Chapter 453 Debt Crisis

The Devonshire landed in Baltimore, Maryland, on the east coast of the United States, not far from New York.

After Barron returned to Melbourne from China, he discovered that Jenny Butt was still "accompanying" Bonnie, and that she and Chrissy, Countess of Butt, had moved into the luxurious villa where Barron lived with Bonnie. among.

Therefore, Earl Bute had business to deal with at this time and had returned to London. In addition, Barron was temporarily absent, so the three women naturally dominated together.

In Jenny Boot's words, when Barron goes to the United States in a while, they can take a private jet back together.

Well, Barron had to come to the headquarters of Sinclair Group anyway, which was why he and Jenny Butt arrived on the same plane this time.

But it wasn’t until the plane landed that Jenny packed up and arranged her clothes.

And when she moved, it was obvious that the previous "exercise" had a great impact on her walking.

In fact, this time Barron came over, it was also an invitation from John Smith - in addition, he had important things to discuss with Barron.

Therefore, the other party sent a car directly to the airport to greet them, and John Smith also took time out of his busy schedule to come and pick them up personally.

"Honey, what's wrong with you?"

Although Jenny tried her best to endure it, the slight difference in her walking was still noticed by John Smith. When she heard her husband asking this question, she couldn't help complaining to Barron. Why was he so... on the plane? ...so violently that I still have sequelae.

But she forgot who was the one who took the initiative to flirt with her in the first place...

"It's okay, John. It's just that I may have had a stomachache from eating seafood in Melbourne yesterday, and I haven't been feeling well."

"Yeah?!"

John Smith said nervously:

"Why don't I take you to the hospital for a checkup later, honey."

When Jenny Butt heard that she was going to the hospital, she immediately said:

"It's not that serious. I've taken medicine and I'm feeling much better. Now, let's go home first."

Since Jenny said this, John Smith put the matter aside for the time being. He said to Barron:

"Glad you could come, Barron."

"I'm glad to see you again, John. Let's go to your place first and let Jenny have a rest. Don't you have something to talk to me about?"

The Devonshire itself came with Barron's convoy, so following John Smith's vehicle, they arrived at John's home.

"An unexpected situation occurred, Barron. I only found out about it not long ago..."

After Barron and John Smith were left alone in the study, he frowned slightly and said to Barron:

"I received a call from the bank and learned that our family trust still had a high-value loan..."

It turned out that when the Sinclair Group's share price was about to fall below 20 US dollars, John Smith received a notice from the bank...

The other party informed him that there was a mortgage loan of US$450 million, which was secured by 23.38 million Sinclair Group shares held by the Sinclair Family Trust.

Because the Sinclair Group's stock price continues to fall, the other party is now requiring the Sinclair family to increase collateral or repay part of the loan. Otherwise, if the Sinclair Group's stock price falls below $19.5, the bank will consider selling this part of the stock. Recover damages.

After hearing the news, John Smith was shocked because he had no idea this existed before.

Originally, it was John's eldest brother David Smith who had the greatest say in the family trust. However, he was stimulated at the last board meeting and collapsed from a stroke. He is still not conscious yet. Therefore, as a member of the Sinclair family, John Smith, now chairman, needs to handle this matter.

"John, if you tell me this, aren't you worried that I will have thoughts about the Sinclair Group?"

"You mean we pledged our shares in the bank? That's impossible, Barron, you should understand that it's impossible for you to control the Sinclair Group."

This is why John Smith chose to cooperate with Barron, because Barron knew that his words were true in a sense.

Just like in some key industries, managers prefer to cooperate with foreign capital, because under certain restrictions, it is difficult for the other party to obtain control of the company, and at best they can exert a certain influence. Therefore, when cooperating with those foreign capital, Easier to divide other shareholders to ensure control of the company.

The "certain restrictions" mentioned here are not written in any articles, but are implicit rules.

Just like some media and energy companies in the United States. On the surface, they have always promoted their existence as a fair and open market. However, in these industries, when foreign capital is involved in controlling companies through equity, then the national or public safety In name, these foreign acquisitions will be subject to extremely strict investigation and review.

It is no exaggeration to say that in the "open and free" United States, if you buy stocks of certain energy companies, you will be investigated by the CIA...

Therefore, John Smith is very certain that even if Barron knows that the 23.38 million Sinclair Group shares held by his family trust, accounting for 25%, are in danger of being forced to sell by the bank, even if it is to be sold, the bank will not It will not be sold to the "foreigner" Barron's. There are more Wall Street capitals to choose from.

This is not to say how "patriotic" these banks are, but selling to foreign capital will encounter strict and lengthy review, while selling to Wall Street capital does not require such trouble, and the choice is obvious.

It is worth mentioning that the bank that used the shares as collateral to lend to the Sinclair Family Trust was Bank of New York Mellon.

This can also explain why they firmly stood with David Smith before.

After all, their goal is not for the shares of Sinclair Group, but to obtain interest income from this loan.

In their view, by keeping the company run by David Smith, the company's situation will be more stable, which also means that their loan will be safer.

"Actually, you are not just a choice now, John..."

After Barron finished speaking, John Smith's eyes widened:

"I ousted David not because of personal grudges, nor to destroy the family's efforts in Sinclair Group. Barron, if I didn't see that David would lead the company into the abyss, I wouldn't do it... "

John Smith also understands what Barron means. Although his eldest brother David Smith is still in the hospital and unconscious, the shares held by the family trust will still be controlled by him as long as he is alive. John Smith was always a threat.

So now, when the mortgage loans of these shares are in crisis, he can make a choice...

Even John Smith could deliberately allow these shares to be forced to be sold by Bank of New York Mellon, so that he would not have the threat from David Smith - the other party would not be able to use the Sinclair Group shares in the family trust to oppose him .

But you must also know that the current Sinclair family’s total shareholding in Sinclair Group is only 43%.

The largest part is the 25% share held by the family trust.

The remaining shares are distributed among six members of the family.

If these shares are recovered and sold by Bank of New York Mellon, it also means that the Sinclair family's control of the group is likely to fall apart.

Sinclair Group's stock price is currently hovering around $20. If it drops slightly and touches $19.5, it would be very dangerous.

The source of all this was earlier last year, when John Smith’s father Julian was not yet dead. Julian and David Smith jointly decided to mortgage the 23.38 million held by the family trust to Bank of New York Mellon. shares and received $450 million in funding.