Chapter 903 Respect

Of course, this kind of project will have to be discussed by the government for ten or eight years. Even if Barron takes over, it is impossible to start work immediately.

After their meeting, Barron formed a relevant team and negotiated with the British government on many regulations for taking over High-Speed ​​Rail Line 2.

In addition, Cavendish Trust and Alstom jointly proposed an acquisition of Bombardier.

According to their plan, after completing the acquisition of Bombardier, Bombardier will be split, and its aviation business will be sold to Standard Aviation, a subsidiary of Standard Defense Group; its railway business will be merged with Alstom's railway business.

The current situation of Bombardier is not good, so as long as their bid is "reasonable", it is very likely that Bombardier's board of directors will agree to this acquisition.

The key is to look at the EU's opinions, so while proposing the acquisition, Alstom also communicated with the EU about the acquisition of Bombardier.

In the EU, this acquisition will be promoted by Britain and France - as for Germany, although Germany's Siemens definitely does not want to see Alstom acquire Bombardier...

"I am also willing to promote the merger of the railway businesses of Alstom and Siemens. However, compared with the acquisition of Bombardier, the EU antitrust review of the merger with Siemens will be more stringent and it will be difficult to be released..."

Barron said this during a phone call with Merkel:

"So if Siemens is willing to sign a contract and will compensate Alstom 1 billion euros if the merger is unsuccessful, I can suspend the acquisition of Bombardier..."

You know, if Alstom merges with Bombardier's railway business, their market share in the European regional train field will exceed 45% (Bombardier is about 24%, Alstom is about 22%). This is the EU's review of this merger. need to be mainly considered.

But if Alstom and Siemens merge, then the market share of both parties in the European regional train field will exceed 50%...

Not only that, because high-speed trains and railway signaling systems are Siemens' main businesses, if the railway businesses of Siemens and Alstom merge, their market share in this field will exceed 90%!

This is the main reason why the EU vetoed the merger between the two parties after Barron's previous life.

But Siemens cannot give up this main business of its own, so it is non-negotiable in this regard.

Of course, Barron can try to promote the merger of Alstom and Siemens' railway businesses, but this will be much more difficult than acquiring Bombardier. The 1 billion euros of compensation he proposed for failed mergers is also based on this reason - this kind of compensation has a negative impact on global mergers and acquisitions. It is very common in history and is not an excessive request.

"I'll pass on your comments."

Merkel can only answer this. As for whether to accept it, that is what Siemens needs to consider.

Although Siemens is a German industrial giant, Bombardier's railway business is almost entirely in Germany. Therefore, for Merkel, although she hopes to promote the merger of Siemens and Alstom's railway business, this will be A giant company that is "Airbus on the rails".

But if the next best thing is to integrate Alstom's railway business with Bombardier's, she would not be unable to accept it.

…

"What's this?"

"A plan, I hope to expand Sinclair Group's business, so an acquisition is needed, Ms. TP..."

Facing Ivanta's confused gaze, John Smith suppressed his excitement and pretended to be relaxed and said to her:

"Of course, as the major shareholder of Sinclair Group, as a matter of respect, I need your affirmation before doing this."

Taking a deep look at John Smith, Ivanta picked up the document and flipped through it, frowning slightly as she flipped through it.

John Smith, on the other hand, observed her expression calmly, with the corners of his mouth raised slightly.

"I have a question, Mr. Smith..."

Holding the folder in her hand, Ivanta asked:

"According to this... plan, Sinclair Group hopes to acquire Forum Media Group?"

"Yes, if this acquisition can be completed, the Sinclair Group's TV stations will exceed 220, becoming one of the largest TV networks in the United States, and I am very optimistic about the profitability of sports programs..."

"Then first..."

Ivanta interrupted John Smith:

"Currently, Forum Media Group belongs to Fox, let alone whether the other party is willing to sell it - you can see that sports programs are profitable, so there is no reason why Fox can't see it - even if Fox is willing to sell, it will definitely need to give a high premium. The price is probably not something Sinclair Group can come up with. I don’t want another financial crisis to happen..."

After hearing Ivanta's words, alluding to the Sinclair family's previous difficulties due to loans, John Smith's dead memory seemed to be resurrected again, and his expression was uncontrollable and ugly:

"Not this time, because we have reliable partners..."

"Reliable partner?"

Ivanta smiled half-heartedly and said lightly:

"This is another question I have. Even if Sinclair Group wants to make this acquisition, in terms of funds, not only IC Capital, but other major shareholders can also provide it. Even through leveraged buyouts, we can also have A solid plan, why did it end up like the one I saw above?”

Seeing the other party closing the folder and throwing it on the table without mercy, as if throwing away a piece of trash, John Smith felt his upper and lower teeth rubbing together, and he took a deep breath:

"As you just said, this is the best solution to avoid Sinclair Group's excessive debt ratio."

"Oh? If this is the case, Vanguard Group provides funds to acquire Forum Media Group, and 50% of these funds are exchanged for Sinclair Group shares, and the other 50% is used to purchase Sinclair Group's preferred shares... the result Vanguard Group will become the largest shareholder of Sinclair Group, so I want to ask, should Sinclair Group acquire Forum Media Group, or Vanguard Group acquire Sinclair?”

"As for the distribution ratio of these funds between stocks and preferred shares, negotiations can continue, and the Pilot Group has no intention to control the Sinclair Group. They only regard this behavior as a financial investment..."

John Smith stood up and said:

"Of course, as a sign of respect, I will communicate with IC Capital and DS Holdings in advance..."

"I will not agree to this plan, and I believe that DS Holdings will not believe that this is a plan that is in the interests of Sinclair Group shareholders."

John Smith was not surprised at all when he heard Ivanta's words. He shrugged:

"If that's the case, it can only be decided through the shareholders' meeting. We will hold a shareholders' meeting here tomorrow morning to vote on this plan. I hope you can attend then, Ms. TP."

Until Ivanta got up and left his office without hesitation, John Smith thought of Ivanta's performance just now and couldn't help but feel a little unhappy about her strength:

"I'm the chairman of Sinclair Group, you bastard!"

Then, he smiled again, looking forward to the expression on the face of the eldest lady of the TP family tomorrow.

When his eyes fell on his latest Mate 7 phone on the table, he picked up the phone:

"Lacie, help me buy an IPhone. I want the latest model..."

"The 5S hasn't gone on sale yet? Asshole, the Mate has already been released to the 7, so buy the iPhone 5, um, the highest configuration."