75% of its shares; Manchester United Club, owns 100% of its shares; Woaw Technology, owns 78.5% of its shares; Skype Company, owns 60% of its shares; Asmodee Company, owns its shares 74.35% of the shares; Sinclair Group, owns 9% of its shares; Argent Real Estate Group, owns 31% of its shares.
In addition, it invests in other Chinese and American Internet companies, including Penguin, Alibaba, Baidu, NetEase, Netflix, Google and Apple.
The CEO of DS Asset Management is Fino Hamilton, who was promoted from the original DS Asset Management after Amber Sheehan became CEO of DS Holdings.
DS Asset Management currently manages real estate and properties under Barron's name, including DS Financial Center in the City of London, Cavendish Tower in Soho, London, SEM Tower in Canary Wharf, The King Cavendish Building and the O2 Tower in King's Cross, London, as well as the Devonshire Chelsea Hotel.
There are also Barron's residences in London, including the villa in Kensington, the villa in Regent's Park The Holme, as well as the two residences in London and Scotland inherited from Lady Emma, and the Wu in New York. The penthouse of the Salworth Building.
It is worth mentioning that the Protector Military Services Company, originally wholly owned by DS Capital, has been transferred to the control of an offshore company. On the surface, it no longer has any relationship with the DS Group.
